What a valid Spanish invoice (factura) must contain

Key rules

• Simplified invoice limit: A simplified invoice is allowed up to 400 euros including VAT, or up to 3,000 euros including VAT for certain activities such as retail, transport and hospitality.
• No VAT charged: If you charge no VAT, the invoice must state the exemption, reverse charge or other provision that applies.
• Business customers: Issue invoices to businesses before the 16th day of the month after the operation.
• When a full invoice is required: Use a full invoice if the recipient needs it to deduct VAT, or for EU supplies, exports and reverse-charge operations.

The short answer

A valid factura has a fixed set of fields. You must issue it on time. A simplified invoice is only allowed in specific cases. If you are unsure, issue a full invoice. It is always accepted.

What a full invoice must show

Include all of these:

• A number, in correlative order. Add a series (for example "2026-A") if you use one.
• The issue date, and the date of the operation if it is different.
• The name or company name, NIF and address of both you and the recipient.
• A description of the operation, with the data needed to work out the tax base.
• The tax base for each VAT rate or exemption.
• The VAT rate applied.
• The VAT amount payable.
• The total amount due.

If you charge no VAT, say why on the invoice. Cite the exemption, the reverse charge or the other provision that applies.

Some cases need extra mentions, such as special VAT regimes, supplies to other EU countries or self-billing. If one of these applies to you, ask your gestor (accountant) what to add.

The template and the documents list below show these fields in a ready-to-use layout.

When a simplified invoice is allowed

A simplified invoice (factura simplificada) is a shorter invoice. You can use it when the total is up to 400 euros including VAT. The limit is 3,000 euros including VAT for certain activities such as retail, transport and hospitality. Rectifying invoices (corrections to an earlier invoice) can also be simplified, up to 3,000 euros.

You must issue a full invoice instead when:

• The recipient asks for one for tax purposes.
• The recipient is a business that needs it to deduct VAT.
• The sale is to another EU country, a distance sale or an export.
• The recipient pays the VAT through the reverse charge.
• The Tax Agency has required it in a specific case.

A simplified invoice shows:

• Number and series.
• Your NIF and name or company name.
• The type of goods or services.
• The VAT rate, or a statement that the price includes VAT.
• The total.

If the recipient needs it to deduct VAT, also add their details and show the VAT amount on a separate line. A rectifying simplified invoice must also identify the invoice it corrects and say what changed.

When to issue it

Issue the invoice when the operation takes place. There are two exceptions:

• Business or professional recipients: you can issue it up to the 15th of the month after the operation. The same applies to operations with withholding, supplies to other EU countries and exports.
• Summary invoices: you can cover all operations for the same recipient in one calendar month. Issue it by the last day of that month.

A final consumer gets their invoice or ticket at the time of the sale. If they later ask for a full invoice, the right to request it lasts four years.

The timeline below sets out each case by type of customer.

Timeline and deadlines

When to issue an invoice

• Invoice a final consumer: At the time of the operation. If the customer later asks for a full invoice, the right lasts up to 4 years.

• Invoice a business or professional, or an operation with withholding, an intra-EU supply or an export: Before the 16th day of the month after the month of the operation. Deadline: 15th of the following month.

• Issue a summary invoice covering one month of operations for the same recipient: By the last day of that month.

Documents you need

What each type of invoice must show

• Full invoice: a number (and series, if you use one) in correlative order, the issue date, and the date of the operation if it differs from the issue date.

• Full invoice: name or company name, NIF (tax ID number) and address of both the issuer and the recipient.

• Full invoice: a description of the operation with the data needed to work out the tax base (the amount VAT is calculated on), the tax base per VAT rate or exemption, the VAT rate applied, the VAT amount payable and the total due.

• Full invoice with no VAT charged: a reference to the exemption, reverse charge or other provision that applies.

• Simplified invoice: number and series, issue date, the date of the operation if different, and the issuer's NIF and name or company name.

• Simplified invoice: the type of goods or services supplied, the VAT rate (or a statement that the price includes VAT) and the total consideration.

• Rectifying simplified invoice: the invoice being corrected and the corrections made.

Spanish invoice template with the required fields

Choose your case first

Answer two questions. They decide which lines you keep.

