• Last edited on: 14 November 2020

Spain

Examples of compliant cXML invoices and credit notes for Spain.

Introduction

The Spanish VAT rules on the layout and information to be provided on invoices generally follow the requirements of the European VAT Directive (2006/112/EC, 2010/45/EU) and its VAT requirements.  In the Canary Islands, a specific tax is applied instead of VAT, called the Canary Island General Indirect Tax (IGIC).

When setting up your remit-to address , your VAT ID must begin with ES, followed by nine digits.

The first and last of these digits can also be a letter. For example:

  • ES123456789
  • ES12345678X
  • ESX23456789
  • ESX2345678X

All tax amounts must include the alternateAmount and alternateCurrency attributes. The alternate currency must be set to EUR . See Providing Amounts in Local Currency for more info.

When adding a tax exempt line or creating a reverse change invoice, add this element to your cXML:

<Description xml:lang="en-US">Line level exemption reason</Description>

Include the <Description> element immediately after <tax-amount>. It's required when the TaxDetails category contains an exemption. See Add Tax Exemption Details to an Invoice for more info.

Invoice content requirements

Invoice Content Field Mandatory/Conditional Comments
Supplier Name Mandatory
Supplier Address Mandatory
Supplier VAT ID Mandatory
Buyer information
Name Mandatory
Address Mandatory
VAT ID Conditional
Invoice Date Mandatory
Date of Supply Conditional
Invoice Number Mandatory
Delivery Address Recommended
Tax law reference Conditional A legal reference to the applicable VAT rule must be included on the invoice (i.e. reference to EU VAT Directive or Spanish VAT code) where the invoice is exempt.
Currency Mandatory
Local Currency Conditional
Local Currency Tax Conditional Where invoices are issued in a different currency, it is mandatory to include the tax amount in EUR applying the relevant exchange rate.
Original Invoice Number Conditional
Quantity Mandatory
Description Mandatory The description/nature of the goods or services
Taxable Amount Mandatory
VAT Rate Conditional
VAT Amount Conditional
Unit Price Mandatory
Early Payment Discount Conditional
Early Payment Discount terms Conditional
Discount Amount Conditional
Discount terms Conditional
Reference to the reverse charge mechanism Conditional The Reverse Charge Mechanism shifts the responsibility for the reporting of a VAT transaction from the supplier to the buyer of a good or service.
Cash Accounting Scheme Conditional Under the cash accounting scheme the VAT will become due on payment.
New Means of Transport Conditional Supply of transport vehicles which are considered as a new means of transport
Margin scheme reference Conditional Margin scheme under VAT helps avoid double taxation on a supply of goods which have already been taxed. Under Margin scheme, VAT is calculated on the difference between the value at which the goods are supplied and the price at which the goods are purchased.

Extrinsic fields

The following extrinsics are required to send a compliance-assured Spanish invoice. You may require additional extrinsics specific to your industry or billing situation:

  • ExchangeRate

Other extrinsics may be required based on your specific invoicing scenario. See Adding Extrinsics to Your Invoice for more info.

Example invoices