Invoicing EU clients from Spain: VAT, ROI, VIES and 349
When to invoice an EU business without Spanish VAT, how to join the ROI so your VAT number shows in VIES, and what goes in modelo 303 and 349.
Your German client says your VAT number is invalid and holds the payment. Or you do not know whether to add 21% Spanish VAT to an invoice for a Dutch company. Both come down to one registration, one check and a few words on the invoice.
Why does my EU client say my Spanish VAT number is invalid?
Because you are not registered in the Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios (ROI), the Spanish register of intra-EU traders. Having a Spanish NIF is not enough. Only businesses in the ROI get a NIF-IVA (ES plus your NIF) that shows as valid in VIES, the EU database your clients and suppliers check.
The Spanish tax agency (AEAT) requires ROI registration if you buy or sell goods across EU borders, or supply or receive services where the customer accounts for the VAT. Invoicing EU businesses or paying EU software suppliers counts.
How to register:
- File modelo 036, the census form, as a modification (or as a new registration if you are just starting). The simplified modelo 037 no longer exists: Orden HAC/1526/2024 abolished it from 3 February 2025.
- Tick the ROI registration request. The AEAT points to box 582 for the request and box 584 for the expected date of your first intra-EU operation.
- Wait for the decision. If the AEAT does not decide within three months, the request may be treated as refused.
- Once confirmed, check your own number in VIES before sending it to clients.
How do I check a client's EU VAT number in VIES?
Go to the European Commission's VIES checker, pick the country and enter the number without the country prefix. You get "valid" or "invalid". Depending on the country, the name and address may or may not be shown.
Check before the first invoice and keep the result. The AEAT notes that a VIES reply is evidence that you verified the number on that date. If VIES says a Member State is unavailable, the number is not necessarily wrong: try again later.
Do I charge 21% Spanish VAT to a German company?
No, not for most services to a business with a valid EU VAT number. Under article 69.Uno.1.º of the Spanish VAT law (Ley 37/1992, LIVA), services to a business are taxed where the customer is established. The service is outside Spanish VAT and your client accounts for VAT in Germany.
Article 70 has exceptions, such as services related to property in Spain. Consulting, software, design, marketing or translation for businesses follow the general rule.
Article 6 of the Spanish invoicing regulation (RD 1619/2012) means your invoice needs:
- The client's EU VAT number with its country prefix, plus your own number.
- The words "inversión del sujeto pasivo". Most people add "reverse charge" in English too.
- The net amount with no VAT charged.
In your quarterly VAT return (modelo 303) the amount goes in box 59, intra-EU supplies of goods and services. The invoice also goes on modelo 349, the EU sales and purchases list, under key S.
What about selling goods to a business in another EU country?
The sale is exempt under article 25 LIVA if the goods leave Spain for another Member State and the buyer is a business that has given you a VAT number from another EU country. The law makes the exemption conditional on reporting the sale in modelo 349.
Put the buyer's EU VAT number on the invoice and a reference to the exemption, for example "Operación exenta, art. 25 Ley 37/1992". Keep proof of transport. In modelo 303 the amount also goes in box 59.
How do I report an EU software subscription in modelo 303?
You self-assess the VAT. When a supplier from another EU country bills you without VAT because you are a business, the service is taxed in Spain (art. 69.Uno.1.º) and you are the person liable (art. 84.Uno.2.º).
In modelo 303:
- Boxes 10 and 11: base and VAT due on intra-EU acquisitions of goods and services. You apply 21% (or the rate that applies) to the invoice amount.
- Boxes 36 and 37: the same base and VAT as deductible VAT on current intra-EU acquisitions of goods and services, if the expense is for your business and you have full deduction rights.
With full deduction the net effect is zero. Boxes 12 and 13 are not for this; they cover other reverse-charge cases. These purchases also go on modelo 349, under key I.
If you are not in the ROI, the supplier cannot validate your number and may charge its own country's VAT. That foreign VAT cannot be deducted in your 303. More on valid invoices in when an invoice lets you deduct VAT.
| Situation | Spanish VAT on the invoice? | What the invoice must say | Which modelo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service to an EU business with valid VAT number | No | Client's EU VAT number, "inversión del sujeto pasivo" | 303 box 59; 349 key S |
| Goods shipped to an EU business | No, exempt (art. 25) | Client's EU VAT number, "exenta art. 25 Ley 37/1992" | 303 box 59; 349 |
| Service bought from an EU supplier | You self-assess it | Supplier's invoice without VAT, with your EU VAT number | 303 boxes 10-11 and 36-37; 349 key I |
| Most services to an EU consumer | Yes, Spanish VAT | Normal invoice with VAT | 303 |
| Digital services or distance sales to EU consumers above 10,000 € | VAT of the customer's country | Destination country VAT | OSS: modelo 369 |
When is modelo 349 due?
