This guide is for e-commerce companies that sell online via web stores or at marketplaces.
VAT Standard rate
The standard VAT rate in Spain in 2023 is 21%.
VAT Reduced rate
10 %
Certain products and services are eligible for the special reduced rate, including:
- Food;
- Pharmaceutical products;
- Restaurants and catering services;
- Hotel accommodation.
4%
Certain products and services are eligible for the special reduced rate, including:
- Food;
- Books;
- Newspapers and periodicals;
See the summary of the EU VAT rates
Thresholds
From the 1st of July 2021, the distance selling thresholds were withdrawn and replaced by a unified threshold of EUR10,000 for all EU members.
In other words, VAT should be charged at the VAT rate of the customer’s country of residence by companies whose annual taxable cross-border turnover is over EUR 10,000.
Deductible VAT
If goods or services were used to make taxable supplies in Spain, VAT in input invoices might be credited. Examples include:
- VAT paid at custom clearance with your EORI number;
- VAT paid to Spanish suppliers.
Registration procedure
When a company has the obligation to register, the owners will be required to complete and submit a VAT registration form, along with supporting documentation.
All documents have to be apostilled and translated into Spanish by a certified translator from the special list approved by the Spanish tax authority
- Certificate of incorporation or Trade Register extract;
- If the company is appointing a local tax agent or Fiscal Representative, then a Letter of Authority or Power of Attorney is.
Tax representative
Taxable companies established outside the European Union are obliged to appoint fiscal representatives in order to handle all formalities related to VAT registration and filing of VAT returns.
Keeping records
According to the information from Spanish tax authority website, the various documents, in paper or electronic format, shall be stored by any means enabling the party bound by the duty to guarantee the authenticity of their origin, the integrity of their content and their legibility, as well as immediate access to them by the Tax Agency except for duly justified reasons. This duty may be discharged through use of electronic means.
When the received or issued invoices refer to acquisitions for which Value Added Tax amounts have been borne and whose deduction is subject to a regularisation period, the said invoices will have to be preserved for the corresponding regularisation period and the four following years.
VAT payment date
Periodical VAT payments are due a quarterly basis or monthly basis.
The VAT due must be paid before the 20th day (except for the IV quarter or December – 30th of January) of the month following the period.
Filing VAT returns
A taxpayer must transmit VAT returns to Agencia Tributaria by electronic means. LOVAT platform supports digital submission.
The tax period is one month (only for sole traders, professionals, companies, and non-legal entities with a turnover greater than €6,010,121.04) or one quarter. VAT returns must be filed by electronic means before the 20th of the month following the period (except for the IV quarter or December – 30th January).
Filling of the annual VAT return is due on the 30th of January.
Companies can also keep track of deadlines at the Lovat portal.