Important note: VAT types marked with an asterisk (*) imply the application of a 0% VAT rate. This rate is allowed exclusively if all statutory conditions are met and sufficient supporting documentation is available. Using 0% VAT is only possible in strictly defined cases; selling goods or providing services without VAT in ordinary situations is not permitted.
| VAT Code in the System | Description | Requirements | Exclusions | Examples |
| *ENTREGAS INTRACOMUNITARIAS DE SERVICIOS | Supply of services at a 0% VAT rate for company clients established in other European Union countries. | Applicable exclusively to companies. Both the seller and the buyer must be registered in the VIES system of their respective countries and must hold a valid VAT (IVA) number. VAT numbers can be verified via the official VIES service. https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/#/vat-validation | Not applicable to supplies of physical goods, not applicable to private individuals, and not applicable to companies established outside the European Union. | You provide software development, IT, or marketing services to another EU-based company holding a valid VAT number. |
| *ENTREGAS INTRACOMUNITARIAS DE BIENES | Supply of tangible goods at a 0% VAT rate to company clients established in other European Union countries. | Applicable exclusively to companies. Both seller and buyer must be registered in the VIES system and have valid VAT numbers https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/#/vat-validation . The seller must retain documentary evidence of the dispatch or transportation of the goods. | Not applicable to services, not applicable to private individuals, and not applicable to companies established outside the European Union. | You sell goods to a company in France with a valid VAT number. The goods are shipped from Spain to France and invoiced without VAT as an intra-Community supply, provided transport documentation is available. |
| *INVERSION DEL SUJETO PASIVO | VAT mechanism under which the seller does not charge VAT; instead, the buyer is responsible for calculating, self-assessing, and declaring the VAT due. | The transaction must clearly fall within the cases expressly provided for by law. VAT must not be shown on the invoice, and the invoice must include the wording “inversión del sujeto pasivo”. The buyer is obliged to self-assess and declare the VAT. | Not applicable where the buyer is not a VAT taxpayer, in retail sales to final consumers, or in cases where the seller is legally required to charge VAT under the general rule. | A customer commissions a contractor to perform construction works. The invoice is issued without VAT with the mention “inversión del sujeto pasivo”, and the customer declares the VAT. |
| *IVA DEVENGADO EXPORTACIONES Y OPERACIONES ASIMILADAS | Export operations and similar transactions carried out outside the European Union, subject to a 0% VAT rate. | The export must be effectively and documentarily proven. Evidence must include customs export declarations with exit confirmation, transport documents, and the sales contract with the foreign customer. | The 0% VAT rate does not apply if there is no documentary evidence proving the actual export of the goods outside the European Union. | You sell goods or services to customers outside the EU and retain all required customs and transport documentation. |
| *IVA EXENTO | VAT exemption regime under which the transaction is exempt from VAT and no VAT is charged on the invoice. | The transaction must be expressly included in the list of VAT-exempt supplies established by law. Exemption conditions must be effectively met. The invoice must be issued without VAT and must include the mandatory legal reference to the exemption. The transaction must be reported as exempt in the VAT return. | Does not apply to transactions that are expressly classified by law as taxable, even if related to similar activities; in such cases VAT must be charged at the applicable rate. | A private tutor provides educational services. Such services are VAT-exempt, and the invoice is issued without VAT as “IVA exento”. |
| *NO SUJETO (NO ENTRA EN DECLARACION DE IVA) | Transaction that does not fall within the scope of Spanish VAT from the outset. | The transaction is not related to an economic or business activity, is not carried out for consideration, or its place of supply lies outside the territorial scope of Spanish VAT. | If the transaction is carried out as part of an economic activity for consideration and the place of supply is deemed to be Spain, or if the law expressly classifies it as taxable. | Gifts between private individuals. Private sale of personal belongings. Sale of assets not related to business activity. |
| *OPERACION NO SUJETA POR REGLAS DE LOCALIZACION | Transaction not subject to Spanish VAT because, under the place-of-supply rules, it is deemed to take place outside Spain. | According to VAT place-of-supply rules, the transaction is considered to be carried out outside Spain. Therefore, Spanish VAT does not apply and the transaction is not included in the Spanish VAT return. | If special VAT rules deem the place of supply to be Spain, or if the transaction is expressly classified by law as taxable. | A Spanish self-employed professional provides consulting services to a company established in the United States. |
| OSS | Special simplified VAT regime for distance sales of goods or services to private individuals in other EU countries. | Registration under the OSS scheme, sales to final consumers in other EU countries, application of the VAT rate of the customer’s country, and submission of quarterly OSS VAT returns. | Not applicable to sales to companies (B2B), domestic sales within one country, transactions outside the EU, or activities excluded from the OSS regime by law. | A Spanish online store sells goods to private consumers in France and Italy. VAT is applied at the local rates and declared through the OSS regime in Spain. |
| IVA REPERCUTIDO 4% | Output VAT charged at the reduced rate of 4%, applicable to strictly defined essential goods and services. | The transaction must relate to goods or services for which the 4% VAT rate is expressly provided for by law. | The reduced rate does not apply if the goods or services are not included in the statutory list. | Sale of books or textbooks in Spain. |
| IVA REPERCUTIDO 10% | Output VAT charged at the reduced rate of 10%, applicable to certain goods and services established by law. | The transaction must relate to goods or services eligible for the 10% VAT rate under Spanish VAT legislation. | The reduced rate does not apply if the goods or services are not included in the statutory list. | Provision of hotel or restaurant services in Spain. |
| IVA REPERCUTIDO 21% | Output VAT charged at the standard VAT rate applicable to most goods and services in Spain. | The transaction must be subject to VAT and must not qualify for an exemption or a reduced rate. | The standard rate does not apply where the law establishes a different VAT rate. | A Spanish company provides standard consulting services to a client established in Spain. |