1. Your work situation

• A. You are self-employed in Spain and invoice a business or another professional. Keep the IRPF line. IRPF is Spanish income tax, and the client holds back part of your fee for it.
• B. You are self-employed in Spain and invoice a private person (a consumer). Delete the IRPF line. No withholding applies.
• C. You are not under the standard professional rate, for example you are in a special regime or an activity with its own rate (agriculture, for example). Ask your gestor which rate and lines apply before you send the first invoice.

2. Where your client is based (origin jurisdiction)

• Spain: charge IVA (Spanish VAT) as normal.
• Another country where your client, not you, is liable for the VAT: do not charge Spanish IVA. Use the reverse-charge line below.
• Anything else: if you are not sure whether IVA applies, or which exemption to cite, check with your gestor before sending. Where no IVA is charged, the invoice must say why.

Invoice layout

Copy this and replace everything in square brackets.

INVOICE

Invoice number: [e.g. 2026-001] (numbers run in order, no gaps)
Series (if you use one): [e.g. A]
Issue date: [DD/MM/YYYY]
Date of the work or delivery (only if different from issue date): [DD/MM/YYYY]

FROM (issuer)
Full name or company name: [your name]
NIF: [your tax number]
Address: [street, number, postcode, town, Spain]

TO (client)
Full name or company name: [client name]
NIF or VAT number: [client tax number]
Address: [client address]

DESCRIPTION
[Clear description of the work, with hours or quantity and unit price]
e.g. Website design, 20 hours x 50.00 EUR

Taxable amount (before VAT): [amount] EUR
IVA [21]%: [amount] EUR
Subtotal: [amount] EUR
IRPF withholding [15]% of the taxable amount: -[amount] EUR
TOTAL TO PAY: [amount] EUR

Payment: bank transfer to IBAN [ES00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000]
Due date: [DD/MM/YYYY]

Edit the lines for your case

• Case A (business client in Spain): keep every line. Work out the IRPF line on the taxable amount, not on the total with IVA. The general rate is 15%. A reduced 7% applies for your first three years of activity if you meet the conditions. Show the amount as a negative number so the total to pay is lower.
• Case B (private client): delete the IRPF line. Total to pay is the taxable amount plus IVA.
• Client liable for the VAT: delete the IVA line and write this under the description: Inversión del sujeto pasivo followed by the reference to the VAT rule that applies, in Spanish VAT law and in the EU VAT Directive. Your gestor can give you the exact reference text. Do not charge Spanish IVA on this invoice.
• Any invoice with no IVA: state the exemption or rule that applies in place of the IVA line.

Optional extras

None of these is required by law, but most invoices carry them:

• payment terms and due date
• IBAN and payment method
• a purchase-order or reference number
• your phone and email
• a late-payment interest notice
• a logo, notes or discounts

A QR code is required only if your invoicing software falls under the Verifactu system. If you use such software, it adds the code for you.

Message to send with your first invoice

Use this to tell clients about your new place, tax details and payment account. Replace the blanks.

Subject: New business details and invoice [number]

Hello [client name],

I have moved to Spain and my details for invoices have changed.
Please use these from now on:

Name: [your name]
NIF: [your tax number]
Address: [your new address in Spain]
Bank account (IBAN): [ES00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000]

My invoice [number] for [short description of the work] is attached.
It is due on [date].

[Case A only: The invoice shows a 15% IRPF withholding, as required
when invoicing a business. Please deduct it from the payment.]
[Reverse-charge clients only: The invoice carries no Spanish VAT because
the VAT is accounted for by you as the customer.]

Please send me your full company name, address and tax or VAT number
if they are not exactly as shown on the invoice.

Thank you,
[your name]

Delete the bracketed sentences that do not fit your case before you send it.

Invoicing quick answers

By when must I issue an invoice to another business?

You must issue it before the 16th day of the month after the month in which the operation took place. This applies when the client is a business or professional, or when the sale is an export or a supply to another EU country. For a final consumer, issue it when the operation happens.

Can I issue an invoice in English or another language?

Yes, you can issue an invoice in any language, but the tax agency may ask you for a translation into Spanish. That can happen if the invoice is examined in an inspection. You must provide the translation yourself.

Can I still use Word or Excel to make my invoices?

Not as a billing system once the anti-fraud software rules apply to you, because spreadsheets do not guarantee integrity, traceability or record keeping. Issuing invoices fully by hand without computer systems is an exception, and so is the tax agency's free app for small taxpayers.