Our accountancy firm in Marbella has the pleasure to lay out for you the requirements of an invoice in Spain.

Self-employed workers and companies can deduct certain amounts from their taxes to the Treasury, regarding the payment of VAT or the Income Tax and Corporate Tax. However, for these deductions to be accepted, the correct invoices must be submitted.

We must distinguish between “ordinary or complete invoices in Spain” in comparison to a “simplified invoice.” These last ones are what we commonly call tickets. Even if the name “invoice” appears, they are not valid invoices to justify the deduction of the expense since these simplified invoices or tickets only indicate the provider’s data, not the customer’s. If, as a client, we want to deduct that expense, we have to request an official Spanish invoice that meets all of the following formal requirements:

  • An invoice in Spain has to be numbered.
  • A Spanish invoice must include the date of issuance. If we are dealing with a type of service that was performed on a different date, we must also specify the date of that service provision as well.
  • The complete fiscal data of both the client and the supplier must appear including the name or company name, the address and the NIF or CIF.
  • An invoice in Spain must include a description of the products or services, including the net amount of each one.
  • Also, the invoice must show the type of VAT that was applied (21%, 10% or 4%) and the tax rate, which is the tax that is added to the taxable base. This would include VAT and IRPF withholdings.
  • In the case of an invoice under a special regime, it must be clearly expressed on the invoice, for example:

O In operations exempt from VAT

O In invoices that accept “Billing by the recipient”

O In cases of “Investment of the taxpayer,” “Special regime of travel agency,” or “Special regime of used goods.”

On many occasions, businesses can give us a Spanish invoice that includes our data, but is still in ticket format on thermal paper. This has a risk associated with it since they can usually get erased over time, and we will have a problem if the Inland Revenue Agency requires documentation later. For this reason, it is better to make a photocopy of this type of invoices and file them together.

If we reduce our taxes, using expenses that are not justified by invoices duly completed, we might be called for an inspection and possible sanctions can be imposed by the Inland Revenue.

However, there is also a series of specific expenses that can be justified with other types of documentation, which are also accepted. For example, bank commissions as well as self-employer fees and payments to Social Security can be justified by a bank statement. You can also deduct the insurance payments using a bank receipt if it details the policy number to which it corresponds and the name of the policy holder.

Do you need an efficient accountant in Marbella? At Welex, you will find expert lawyers and accountants all under one roof.  Contact Welex Law Firm .