SPAIN (IVA)

Spain being an EU member state falls under the EU VAT regime. Member states must adopt EU VAT Directives into their own legislation.

Standard VAT Rate: 21%

Reduced VAT Rate: 4%, 10%

Registration Threshold Distance Selling: 35,000 €

EU VAT number format: ESX9999999X

Registration Threshold

Resident - There is no registration threshold
Non resident - There is no registration threshold                                  
IC Acquisitions - EUR 10,000

VAT Registration

There is no registration threshold.
Registration for VAT purposes in Spain is not a matter of option but depends on the operations to be performed by a company within the Spanish VAT territory. Only in case said operator becomes the Spanish VAT taxpayer of the operations performed in Spain it would have to register for VAT.
Please note that voluntary registration is not allowed.

VAT Compliance

Detailed rules regulate reporting requirements of Spanish transactions for Value Added Tax purposes. These include: invoice requirements, timeliness for an invoice to be issued, invoice and credit notes corrections rules, foreign currency reporting requirements and exchange rate sources, correction of previously submitted returns and accounting records that must be maintained for VAT purposes. 

VAT Returns

As a general rule, VAT must be self-assessed and the VAT return forms submitted before the local tax office for each quarterly period beginning on the first day of January, April, July and October of every calendar year. Businesses must file their quarterly VAT returns in Spanish form 303.

VAT returns must be submitted and the tax paid within the 20 calendar days of April (for the first quarter), July (for the second quarter), October (for the third quarter) and within the first 30 calendar days of January of the next following year with respect to the last quarter of the preceding year.

However, certain qualifying businesses must account for and pay VAT monthly beginning on the first day of each calendar month. In this case, tax returns must be filed and the tax paid within the first 20 calendar days of the month following each monthly period.

Intrastat and EC Sales Lists

The Intrastat discloses details of movements of goods between Member States which take place for commercial reasons, recording the movement whenever goods enter the territory of Spain from other Member States or leave it to other Member States.

Declaration must be filed monthly once the annual threshold is exceeded.

Intrastat declarations can be submitted in paper format except where the turnover of arrivals into or despatches from the Spanish statistical territory within the previous calendar year have exceeded EUR 6 million, which requires electronic submission through the Spanish Tax Authorities website. It is also required electronic submission when the Intrastat return is submitted by a third party duly authorized to do so, by the company obliged to submit such returns.

The due date for submission is the following 12 calendar days corresponding to the month the declarations refers to. E.g. for the January period, declarations must be submitted by the February 12 at the latest.