Freelancing in IT, design, writing or consulting: codes, tax and IP

Key rules

• Standard withholding: Professionals invoicing Spanish businesses or professionals apply 15% withholding on the taxable base, not on the VAT.
• New professional rate: You can apply 7% in the year you register and the following two calendar years.
• Foreign clients: You do not apply withholding on invoices to clients with no presence in Spain.
• Rights to your work: You keep the rights to commissioned work unless a written contract transfers them.

Which category you fall under

You will usually be registered as a professional, in section 2 of the IAE (the activity tax register). Typical groups are:

• IT and consulting: group 76, for example 763 for programmers and analysts and 769 for other technical and professional services.
• Design: graphic and interior design, for example 774.
• Writers and journalists: the artistic and literary group.

Some work counts as a business activity (section 1) instead. This happens when you employ staff, run the work as an industrial or commercial process, or the activity is not listed as professional or artistic. IT services run like a company can fall here, for example 841. Check the exact code against the current tariff when you register.

Authors who only sell their own works can often invoice as author's rights income without registering an activity. Ask the tax office (Agencia Tributaria) before you rely on this.

Your category matters in three places: withholding on Spanish invoices, VAT on services, and who owns the rights to what you create.

Withholding on invoices

Withholding is a share of your invoice that the client keeps and pays to the tax office for you. You then deduct it in your own income tax return.

• Spanish business or professional clients: apply 15% on the taxable base, not on the VAT.
• New professionals: you can apply 7% in the year you register and the following two calendar years. You must not have carried out a professional activity in the previous year, and most of your income must come from professional activities. Give each client a written statement that you qualify, with the date and your NIF. The documents list below covers this.
• Clients with no presence in Spain: do not apply withholding, in the EU or elsewhere. A foreign client with a Spanish establishment may still have to withhold.
• Private individuals who are not acting as businesses or professionals do not withhold.

Income without withholding still counts. You include it in your quarterly income tax payments and your annual return.

VAT on your services

What you charge depends on where the client is. The decision block below walks you through it. In short:

• Spain: charge VAT at the general rate, 21%. Some services have reduced rates.
• EU business: invoice without Spanish VAT and mark it as reverse charge (inversión del sujeto pasivo). You must be on the register of EU traders (ROI) and file a summary of EU sales (modelo 349).
• EU consumer: Spanish VAT usually applies, though some services have special rules.
• Outside the EU: most services to businesses are not subject to Spanish VAT. Add a note saying so. Services linked to land or events are exceptions.

Who owns your work

You, as the freelancer, own the rights to what you create, unless a contract transfers them. This includes software. The rule that gives an employer the rights to employees' programs does not cover freelancers.

• Moral rights, such as being named as author, cannot be transferred.
• Economic rights can be transferred in writing. State which rights, their scope, the term and the territory.
• Without clear written terms, the transfer is limited to what the contract's purpose needs.
• A transfer of all your future works is void.

Have a lawyer review your standard contract before you start using it.

Other rules for your activity

Some activities need extra registration or a professional body membership. Use the checklist below to see whether yours does.

Choosing between options

How do you invoice a client for withholding and VAT?

• Client is a business in Spain: Charge VAT at the general rate (21% in 2025) and apply a 15% IRPF withholding on the taxable base, not on the VAT.

• Client is a consumer in the EU: Spanish VAT usually applies, though some services have special rules and the EU one-stop shop may apply. Apply no IRPF withholding.

• Client is outside the EU: Most services to businesses carry no Spanish VAT, so note on the invoice that the service is not subject to Spanish VAT. Exceptions exist for services tied to land, events and a few others. Apply no IRPF withholding.

Your client's location decides VAT: Spain means Spanish VAT, an EU business means reverse charge, and a non-EU business means no Spanish VAT. Withholding depends on whether the payer is in Spain: only clients with a presence in Spain mean withholding. Report all foreign income in your quarterly IRPF payment (modelo 130 or 131).

Freelance sectors compared: codes, VAT, withholding and special rules

Professionals in Section 2 of the activity list (the IAE) apply 15% withholding to business clients. Business activities in Section 1 mostly do not. VAT depends on the service and on where the client is.

Rules that apply to every sector

• Withholding on invoices: The client pays the withheld amount to the tax office, and you deduct it in your own income tax return. It does not apply to invoices to private individuals who are not acting as businesses or professionals.
• VAT, EU business clients: Issue the invoice without Spanish VAT and mark it as reverse charge. You must be on the register of intra-EU operators and file modelo 349.
• VAT, non-EU business clients: Most services are not subject to Spanish VAT. Invoice with a note saying so. Services connected to land, events and a few other items are exceptions.
• VAT, EU consumers: Spanish VAT usually applies, but some services have special rules. Ask the tax office before invoicing.
• VAT returns: Charge VAT from your first taxable invoice. Most freelancers file modelo 303 every quarter, by the 20th of the month after the quarter ends. The fourth quarter is due by 30 January.

Check your exact activity code, and any reduced withholding rate, with the tax office before your first invoice.

Documents you need

• A written statement to each client that you qualify for the reduced 7% withholding, with the date and your NIF (tax ID number). You qualify if you had no professional activity registered in the year before you started and most of your income comes from professional activities. You send it yourself, and the client then applies 7% on your invoices.

• A written contract with each client that sets out which rights you transfer, their scope, the term and the territory. Without these written terms, the transfer is limited to what the purpose of the contract needs. You keep your moral rights, which cannot be transferred. Software you write as a freelancer stays yours unless the contract assigns it.

Check whether your activity has special registration or licence rules

• Register in the REA (the construction subcontractors' register) with your regional labour authority if you will work as a contractor or subcontractor in construction.

• Complete your basic construction prevention training of 20 hours, plus any trade-specific hours, and get the Tarjeta Profesional de la Construcción (TPC) to prove it.

• Register as an authorised installer with your region's Industry department before doing electrical, gas, plumbing or heating and cooling work, with proof of qualification and civil liability insurance.

• Apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the sworn translator-interpreter title (traductor-intérprete jurado) before signing sworn translations, using a Translation and Interpreting degree or the ministry's exam.

• Ask your regional tourism department (consejería de turismo) whether you need an official guide accreditation or only a declaración responsable (a sworn statement) before you work as a tourist guide.

• Ask your regional transport department for the authorisation for each vehicle and the operator registration before you run a VTC (private hire with driver) vehicle.

• Ask the professional body (colegio profesional) for your profession whether you must join it before you start, if your profession is regulated.

Sector compliance quick answers

Do I have to register a trademark to use my brand?

No, registering a trademark with the Spanish patents and trademarks office (OEPM) is optional, but only registration gives you exclusive rights in Spain. Registration lasts 10 years and renews in 10-year periods. The fee is charged per class of goods and services, and online filing was about 144 euros for the first class in 2025.

What prevention duties do I have if I work alone?

If you work alone, you have no duty to appoint a prevention service or draw up a formal risk assessment, but you must apply safety measures for yourself. When you share a workplace with other companies, you must also follow the host's instructions and share risk information. On construction sites you must follow the safety plan and use equipment properly.

Does my website need a privacy policy?

Yes, your website needs a privacy policy if it collects personal data through contact forms, newsletters, orders or analytics. It must name you and your contact details, why you use the data, how long you keep it and the rights people have, including complaining to the data protection agency. Put a short notice next to each form with a link to the full page.

Can I trade under a business name instead of my own name?

Yes, you can trade under a trade name (nombre comercial), but your contracts, invoices and tax filings must still show your full legal name and NIF. The name is not a separate company. Registering it with the OEPM is optional but protects you better against copycats.