VAT in Spain Made Simple

Q: How much is VAT in Spain?

Spain has three VAT rates: Standard 21%, Reduced 10%, and Super Reduced 4%.

SimplyVAT has been great to work with! Our account Manager Jordanne is very knowledgeable and timely in her communications.

Dan, USA

spain

Currency	Euro (EUR, €)
Languages	Spanish, Catalan
Largest Marketplace	Amazon.es
Most Popular Product Category	Electronics
Tax Authority	Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria / State Tax Administration Agency (Agencia Tributaria)
VAT Rates	Standard – 21%
	Reduced 1 – 10%
	Super Reduced – 4%

In Spanish, VAT is Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido or Impuesto sobre el Valor Agregado (IVA).

Spain is divided into administrative regions called “Autonomous Communities”. Autonomous Communities are broadly self-governing, within the boundaries of the Spanish constitution. The Canary Islands are an autonomous Community and Ceuta and Melilla are Autonomous Cities. They are all a part of Spain but have separate VAT statuses.

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Do I need to register for VAT in spanish ?

Whether you need to register for VAT in Ireland depends on a lot of variables

Where your business is based
Who your customers are
Where you customers are
Whether you’re selling goods or services
And if you’re selling goods, where your stock is when the purchase is made.

Like an answer for your specific situation? The easiest thing to do is to talk to someone. Book a free 15 minute consultation with one of our experts today.

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My B2C business is based outside the EU

Whether you need to register for VAT in Spain depends on where your goods are, and where you’re selling them.

Selling goods on your website

When you sell through a store you own (like a Shopify store), you have more work to do to be VAT compliant.

If you store goods in Spain , you'll need to register for VAT there. You have two options when you’re selling goods stored somewhere else in the EU to customers in Spain:

Which is better for your business will depend on your current set-up and plans. Not sure which you need? You can ask us (for free).

Book a call

Importing goods to Spain

Are your goods outside the EU when your customer buys them? You have three options to sell to Spain compliantly:

Ship your goods to Spain Delivered at Place (DAP)

An IOSS registration allows you to import goods with an intrinsic value of EUR 150 or less to customers all over the EU – not just Spain.

If your average order from Spain has an intrinsic value over EUR 150 registering for VAT might be more efficient.

You can also ship your goods to Spain DAP. Shipping DAP puts the responsibility for Import fees, duties and VAT on your customer. We really only recommend doing this if you have one-off or infrequent high-value sales to Spain. Shipping DAP is generally a worse experience for your customers.

Not sure which is the best option? Talk to us about your business and we’ll help you work it out.

Book a call

Get Registered for IOSS, Fast

You’re ready to sell to customers in Spain? Don’t wait any longer, start your IOSS registration now. We can get you your IOSS number in as little as three working days.

Get an IOSS number

Selling goods on a marketplace

Since 2021 online marketplaces like Amazon or eBay have been responsible for collecting and remitting the VAT on certain sales on their platforms.

Marketplaces are responsible for the VAT when:

You, the seller, are based outside the EU

The sale is B2C

The goods are shipped from outside the EU in shipments with an intrinsic value of EUR 150 or less

Or the goods are in the EU at the point of sale

For example, you’re an Amazon seller based in the USA. Your stock is in your warehouse in Huntington, WV. Your customer in Spain orders a EUR 100 coat from you. Amazon will charge your customer Spanish VAT and remit it to the Agencia Tributaria.

Storing your goods in an EU country will require you to register for VAT there, even though the marketplace collects and remits the VAT. Orders from Spain with an intrinsic value over EUR 150 will require you register for VAT in Spain or ship it DAP.

Don't let VAT get in the way of Amazon Pan-EU

Getting your goods closer to your European customers means faster delivery. It also means getting registered for VAT. Don’t let that stop you from selling to the 450 million people in the EU – we're here to make it easy.

Make Pan-EU Easy

Selling Digital Services and Digital Goods to Spain

Everything that’s not a physical object is considered a service in the EU. Digital services are a category of services that are defined by being “electronically supplied”. That covers things like eBooks, PDFs of sewing patterns, on-demand video courses and tickets to livestreams. If you’re in Canada or the USA, you’ll probably know these things as “Digital Goods”.

To sell digital services to customers in Spain you can either:

Determining whether your services are “electronically supplied” can be complicated and has big consequences – if they’re not, you don’t need to register for anything. We recommend you talk to an expert if you’re selling digital services just to make sure.

Book a Call

My B2C business is based in the EU

This information assumes you’re not based in Spain.

Selling Goods

Being based in the EU, you can make up to 10,000 EUR in sales to other EU countries before you have to register for anything, depending on where your goods are when they’re sold. All registrations require you to charge your Spanish customers their local VAT rate, then report and pay that amount to the tax authorities.

My Goods are in Spain

Storing goods in Spain creates a “taxable supply”. You’ll need to register for VAT in Spain or for One Stop Shop (OSS) in the country where you’re based.

My Goods are in the EU, but not in Spain

Essentially, you have a VAT obligation in every country where you hold stock or have customers. If you hold stock in the country where you’re based you can choose to either register for VAT in Spain, or for OSS. Storing goods in a third country creates another VAT obligation. You can register for VAT there as well or skip the individual registrations and just register for OSS.

My goods are outside the EU

You have three options when your goods are outside the EU at the point of sale:

Register for VAT in Spain
Register for Import One Stop Shop (IOSS)
Make your customer the Importer of Record
Making your customer the Importer of Record will mean their order gets hold at customs until they’ve paid any duty and VAT due. If they don’t pay in time, the order will get sent back to you.