Any business or freelancer with intra-EU supplies or acquisitions of goods or services files it. Monthly is the default. You file quarterly if, neither in the current quarter nor in any of the four previous quarters, the goods and services you must report exceed 50,000 € excluding VAT.
- Quarterly: 1 to 20 April, July and October. The fourth quarter is due 1 to 30 January.
- Monthly: the first 20 calendar days of the following month. July can be filed in August and up to 20 September. December is due by 30 January.
Cross 50,000 € mid-quarter and you switch to monthly, filing the months already elapsed. The Q3 2026 return was due on 20 October; Q4 2026 is due by 30 January 2027. Other dates and late-filing surcharges are in Spanish tax deadlines and surcharges.
What if I sell to consumers in other EU countries?
It depends on what you sell. Most services to private individuals, such as coaching or a personal consultation, are taxed in Spain with Spanish VAT under article 69.Uno.2.º, even if the customer lives in Italy.
The 10,000 € threshold in article 73 covers only two things: electronic, telecom and broadcasting services to consumers in other EU countries, and distance sales of goods. If their combined EU total stays at or below 10,000 € excluding VAT in both the previous and the current year, you charge Spanish VAT. Above it, you charge each customer's local VAT.
To avoid registering in every country, use the One-Stop Shop (OSS, Union scheme): register with modelo 035 and file the quarterly modelo 369 from Spain.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the ROI if I only invoice services to EU businesses?
Yes. The AEAT requires a NIF-IVA for anyone supplying services to businesses in other Member States where the customer pays the VAT. Without ROI registration your number does not appear in VIES, and your client cannot safely apply the reverse charge.
How long does ROI registration take?
If the AEAT does not decide within three months, the request may be treated as refused. File modelo 036 before your first intra-EU operation and check your number in VIES once confirmed.
What happens if I invoice without VAT and the client's number is invalid?
For a sale of goods, the article 25 exemption does not apply and Spanish VAT is due, so the AEAT can claim the VAT you did not charge. For services, you may be unable to prove the client was a business. Check before invoicing and keep the result.
Do I file modelo 349 if I only pay EU software subscriptions?
Yes. Intra-EU acquisitions of services go on modelo 349 under key I. You also self-assess the VAT on those invoices in boxes 10, 11, 36 and 37 of modelo 303.
Does getting paid through Wise or in another currency change the VAT?
No. VAT depends on who the client is, where they are established and what you sell, not on the bank or currency. You can invoice in any currency, but for the return the amount is converted to euros at the Bank of Spain selling rate on the date the VAT becomes due (art. 79.Once LIVA).
How Fiscalm helps
Fiscalm collects your invoices from email (Gmail) and your bank statements (Santander and Wise, with currencies and SWIFT fees), reads them with AI and checks them against 20+ rules: NIF validated with the AEAT, EU VAT numbers with VIES, mandatory invoice fields, VAT maths, reverse charge and duplicates. It warns you if your own company is not in VIES, and matches every bank movement to its invoice.
You get a tax calendar with amounts, including 349, a box-by-box draft of modelo 303, VAT record books in AEAT format, 347 and 349 summaries and a quarterly package for your gestor (see the quarterly document checklist). Fiscalm does not file tax returns. The private beta opens in November 2026, with 20 founder places, free during the beta.
Sources
- BOESpanish VAT law, Ley 37/1992, consolidated text (BOE): arts. 25, 69, 70, 73, 79 and 84
- BOEInvoicing regulation, RD 1619/2012, arts. 6 and 12 (BOE)
- BOEOrden HAC/1526/2024, abolition of modelo 037 (BOE)
- AEATAEAT: identification for trading with EU businesses (ROI, VIES, NIF-IVA)
- AEATAEAT: joining or leaving the ROI
- AEATAEAT: modelo 303 instructions 2026
- AEATAEAT: VAT practical manual 2025, modelo 303 form
- AEATAEAT: modelo 349 filing deadlines (VAT manual 2025)
- AEATAEAT: modelo 349 content, keys S and I (VAT manual 2025)
- AEATAEAT: sales to consumers in other Member States
- AEATAEAT: modelo 369, Union scheme
- EUEuropean Commission: VIES VAT number validation
Fiscalm collects your invoices and bank statements, checks them against AEAT and VIES and tells you what to pay, when and how much. Free private beta from November 2026: 20 founder seats.
Reserve my seatGeneral information, current at the date shown; it does not replace professional advice for your specific case.