SAF-T — the Standard Audit File for Tax

SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) is an XML schema defined by the OECD to export a company's accounting and tax data to its tax authority. It is not an invoice: it is the audit file that returns the general ledger, parties, invoices and payments over a given period.

What is SAF-T?

SAF-T answers an audit problem: how can a tax authority analyse a company's accounts without depending on its software? The answer: a standardised export format any ERP can produce. The company generates an AuditFile, the administration ingests and checks it with its own tools. It is a pillar of the digitalisation of tax control.

The structure of the file

<AuditFile xmlns="urn:OECD:StandardAuditFile-Tax:2.00">
  <Header>
    <AuditFileVersion>2.00</AuditFileVersion>
    <CompanyID>NO999888777</CompanyID>
    <TaxRegistrationNumber>999888777</TaxRegistrationNumber>
    <SelectionCriteria>
      <PeriodStart>2026-01</PeriodStart>
      <PeriodEnd>2026-06</PeriodEnd>
    </SelectionCriteria>
  </Header>

  <MasterFiles>
    <GeneralLedgerAccounts><!-- chart of accounts --></GeneralLedgerAccounts>
    <Customers><!-- customers --></Customers>
    <Suppliers><!-- suppliers --></Suppliers>
    <TaxTable><!-- VAT rate table --></TaxTable>
  </MasterFiles>

  <GeneralLedgerEntries><!-- general-ledger entries --></GeneralLedgerEntries>

  <SourceDocuments>
    <SalesInvoices><!-- sales invoices --></SalesInvoices>
    <PurchaseInvoices><!-- purchase invoices --></PurchaseInvoices>
    <Payments><!-- payments --></Payments>
  </SourceDocuments>
</AuditFile>

• Header — company, period, version.
• MasterFiles — reference data: chart of accounts, customers, suppliers, products, VAT table.
• GeneralLedgerEntries — the general-ledger entries.
• SourceDocuments — source documents: sales and purchase invoices, payments, movements of goods.

The national variants

Each country adopts SAF-T with its own profile and timetable:

France has a device equivalent in spirit, the FEC (Fichier des Écritures Comptables), in a different format but with the same audit purpose.

SAF-T vs the electronic invoice

Not to be confused:

• Electronic invoice (EN 16931, FatturaPA…): one document, per transaction, exchanged between parties.
• SAF-T: an accounting export, per period, submitted to the administration.

The two are complementary in a tax-control strategy: the e-invoice feeds the transactional flow, SAF-T gives the overall accounting view. Some countries combine e-invoicing (clearance) and SAF-T for continuous control.

Further reading

• OECD — SAF-T.
• The invoice on the transaction side: EN 16931.
• A national example: SAF-T PT (Portugal).