Selling Services from the EU to Spain

In the EU, anything that’s not a physical object is considered a service. It covers everything from catering services to digital downloads. Selling services to consumers in other EU countries requires you to register for OSS.

You can register for OSS with your local tax authority.

Feeling Confused? Take the EU VAT Quiz

Find out in less than a minute if you need to register in the EU and what for – IOSS, OSS, Non-Union OSS or VAT.

Take the Quiz

VAT on Sales to Spanish Businesses

When your customers are other businesses, your VAT obligations change. You might still have to register for VAT (if you store goods in Spain, for example) but in many cases the VAT is your customer’s obligation.

I’m based outside the EU and selling B2B to Spain

If you’re based outside the EU and your customer is VAT registered, the reverse charge mechanism often applies. You include “reverse charge mechanism” on the invoice, and they account for it on their VAT return.

I’m based in the EU and selling B2B to Spain

Generally (but not always), B2B sales between EU states are zero-rated if both you and your customer are VAT registered. Selling to a Spanish business from another EU country doesn’t always mean you have to be VAT registered in Spain.

Be VAT registered where you’re based

Add the transaction to your EC Sales List

Verify your buyer’s VAT number on VIES

Spanish B2B VAT made simple

Business-to-business transactions that cross international borders are simple in theory. In practice they’re often messy. Tax authorities interpret rules differently, documents go missing (or are never issued), you might be one business in a chain – it gets complicated quick.

Make it easier with some expert advice.

Book a call

How do I register for VAT in Spain ?

You can’t register for VAT in Spain “voluntarily”. You can only register once you’ve done something that requires you to, like selling to a Spanish consumer.

If you’re not based in the EU, you’ll need a fiscal representative to register. They’ll apply to the Agencia Tributaria on your behalf. You’ll need to gather some documents for your application:

A copy of your business’ articles of association
A trade register extract from the country where your business is based
A VAT certificate showing you’re registered in the country where your business is based
The power of attorney granted to your fiscal representative
Proof that you’re doing business in Spain – this could be invoices or a contract, for example

Some of these documents might need to be translated into Spanish. If they do, they have to be Sworn Translations, so you won’t be able to do these yourself.

On average, it takes about a month for registrations to be completed once everything’s been submitted.

Once you’re registered, you’ll be given two numbers, a Numero De Identification Fiscal (NIF) and a NIF-IVA (NIF-VAT). You’ll need the NIF to do any kind of business in Spain, including issuing an invoice. The NIF-IVA is used for intracommunity (between EU States) activities, like moving goods between warehouses.

You might see the NIF called CIF in some places as it used to be called Código de Identificación Fiscal.

VAT Essentials: Spain

Our VAT Essentials eBooks are designed specifically for ecommerce brands. Get all the information you need to start selling compliantly in Spain.

Get the Guide

Spanish VAT Returns

VAT returns in Spain are usually submitted quarterly unless your turnover surpasses EUR 6,000,000 in one year. If it does, you’ll need to submit monthly. Everyone has to submit an annual summary, regardless of filing frequency. The annual summary is just for informational purposes, so you don’t pay any VAT when you submit it.

Quarterly returns should be submitted by the 20th of the month after the return period, and monthly returns by the 30th. All returns should include any corrections for previous submissions.

Intrastat Thresholds Spain

Intrastat is a statistical report used by the EU to collect and analyse data on the movement of goods between EU Member States. You don’t have to file Intrastat reports until you’ve passed a threshold. In Spain, the threshold is EUR 400,000 for both arrivals and dispatches.

Intrastat reports are transactional reports, so if a single transaction contains goods with distinct commodity codes, you’ll have to divide it. They’re a lot of extra work but we can do them for you.

Intrastat Reports Filed for You

VAT Refunds Spain

If you buy something from a Spanish supplier, or import goods into Spain, you’ll be charged input VAT. You can claim input VAT back on your Spanish VAT return. When you have more input VAT than output VAT, you can have the difference refunded or carry it forward as credit.

Generally, you can only get the refund in your last reporting period of the year. If you have excess input VAT at the end of the year, you request the refund in that period’s return.

Refunds when you’re not VAT registered in Spain

If you’re not registered for VAT in Spain, you can still get a VAT refund. How you do it depends on whether you’re based in the EU or not.

Businesses based in the EU can use their national tax authority’s online portal to use the EU Refund Directive. Once the claim has been processed, Agencia Tributaria will refund you the money.

If you’re not based in the EU, you’ll need to use the 13th Directive.

13th Directive VAT Refunds in Spain

Only countries with a tax reciprocity treaty with Spain can use the 13th Directive:

Canada

Israel

Japan

Monaco

Norway

Switzerland

Even if you’re based in one of these countries there are limitations, and you have to apply through your fiscal representative.

The minimum period you can claim for is three months, and the max is a year. If you’re claiming for less than a year, the minimum amount you can claim is EUR 50. If you claim for the whole year, the minimum increases to EUR 400. You have from the day after the period you’re claiming for until the 30th of September the next year to get your refund submitted.

13th Directive refunds are admin intensive and can take a long time. If you’d like to save time on getting your money back, we can handle them for you.

Get a VAT Refund in Spain

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VAT Spain FAQs

How do I get an EORI number?

We can get you an EORI number and help you decide which country you should register in. We’ll need some details about your business, so book a call and we’ll get things started.

How do I get an EORI number

What’s the cost of an EORI number?

EORI number processing time:

We can get you an EORI number and help you decide which country you should register in. We’ll need some details about your business, so book a call and we’ll get things started.

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