Spanish Invoice Requirements

Last updated: 2026-02-26 | Sources: AEAT — Contenido de las facturas, Real Decreto 1619/2012 — Reglamento de facturación

Mandatory Fields

Under the Reglamento de facturación (Royal Decree 1619/2012), every factura (invoice) must include:

• Número de factura (invoice number) — sequential within a series, unique per fiscal year
• Serie de facturación (invoice series) — if the business uses multiple numbering series
• Fecha de expedición (issue date)
• Fecha de la operación (date of supply/service) if different from the issue date
• Full name (nombre y apellidos or razón social) and address of the issuer
• Número de Identificación Fiscal (NIF) of the issuer — or CIF for legal entities
• Full name and address of the recipient
• NIF/CIF of the recipient (required for B2B; for B2C only when requested by the buyer or for certain transactions)
• Description of the goods delivered or services rendered
• Base imponible (taxable base) per applicable rate
• Tipo impositivo (tax rate) applied — IVA and/or IRPF retention rate
• Cuota tributaria (tax amount) per rate
• Total amount of the invoice
• Reference to any applicable exención (exemption), indicating the legal basis

Registration Numbers

NIF (Número de Identificación Fiscal): For individuals (autónomos), this is the DNI or NIE with a letter suffix. For foreigners, it starts with X, Y, or Z.

CIF (Código de Identificación Fiscal): For legal entities (empresas). Format: one letter + 8 digits. Example: B12345678. Although officially replaced by NIF for all entities, the term CIF is still commonly used.

NIF-IVA (intra-community VAT number): Format ES + NIF. Example: ESB12345678. Required for intra-EU transactions, must be registered with VIES.

VAT Rates (IVA)

Rate	Percentage	Applies to
Tipo general (standard rate)	21%	Most goods and services
Tipo reducido (reduced rate)	10%	Food, water, passenger transport, hotels, restaurants, housing renovation
Tipo superreducido (super-reduced rate)	4%	Basic food (bread, milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, cereals), books, newspapers, medicines, social housing
Exento (exempt)	0%	Medical services, education, insurance, financial services, exports, intra-EU supplies

IRPF Retention (Retención)

Autónomos (self-employed workers) providing professional services to other businesses must apply retención de IRPF (income tax withholding) on their invoices:

• Standard retention rate: 15% of the taxable base
• Reduced rate for new autónomos: 7% during the first 3 years of activity
• The retention is deducted from the invoice total — the client pays the net amount and remits the retention directly to the AEAT

The invoice must show:

• Base de retención (retention base)
• Tipo de retención (retention rate, e.g., 15%)
• Retención practicada (retention amount)
• Final amount payable after IVA and IRPF

Simplified Invoices (Facturas Simplificadas)

Permitted for retail and certain services when the amount does not exceed €400 (or €3,000 for specific activities). Required fields:

• Invoice number and date
• NIF and name of the issuer
• Description of goods/services
• Tax rate applied
• Total amount (VAT included)
• Buyer identification NOT required (unless requested)

Intra-EU Invoice Requirements

For intra-EU B2B supplies:

• Both parties' NIF-IVA numbers must appear
• Reference to the VAT exemption: "Exenta de IVA — entrega intracomunitaria" or reference to Article 25 of the Ley del IVA
• For reverse charge: "Inversión del sujeto pasivo"

Retention Period

Invoices must be retained for a minimum of 4 years (the statutory limitation period for tax obligations) per Article 29 of the Ley General Tributaria. For businesses subject to the Código de Comercio, the retention period is 6 years.

Recent Updates

• 2025-07-01: Temporary reduced IVA rates on food products (introduced during the cost-of-living crisis) were partially extended.
• 2026-01-01: VERI*FACTU system requirements came into effect. See the separate E-Invoicing document.