Providing services to clients in other European Union member states is standard practice for many freelancers and small businesses in Spain. However, knowing whether to charge Spanish VAT, apply the reverse charge mechanism, or register for the One-Stop Shop (OSS) often raises questions.
Services to EU Businesses (B2B): Reverse Charge Mechanism
When your client is a business or sole trader registered in another EU country, general place-of-supply rules dictate that the transaction is taxed in the destination country. Consequently:
* Invoice without VAT: You issue the invoice without charging Spanish VAT, adding the legal note: «Reverse charge – Operation not subject to Spanish VAT pursuant to place of supply rules».
* VIES Validation: Both you and your client must be registered in the VIES system (via the Spanish ROI register) with valid VAT-ID numbers. If your client lacks a valid VIES number, you must charge standard Spanish VAT.
* Tax Filings: These operations must be reported in Form 303 (quarterly VAT return) and Form 349 (recapitulative statement).
Services to EU Consumers (B2C): Standard Rules and OSS
If your client is an individual consumer residing in the EU, the service is generally taxed in Spain (origin country), charging regular Spanish VAT.
However, for telecommunications, broadcasting, and electronic services (software, online courses, digital content), the One-Stop Shop (OSS) regime applies:
1. Up to a combined threshold of €10,000 per year across all EU B2C sales, you can apply Spanish VAT.
2. Once you exceed €10,000, you must apply the local VAT rate of the consumer's country and settle it via Form 369.
How VeriFactu Affects Cross-Border Invoicing
Cross-border transactions must strictly adhere to Spanish technical billing requirements. Invoicing records must capture VAT regime codes, invoice chains, and foreign VAT identification numbers.
Under official Spanish regulations, VeriFactu becomes mandatory on January 1, 2027 for corporations and on July 1, 2027 for freelancers and micro-enterprises. Check our guide on when VeriFactu is mandatory for full timelines.
Businesses are upgrading their billing workflows now to ensure compliance. Developer tools like an API VeriFactu or a pasarela VeriFactu para software streamline integración ERP VeriFactu. This makes it easy to importar Excel a VeriFactu, or migrate from legacy software by executing importar Factusol a VeriFactu, importar Sage 50, or importar Holded.
To discover how this regulation affects your day-to-day operations, read our VeriFactu guide for freelancers.
Fakturia.es offers full-featured invoicing software adapted to VeriFactu and the Spanish Anti-Fraud Law, designed to manage B2B and B2C EU invoicing with complete peace of mind.