VAT registration in Spain
VAT registration of your company
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FAQs:
My German company is buying in Spain. Can we recover VAT tax paid?
My French company is selling in Spain. Can we avoid having our Spanish clients pay VAT tax?
Do I always need to include VAT tax when billing my clients?
With an SL, when do I get a refund of the VAT tax I've paid?
I plan to sell online in Spain. Do I charge Spanish VAT tax?
What is censo VIES?
What is Intrastat?
What is The Hague Apostille?
Links:
Agencia Tributaria [Spanish] Spain's tax agency EU VAT Registry
We would first need to evaluate the nature of your business and the category of purchases you are making. Whether or not you have to pay VAT tax will depend on the circumstances surrounding the nature of your business transaction. In some cases, it may have been incorrect for you to have been charged VAT in the first place.
Where refunds need to be made, we can put this process in motion for you.
My French company is selling in Spain. Can we avoid having our Spanish clients pay VAT tax?
This all depends on the nature of the goods or services you are delivering into Spain, and also in some circumstances the nature of the transaction with the recipient.
Do I always need to include VAT tax when billing my clients?
You must always charge VAT tax to clients within Spain and to clients outside the EU. You must also charge VAT tax to EU clients, unless:
- the transaction forms a valid intra-communitary supply between two censo VIES VAT registered entities in separate EU member states, or
- if a service is delivered to another member state that qualifies under the Reverse Charge rule, in which case the VAT registered recipient would have to self account for VAT tax.
It is the nature of the transaction that dictates whether or not VAT should be charged. In the above exceptions, certain administrative details need to be complied with in order to qualify for the VAT exemption. When in doubt, charge VAT.
If you have a client located in another EU country, in some cases you may have to register in that country then charge VAT from that local entity.
With an SL, when do I get a refund of the VAT tax I've paid?
Your accountant will file VAT forms quarterly. If the VAT tax you've paid is less than the VAT tax you've received, you will be charged immediately for this difference. If it is more, this refund carries over to the next quarter. At the year end, the final balance is made, and if the VAT tax you've paid is still more than the VAT tax received, then you should receive a refund, though it may take a long time to arrive in your bank account.
I plan to sell online in Spain. Do I charge Spanish VAT tax?
You are required to charge Spanish VAT tax if:
- you are established in Spain and the recipient is an individual in the EU or a business in Spain.
- you are established outside the EU and the recipient is an individual in Spain.
For further information in English, go to the Agencia Tributaria, click on "No residents", then "Vat on e-Services".
Also regarding e-commerce, note that privacy-of-data laws vary widely between Spain and countries such as the USA or UK.
What is censo VIES?
This is the term for the EU VAT registry. Companies listed in this registry don't have to include VAT tax when invoicing companies from another country that are listed in the registry. To find out if a company is listed in this registry, go to the EU database.
What is Intrastat?
Intrastat is the system for collecting information on the trade of goods (not services) between EU countries. Every business trading goods with other EU countries must declare certain information to Intrastat.