Invoice requirements in Spain
A Spanish invoice needs a consecutive number within its series, the issue date, both names and addresses, your NIF, the service with the taxable base, the 21% IVA rate and amount, and the operation date if different. Spain has no small business VAT exemption; a business client elsewhere in the EU gets "inversión del sujeto pasivo" and its VAT number.
What the invoice must show
Every invoice (RD 1619/2012, art. 6)
- Number, consecutive within its series
- Issue date
- Full name of you and the client, and both addresses
- Your NIF
- The client's NIFClient in Spain, or the client pays the VAT
- Description, taxable base, unit price before tax and discounts
- IVA rate and amount, shown separately
- Date of the operationIf it differs from the issue date
Special cases
- "Inversión del sujeto pasivo"The client pays the VAT, such as a business in another EU country
- Reference to the exemptionExempt operations
Simplified invoices are allowed up to EUR 400 (EUR 3,000 for some retail). A business client gets its invoice before the 16th of the month after the tax point.
Example invoice
Open in the invoice generatorInvoice
From
Lucía Martín Diseño
Calle de Colón 10 46004 Valencia Spain
NIF 12345678Z
To
Harbour Studio Ltd
12 Pearse Street Dublin D02 X000 Ireland
VAT IE1234567T
| Description | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand design, October 2026 | 1 | €2,800.00 | €2,800.00 |
| Illustration set | 8 | €120.00 | €960.00 |
- Subtotal
- €3,760.00
- Total
- €3,760.00
A Valencia designer invoicing an Irish business: no IVA, "inversión del sujeto pasivo" and the client's VAT number. Sample names and numbers.
Rules at a glance
- Fields
- Number and series, date, names, NIF, addresses, description, base, rate, IVA, operation dateRD 1619/2012, art. 6
- IVA rate
- 21%Ley 37/1992, art. 90
- Small business exemption
- None in Spain: IVA from the first euro unless the operation is exemptLey 37/1992
- Business client in another EU country
- Not taxed in Spain; "inversión del sujeto pasivo" and the client's VAT numberRD 1619/2012, art. 6.1 d) and m)
- Language
- Any language; translation on request in an auditRD 1619/2012, art. 12.2
- Currency
- Any currency; IVA in euros at the Banco de España selling rateRD 1619/2012, art. 12.1
- Numbering
- Consecutive within each series; separate series for simplified and corrective invoicesRD 1619/2012, art. 6.1 a)
- Verifactu
- Self-employed using billing software comply before 1 July 2027RD 1007/2023
- Keep records
- 4 years for tax; 6 years under the Commercial CodeLey 58/2003 art. 66, Código de Comercio art. 30
Business clients in the EU and abroad
A service to a business established outside Spain is located where the client is, so no Spanish IVA is charged. For a business in another EU country write "inversión del sujeto pasivo" and the client's VAT number. Invoices may be in any language, so many freelancers add "Reverse charge" alongside.
For a client outside the EU the invoicing regulation sets no wording.
Verifactu and e-invoices
If you use billing software it must meet the Verifactu rules: self-employed people before 1 July 2027. Mandatory e-invoices between businesses in Spain start counting from Orden HAC/1028/2026, in force since 6 October 2026: 12 months for businesses over EUR 8 million, 24 months for everyone else, freelancers included.
What the law leaves open
The first day of mandatory e-invoicing for freelancers: by our count about October 2028 (24 months from 6 October 2026); no official date is published yet.
Whether "Reverse charge" in English alone replaces "inversión del sujeto pasivo": the regulation allows any language but quotes the Spanish words.
The Basque Country and Navarre run their own systems (such as TicketBAI); not covered here.
Questions
Is there a VAT threshold for freelancers in Spain?
No. Spain has no small business exemption, so IVA applies from the first euro unless the service itself is exempt.
What do I write for a client in another EU country?
"Inversión del sujeto pasivo" and the client's VAT number, with no IVA.
Can a Spanish invoice be in English?
Yes. Invoices may be in any language; the tax office can ask for a translation in an audit.
How long do I keep invoices in Spain?
4 years for tax purposes, and 6 years under the Commercial Code.
Not tax, legal or financial advice. Rules change and your case may differ; check with the authority linked above or an accountant before you act. Terms
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