Introducing E-receipts: another step towards digitalization in Hungary

As of July 2025, a new option is available to sellers who are issuing receipts instead of invoices: through a dedicated app, they can easily create and immediately report receipts. At the same time, customers may now also use an app to receive receipts, this way reducing paper waste and easily storing e-receipts for future reference.

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If your Hungarian business issues only invoices, you have nothing to do: you can keep issuing invoices the same as before. If your business typically issues receipts, which is true for most retail businesses, restaurants, or cafés, you should prepare for upcoming regulation changes. Additionally, if you spend much of your time in Hungary, the new receipt management app created for customers may make your life much easier. So read on!

Receipts in Hungary

Just like an invoice, a receipt is a document that lists the data of a sale. A receipt, however, requires fewer data than invoices and does not require the costumer’s data at all. Some sellers typically use receipts instead of invoices, such as restaurants, cafés, or shops. Receipts are typically created by online cash registers that immediately forward data to the Tax Authority, but they can also be created manually, with receipt booklets you can buy at stationery shops. You can learn more about receipts here.

New option for creating receipts

As of July 2025, a new option has become available to sellers issuing receipts. ePénztárgép (“electronic cash register”) is a new piece of software that allows for the creation of electronic as well as paper receipts. It is available in two formats:

• Incorporated into a new generation of cash registers, to be used by businesses that are required to issue machine generated receipts
• Cloud based, available as a mobile phone application, to be used by businesses that so far have been creating receipts by hand

Those businesses that are already required to use an online cash register (a machine connected to the Tax Authority and automatically reporting the receipts created) may now decide to switch to using a more modern, electronic cash register (a new type of machine with additional capabilities). The old type of online cash registers may remain in use until July 1, 2028, so businesses have plenty of time to prepare.

Those businesses that are currently not required to use an online cash register and create their receipts either manually in a receipt booklet or through invoicing software can continue issuing receipts the same as before – for now. Starting from September 1, 2026, however, they will be required to report each and every receipt, which will be easiest if they issue receipts with the new ePénztárgép app.

Receiving e-receipts

So far, receipts have predominantly been paper-based, created either by a cash register or manually with a receipt booklet. Popular invoicing software platforms typically have an option for creating electronic receipts too, but these require either the email address of the customer so the receipt can be delivered to them, or a printer that can print receipts (can be either a standard printer or a receipt printer).

Now, with the launch of the new solutions, it will be possible to provide receipts without asking for an email address or printing the physical receipt if the customer has the eNyugta app installed on their phone. The app does not require registration, and data from receipts are stored on the phone (they can be downloaded any time, or transferred between devices when the customer gets a new phone). This way customers will be able to keep all their receipts in one place, on their phone, and they will not have to store all those slices of paper in order to return items or make warranty claims.

When a sale is made, the ePénztárgép app generates a QR code which can be recognized by the eNyugta app. This way data can be easily transferred to the customer’s phone. The most important data of each receipt are coded directly in the QR code, so this function can be used even if the customer does not have Internet connection. Additional data can be downloaded later.

Benefits to customers

The eNyugta app is already available in Google Play and the Apple App Store. It will be able to receive receipts from sellers using an ePénztárgép cash register or app once they become more prevalent. The app will offer the following benefits to customers:

• Reducing paper waste
• Safe and comfortable storage of receipt data in one place, on the phone
• Main functions available without Internet connection
• Anonymity: customers do not have to submit any personal information to receive electronic receipts
• Assistance in managing spending habits through the option to track expenses (feature not yet available)
• Available in English as well as Hungarian
• Option to add loyalty cards and coupons

Benefits to sellers

The ePénztárgép app is already available in Google Play and the Apple App Store. It will offer the most benefits once customers also start using the eNyugta app, but its benefits are already obvious:

• Reducing paper waste
• Reducing administrative burdens thanks to instant reporting to the Tax Authority
• Reducing costs as the app is free and there will be no more need to buy receipt booklets – however, users will need to buy a receipt printer and paper for it
• Safe storage – the Tax Authority will store receipt data on their servers for 10 years, data can be exported anytime

According to the Tax Authority, sellers can expect savings of HUF 10 / receipt, even if they have to buy a new printer, which are typically available from around HUF 6,000 (below EUR 20). While the new ePénztárgép app is completely free of charge, it is reasonable to expect that it will soon be integrated into other, market based invoicing software (which currently offer functions to create receipts electronically, but not e-receipts).

Next steps

Whether this change affects your Hungarian business depends on how you are logging and reporting sales.

• If your business issues only invoices, there is no change for you.
• If your business uses cash register machines, you can keep using the old online cash registers until July 1, 2028. When you are upgrading machines throughout the coming years, it will make sense to switch from the current online cash registers to the more modern electronic cash registers that already run the ePénztárgép software.
• If your business issues paper-based invoices and reports sales in bulk (reporting daily total income in accordance with VAT content), you can keep doing that until September 1, 2026. After that, receipts will need to be reported separately, at which point it will make more sense for you to start using the ePénztárgép app.

Should you need help deciding how to proceed, feel free to contact your English-speaking accountant. Helpers Finance provides accounting and financial services tailored to the needs of foreign owners of Hungarian businesses, and we would be happy to help you make your business a success in Hungary.

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