Spain Vat Return

Spain VAT Return Skill (Modelo 303 / IVA) v2.0

General reference only. This skill is general tax/accounting reference material for AI-assisted workflows. It has not been reviewed for any specific person's facts, documents, elections, deadlines, residency, filing status, or local procedures. Do not rely on it to file, pay, amend, or take a tax position without review by a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.

Section 1 — Quick reference

Read this whole section before classifying anything. The workflow runbook is in vat-workflow-base Section 1 — follow that runbook with this skill providing the country-specific content and eu-vat-directive providing the EU directive content.

Key Modelo 303 casillas (boxes):

Conservative defaults — Spain-specific values for the universal categories in vat-workflow-base Section 2:

Red flag thresholds — country slot values for the reviewer brief in vat-workflow-base Section 3:

Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue

Required inputs

Minimum viable — bank statement for the period in CSV, PDF, or pasted text. Must cover the full period. Acceptable from any Spanish or international business bank: CaixaBank, Santander, BBVA, Bankinter, Sabadell, ING Direct, Revolut Business, Wise Business, N26 Business, or any other.

Recommended — sales invoices for the period (especially for intra-EU B2B services and zero-rated supplies), purchase invoices (facturas) for any input VAT claim above EUR 300, the client's NIF-IVA in writing (ES + letter/digits).

Ideal — complete invoice register (libro registro de facturas emitidas y recibidas), Modelo 303 from prior period showing casilla 67 credit carried forward, SII submission confirmations.

Refusal policy if minimum is missing — SOFT WARN. If no bank statement is available at all, hard stop. If bank statement only without invoices, proceed but record in the reviewer brief: "This Modelo 303 was produced from bank statement alone. The reviewer must verify, before approval, that input VAT claims above EUR 300 are supported by compliant facturas and that all reverse-charge classifications match the supplier's invoice."

Spain-specific refusal catalogue

These refusals apply on top of the EU-wide refusals in eu-vat-directive Section 13 (R-EU-1 through R-EU-12). If any trigger fires, stop, output the refusal message verbatim, end the conversation.

R-ES-1 — Canary Islands (IGIC). Trigger: client is located in the Canary Islands or asks about IGIC. Message: "The Canary Islands use IGIC (Impuesto General Indirecto Canario), not IVA. This skill covers IVA only (peninsular Spain + Balearic Islands). Please use an Asesor Fiscal familiar with IGIC."

R-ES-2 — Ceuta or Melilla (IPSI). Trigger: client is in Ceuta or Melilla or asks about IPSI. Message: "Ceuta and Melilla use IPSI (Impuesto sobre la Produccion, los Servicios y la Importacion), not IVA. Out of scope for this skill."

R-ES-3 — Regimen simplificado (simplified modules). Trigger: client files under the regimen simplificado with module-based calculations. Message: "The regimen simplificado uses activity-specific modules (modulos) to compute VAT, not actual transaction classification. This skill covers the regimen general only. Please use an Asesor Fiscal for module-based returns."

R-ES-4 — Recargo de equivalencia. Trigger: client is a retailer subject to recargo de equivalencia. Message: "Recargo de equivalencia is a special surcharge regime for retailers (personas fisicas) who sell goods without transformation. Suppliers charge the recargo surcharge (5.2%/1.4%/0.5%) and the retailer has no filing obligation or input VAT recovery. This skill covers the regimen general only."

R-ES-5 — RECC cash-basis regime. Trigger: client uses the regimen especial de criterio de caja. Message: "The RECC regime defers VAT to the payment date rather than the invoice date. This changes the timing of both output and input VAT reporting. This skill assumes the standard accrual basis (devengo). Please use an Asesor Fiscal for RECC returns."

R-ES-6 — Prorrata de deduccion (partial exemption). Trigger: client makes both taxable and exempt supplies (Art. 20 LIVA) and the exempt proportion is not de minimis. Message: "Your business makes both taxable and exempt supplies. Input VAT must be apportioned under the prorrata rules (Art. 102–106 LIVA). This requires the annual definitive prorrata ratio. Please use an Asesor Fiscal to determine the prorrata percentage before input VAT is claimed."

