Invoicing in dollars or pounds: rate, VAT and receipt

Inês has a client in the United States who insists on paying in dollars. She hesitates: can she issue a green receipt in a currency other than the euro? She can - but there are three rules that make it all simple if you know them up front.

Yes, you can invoice in a foreign currency

Nothing forces you to invoice in euros: you can issue the receipt in dollars, pounds, Swiss francs - whatever currency the client uses. What the law requires is that the invoice be clearly translatable into euros, because it’s in euros that the State reads you.

The three rules

Invoicing in another currency - the essentials

Record the rate you used

It isn't a mandatory invoice mention (art. 36.º of the CIVA), but it's worth recording the rate used to convert into euros - it helps your bookkeeping and the settlement

VAT always goes in euros

Even if the rest of the invoice is in dollars, the VAT amount (if you charge it) has to be expressed in euros

The rate for VAT

For VAT, you can use the latest rate published by the ECB or a bank's selling rate, taken at the moment VAT becomes due or on the first working day of the month (art. 16.º of the CIVA)

For the typical simplified-regime freelancer, what counts is the euro value - not the dollar figure at the top of the invoice. Note: for income tax and Social Security, the conversion refers to the moment the income is received or made available to you (art. 23.º of the CIRS), which may not coincide with the invoice date.

Example: Inês invoices 1,000 USD

From the dollar invoice to the euro value

Amount invoiced 1,000 USD

Rate used (example) 1.08 USD/EUR

Value in euros (illustrative) ≈ €926

It’s the euro value that goes into your quarterly Social Security declaration and your income tax - converted at the rate for the moment you receive the money (art. 23.º of the CIRS), which may differ from the invoice-date rate. So it’s worth recording the date and rate of each payment.

Careful: don’t confuse the reference rate (for tax purposes) with the rate your bank converts your money at. The bank usually applies a less favourable rate plus fees, so what you actually receive in your account may differ from the ~€926 in the example (and the rate also moves between invoicing and payment). For tax, the reference rate counts; for your pocket, the bank’s rate does - two different numbers.

✅ In summary

You can invoice in a foreign currency (dollars, pounds…). It’s worth recording the exchange rate used and, if you charge VAT, the VAT always goes in euros (that mention is mandatory).
For VAT, you can use the latest ECB rate or a bank’s selling rate (art. 16.º of the CIVA). For income tax and Social Security, the euro value counts at the moment you receive the income (art. 23.º of the CIRS) - not the foreign-currency amount.
With FIZ you issue the receipt in the client’s currency with the exchange rate handled, and the euro value is ready for your declarations - no manual maths. See the plans.