Receipt or invoice for a B&B? What to issue your guests

One guest asks for an invoice, another is happy with a receipt. What do you have to issue, and when? The answer depends above all on your tax regime — occasional activity, flat-rate (forfettario) or business — and issuing the wrong document is one of the most common mistakes in small properties. Let’s see how to find your way, with one caveat: your specific case should always be checked with your accountant.

A receipt and an invoice are not the same thing

A receipt certifies a payment received; an invoice is a tax document with precise requirements (customer details, nature of the service, any VAT or exemption wording) that in many regimes must be issued electronically to the Interchange System (SDI). They are not interchangeable: which one to issue depends on how you run the activity.

What it depends on: your regime

The correct document changes mainly according to how your property is classified.

• Occasional accommodation activity, without a VAT number: usually a non-fiscal receipt is issued (with a 2 € duty stamp above the legal threshold, where due).
• Flat-rate (forfettario) regime with a VAT number: you issue an invoice, without VAT but with the regime wording; in most cases electronically via SDI.
• Business in the ordinary regime: an invoice with VAT at the rate applicable to the accommodation service.

Thresholds, wording and electronic-invoicing obligations have changed in recent years (the SDI obligation has been extended to most flat-rate taxpayers too): for your exact situation, always refer to your accountant and the rules in force.

When a receipt is enough

If the activity is occasional and you have no VAT number, a receipt is usually enough, stating who issues it, the guest, the date, the amount and the reason (the stay). Above a certain threshold a duty stamp applies. Careful: “occasional” has a precise meaning and is not a way to avoid a VAT number when the activity is in fact continuous.

When you need an invoice (and Electronic Invoicing)

With a VAT number — flat-rate or ordinary — the document is the invoice. Under the flat-rate regime you don’t apply VAT, but you must state the regime wording; and in the vast majority of cases the invoice must be issued electronically and sent to SDI, not just handed over as a PDF. Electronic invoicing is not an “extra”: it is the required format.

The tourist tax is a separate matter

A point that causes confusion: the tourist tax is not your revenue and does not follow the rules of the accommodation document. You collect it on behalf of the Municipality and manage it separately, with its own receipt. Always keep it distinct from the receipt or invoice you issue for the stay.

The most common mistakes

• Issuing a receipt when the regime would require an invoice, or vice versa.
• Forgetting the duty stamp where it is due.
• Handing over the invoice only as a PDF when electronic submission to SDI is mandatory.
• Confusing the tourist tax with the price of the stay.
• Not keeping a copy of the documents issued for the required period.

How not to lose track

The simplest way to avoid mistakes is to have the data ready and tidy at check-out. If during the stay you have already collected the guest’s data and the booking details, issuing the right document becomes a quick step, not a hunt for information.

HotelOnlineAI’s digital reception keeps the guest data, the booking and the amounts together, so at check-out you have everything ready for the receipt or the invoice — and the tourist tax stays accounted for separately. The regime and the correct document remain to be defined with your accountant. Want to see it on your property? Request a free demo.

In summary

Receipt or invoice is not a matter of preference: it depends on your tax regime. Occasional activity without a VAT number → usually a receipt; flat-rate or business → an invoice, often electronic via SDI. Duty stamp and tourist tax follow their own rules. Since the rules change and every situation is different, always check with your accountant: this guide helps you find your way, it does not replace tax advice.