R-ES-7 — VAT groups (grupos de entidades). Trigger: client is part of a VAT group under Art. 163 quinquies–nonies LIVA. Message: "VAT group consolidation is out of scope. Please use an Asesor Fiscal."

R-ES-8 — Used goods / travel agencies / art margin schemes. Trigger: client deals in second-hand goods, travel agency packages, or art/antiques under margin scheme. Message: "Special margin scheme regimes (bienes usados, agencias de viaje, objetos de arte) require transaction-level margin computation. Out of scope."

Section 3 — Supplier pattern library (the lookup table)

This is the deterministic pre-classifier. When a transaction's counterparty matches a pattern in this table, apply the treatment from the table directly. Do not second-guess. Do not consult Tier 1 rules — the table is authoritative for patterns it covers.

How to read this table. Match by case-insensitive substring on the counterparty name as it appears in the bank statement. If multiple patterns match, use the most specific. If none match, fall through to Tier 1 rules in Section 5.

3.1 Spanish banks (fees exempt — exclude)

3.2 Spanish government, regulators, and statutory bodies (exclude entirely)

3.3 Spanish utilities

3.4 Insurance (exempt — exclude)

3.5 Post and logistics

3.6 Transport

3.7 Food retail (blocked unless hospitality business)

3.8 SaaS — EU suppliers (reverse charge, casilla 17/18)

These are billed from EU entities (typically Ireland or Luxembourg) and trigger inversion del sujeto pasivo (reverse charge) under Art. 84.Uno.2 LIVA for services.

3.9 SaaS — non-EU suppliers (reverse charge, casilla 19/20 + 36/37)

3.10 SaaS — the exception (NOT reverse charge)

3.11 Payment processors

3.12 Professional services (Spain)

3.13 Payroll and social security (exclude entirely)

3.14 Property and rent

3.15 Internal transfers and exclusions

Section 4 — Worked examples

These are six fully worked classifications drawn from a hypothetical bank statement of a Spain-based self-employed software consultant (autonomo). They illustrate the trickiest cases.

Example 1 — Non-EU SaaS reverse charge (Notion)

Input line: 03.04.2026 ; NOTION LABS INC ; CARGO ; Monthly subscription ; USD 16.00 ; EUR 14.68

Reasoning: Notion Labs Inc is a US entity (Section 3.9). No IVA on the invoice. This is a service received from a non-EU supplier. Art. 84.Uno.2 LIVA triggers inversion del sujeto pasivo. Both sides of the reverse charge must be reported: output IVA in casilla 19/20, input IVA in casilla 36/37. Net effect zero for a fully taxable registrant.

Output:

Example 2 — EU service, reverse charge (Google Ads)

Input line: 10.04.2026 ; GOOGLE IRELAND LIMITED ; CARGO ; Google Ads abril 2026 ; -850.00 ; EUR

Reasoning: Google Ireland Limited is an IE entity — standard EU reverse charge for services. Casilla 17 for the output base, casilla 18 for output IVA, casilla 32 for input base, casilla 33 for input IVA. Net cash effect zero.

Output:

Example 3 — Entertainment, no deduction right

Input line: 15.04.2026 ; RESTAURANTE BOTIN MADRID ; CARGO ; Cena de negocios ; -180.00 ; EUR

Reasoning: Restaurant transaction. Under Spanish rules, entertainment and client meals (atenciones a clientes) are deductible for income tax purposes (IRPF) up to 1% of net turnover but the IVA deductibility is restricted: Art. 96.Uno.5 LIVA limits input IVA recovery on entertainment to expenses that are "strictly necessary" for business activity and can be justified. The conservative default is to block recovery. Flag for reviewer.

Output:

Example 4 — Investment goods (bienes de inversion)

Input line: 18.04.2026 ; APPLE STORE PASEO DE GRACIA ; CARGO ; MacBook Pro 16 ; -2,999.00 ; EUR

Reasoning: Gross amount is EUR 2,999. Investment goods threshold in Spain: assets with useful life > 1 year and acquisition cost > EUR 3,005.06 (historical threshold). At EUR 2,999 this falls just below the bienes de inversion threshold, so it goes to casilla 28/29 (current domestic inputs), not casilla 30/31. However, if the total including accessories exceeds the threshold, reclassify. Conservative: treat as ordinary input.

