In Spain, an invoice has more mandatory details than in Germany, and there are a few specifics you need to know as an Autonomo or SL. Anyone who is sloppy here risks not just corrections from the customer, but also penalties from the Agencia Tributaria - especially since the anti-fraud legislation (Ley Antifraude) and the gradual roll-out of Verifactu. This guide shows you concretely what must be included, which IVA rates apply, and how to invoice EU business cleanly.
Mandatory Details of a Factura
The Reglamento de Facturacion (Real Decreto 1619/2012) defines the mandatory fields. A complete Factura contains:
- Invoice number: Sequential, without gaps, optionally with a year prefix (e.g.
2026/0001). - Issue date and, if different, the service date (Fecha de la operacion).
- Full name or company name of the issuer (your details as an Autonomo or SL).
- NIF/CIF of the issuer, i.e. your tax number.
- Full name or company name of the recipient and their NIF/CIF.
- Address of both parties with street, postcode, town, and country.
- Description of the service or goods with quantity, unit price, and total amount per line item.
- IVA rate and IVA amount, separated by tax rate if multiple rates appear on one invoice.
- Recargo de Equivalencia, if the customer is a retailer in the REC system (5.2 percent additional on top of 21 percent IVA).
- Retencion IRPF for services to Spanish businesses, usually 15 percent (new Autonomos: 7 percent in the first three years).
- Gross total (Total a pagar) as a sum.
For Facturas simplificadas (e.g. in retail or hospitality up to 400 EUR gross), fewer details are required. However, as soon as a business customer wants to use it as an input tax receipt, they must request a full Factura.
Tip
For services to other Autonomos or SLs, always include the Retencion IRPF on the invoice. If you forget it, you receive the full amount but still owe the 15 percent to the tax office. This has caused cash flow problems for many new Autonomos.
Showing IVA Correctly
Spain has four IVA situations that you will need in everyday business:
| Rate | When | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 21 percent | Standard rate | Consulting, software, marketing, commercial construction work |
| 10 percent | Reduced | Hotel stays, hospitality, passenger transport, some renovations |
| 4 percent | Super-reduced | Basic foodstuffs, books, newspapers, care products |
| 0 percent / exenta | IVA-exempt | Certain medical services, education, insurance, residential rental |
Note: "Sin IVA" and "IVA al 0 %" are not the same thing. For IVA-exempt activities (operaciones exentas), you may not deduct input tax from your business expenses either. Factor this into your pricing.
On Mallorca, many providers supply services that combine two IVA rates - for example, renovation work in a flat with 10 percent (materials) and 21 percent (architectural services) as separate portions. Split such invoices clearly into line items, otherwise your Gestoria will end up in a dispute with the Agencia Tributaria later.
Small Businesses and IVA Exemption
Unlike Germany, Spain has so far had no small business scheme comparable to section 19 of the German VAT Act. If you are an Autonomo, you must charge IVA, pass it on, and file Modelo 303 quarterly. The EU-wide "Regimen especial para pequenas empresas" with thresholds up to 85,000 EUR annual turnover is expected to be fully implemented in Spain only from 2027.
There are, however, special regimes that come close:
- Recargo de Equivalencia: Mandatory for retailers selling to end consumers. You pay an IVA surcharge when purchasing (5.2 percent) and in return are not required to file Modelo 303 or Modelo 390.
- Regimen Simplificado (Modulos): For selected industries (e.g. taxi, bar, hairdresser). Flat-rate taxation instead of actual bookkeeping.
- Intra-community threshold under 10,000 EUR: If you sell only very small amounts to EU private customers, you can remain with Spanish IVA rather than using the One-Stop Shop.
For typical service providers: charge and remit IVA from the very first euro.
Invoice Templates and Tools
With Verifactu and the requirement to generate invoices from certified software, the days of Word and Excel templates are numbered. Recommended providers that work well in Spain:
- Holded (cloud-based, popular in the Holded Mallorca community at Connecta coworking)
- Quipu
- FacturaDirecta
- Contasimple
- Anfix
- A3 / Sage (typical in larger Gestorias)
These tools manage number sequences, generate PDFs, send the invoice directly to the customer, and export to your Gestoria. Anyone working as an SL should in any case use software that is SII-capable (for immediate reporting to the Agencia Tributaria, if you ever exceed the 6 million turnover threshold).
Warning
If you cancel invoices retrospectively and renumber them, from 2026 you will quickly run into problems with the Verifactu logic. Cancellation only works via a Factura Rectificativa (corrective invoice) that references the original invoice. Manual corrections in the bookkeeping are no longer permitted.
Invoicing Abroad in the EU
Many people on Mallorca work remotely for customers in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. The details matter here:
- EU business customer with a valid IVA number (checked in VIES): Reverse charge. You issue the invoice net and add the note "Operacion intracomunitaria, inversion del sujeto pasivo, art. 196 Directiva 2006/112/CE". For this you need a separate VIES registration via Modelo 036 (Modulo Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios, ROI).
- EU private customer: IVA is generally due in Spain; for electronic services and distance sales the One-Stop Shop (OSS) applies. From 10,000 EUR in EU-wide turnover per year you must remit the IVA of the customer's country.
- Switzerland or a third country: Invoice net without IVA with the note "Exportacion, exenta art. 21 Ley 37/1992". Import taxes and customs duties are the customer's responsibility.
- Spain without an IVA number (end customer): You invoice with Spanish IVA, i.e. 21 percent in most cases.
Always check IVA numbers on the day of invoicing via VIES and save a screenshot. Later corrections are time-consuming if the customer's number has lapsed in the meantime.
Record-Keeping Requirements
In Spain, staggered retention periods apply that in practice amount to 6 to 10 years.
- Tax law: At least 4 years after the end of the filing period (Art. 66 LGT). For capital goods the period extends to up to 9 years.
- Commercial law: 6 years after the close of business (Art. 30 Codigo de Comercio).
- Excise duties and special taxes: Up to 10 years.
All invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements, business books, and tax returns must be retained. Digital storage is permitted as long as invoices are stored in an audit-proof way. In practice this means: PDF with a hash value, or storage in software that prevents subsequent changes.
With a good Gestoria, a cloud backup (e.g. Dropbox or Synology), and SII- or Verifactu-compliant invoicing software, you are on safe ground. Anyone issuing invoices in Spain benefits enormously from getting the setup right once and then following the same routine every month. That saves far more time at the next tax audit than any last-minute scramble during the season.