Invoicing abroad
Invoicing to Spain: VAT, reverse charge and mandatory details
To a business in Spain you invoice without VAT and add the reverse-charge note. Your customer accounts for the tax in Spain; you need their valid VAT ID for that.
This page is written for freelancers and small businesses in Germany and Austria. Pick your country below — the rules differ.
Do you charge VAT?
From Germany to a business in Spain: no VAT, with the reverse-charge note. The basis is § 3a Abs. 2 in Verbindung mit § 14a Abs. 1 UStG. The standard rate in Spain is 21 % — but your customer accounts for it, not you.
From Austria to a business in Spain: no VAT, with the reverse-charge note. The basis is § 3a Abs. 6 UStG 1994 in Verbindung mit Art. 196 MwStSystRL. The standard rate in Spain is 21 % — but your customer accounts for it, not you.
Private customers: Reverse charge never applies to consumers. Up to €10,000 in total you charge your own domestic VAT; above it you owe the destination country’s VAT and report it through the One-Stop Shop (§ 3a Abs. 5 UStG). Note the €10,000 is cumulative across the whole EU, not per country.
The sentence for the invoice
No exact wording is prescribed; the note only has to be unambiguous. This is the customary form:
Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers (Reverse Charge)
Both VAT IDs belong on the invoice: yours and your customer’s. Without a valid recipient VAT ID the reverse-charge mechanism does not apply.
Do you have to report it?
Yes. The supply belongs in the recapitulative statement, with your customer’s VAT ID and the net amount — by the 25th day after the end of the reporting period. It is a report rather than a tax return, but it is forgotten regularly, and it is the most common reason a tax office asks about EU supplies.
Yes. The supply belongs in the recapitulative statement, with your customer’s VAT ID and the net amount — by the end of the following month. It is a report rather than a tax return, but it is forgotten regularly, and it is the most common reason a tax office asks about EU supplies.
Does Spain’s e-invoicing mandate apply to you?
Spain runs two digitalisation regimes in parallel: Verifactu (requirements on Spanish businesses’ invoicing software) and the B2B e-invoicing duty from Ley 18/2022 "Crea y Crece", implemented by Real Decreto 238/2026 of 25 March 2026, in force since 20 April 2026. Both bind businesses established in Spain. As a German or Austrian supplier without a fixed establishment you are in neither — which the internet gets wrong at scale.
In short: the duty is your customer’s, not yours. You send a normal invoice; they do whatever their own system requires of them.
The most common mistake
Verifactu is not an invoicing duty on you but a requirement on Spanish businesses’ software. If someone tells you your invoice must be "Verifactu-compliant", they have the addressee wrong.
Sources
- AEAT — Tipos impositivos IVA — https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/iva.html
- AEAT — Verifactu / Sistemas informáticos de facturación — https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/iva/sistemas-informaticos-facturacion-verifactu.html
Verified on 2026-09-06. VAT rates and e-invoicing timetables change several times a year — this article is general information and does not replace tax advice.