Output:

Example 5 — EU B2B service sale (inbound receipt)

Input line: 22.04.2026 ; KREBS CONSULTING GMBH ; ABONO ; Factura ES-2026-018 consultoria IT marzo ; +4,200.00 ; EUR

Reasoning: Incoming EUR 4,200 from a German company. Client provides IT consulting services. B2B place of supply for services is the customer's country (Germany) under Art. 69.Uno.1 LIVA (general rule). Client invoices at 0% with a note that the customer self-assesses. Not reported in casilla 01–06 (those are domestic). Reported in Modelo 303 informative section (casilla 59 for operations with EU) and in the recapitulative declaration Modelo 349. Confirm: (a) customer has a valid DE VAT number verified on VIES; (b) the invoice shows no Spanish IVA.

Output:

Example 6 — Vehicle costs, 50% presumption

Input line: 28.04.2026 ; REPSOL ESTACION DE SERVICIO ; CARGO ; Gasoleo A ; -85.00 ; EUR

Reasoning: Fuel purchase. In Spain, vehicle expenses have a special rule: Art. 95.Tres.2 LIVA creates a rebuttable presumption of 50% business use for passenger vehicles. This means 50% of input IVA is deductible by default (unlike Malta where vehicles are fully blocked). The 50% can be increased if the taxpayer proves higher business use, or reduced if AEAT proves lower. Conservative default: 50% recovery.

Output:

Section 5 — Tier 1 classification rules (compressed)

Each rule states the legal source and the casilla mapping. Apply silently if the data is unambiguous. For full doctrinal context, see the source citations in Section 10.

5.1 Standard rate 21% (Art. 90 LIVA)

Default rate for any taxable supply unless a reduced rate, zero rate, or exemption applies. Sales → casilla 01/02. Purchases → casilla 28/29.

5.2 Reduced rate 10% (Art. 91.Uno LIVA)

Applies to: food and beverages (excluding alcohol and tobacco), water supply, passenger transport (rail, bus, taxi, domestic air), hotel accommodation, restaurant and catering services, spectacles and cinema, housing (first transfer of new housing), medical devices, agricultural inputs. Sales → casilla 03/04. Purchases → casilla 28/29 (input base is aggregated).

5.3 Super-reduced rate 4% (Art. 91.Dos LIVA)

Applies to: bread, milk, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cereals, cheese, books, newspapers, periodicals, pharmaceutical products for human use, vehicles for disabled persons, social housing (VPO), prosthetics and implants. Sales → casilla 05/06. Purchases → casilla 28/29.

5.4 Zero rate and exempt with credit

Exports outside EU → exempt with right of deduction (Art. 21 LIVA), reported in casilla 60 informative. Intra-EU B2B supplies of goods → exempt with right of deduction (Art. 25 LIVA), reported in Modelo 349. Intra-EU B2B services → place of supply is customer's country (Art. 69 LIVA), reported in Modelo 349.

5.5 Exempt without credit (Art. 20 LIVA)

Medical services, education, insurance, financial services, postal universal service, residential lettings, social welfare. These supplies are excluded from the return — no output VAT, no input VAT deduction on related costs. If significant → R-ES-6 prorrata refusal fires.

5.6 Local standard purchases

Input VAT on a compliant factura from a Spanish supplier is deductible for purchases used in taxable business activity. Subject to blocked-input rules (5.12) and bienes de inversion threshold (5.9). Map to casilla 28/29 (corrientes) or 30/31 (bienes de inversion).

5.7 Reverse charge — intra-EU services received (Art. 84.Uno.2 LIVA)

When the client receives a service from an EU supplier and the supplier invoices at 0% with a reverse-charge note: output base → casilla 17, output IVA → casilla 18, input base → casilla 32, input IVA → casilla 33. Net effect zero. If the EU supplier charged their local VAT (e.g. Irish 23%), that is NOT reverse charge — treat as irrecoverable foreign VAT.

5.8 Reverse charge — intra-EU goods received (Art. 13 LIVA)

Physical goods from an EU supplier: output base → casilla 15, output IVA → casilla 16, input base → casilla 32, input IVA → casilla 33.

5.9 Reverse charge — non-EU services and imports

Services from non-EU → Art. 84.Uno.2 LIVA: output base → casilla 19, output IVA → casilla 20, input base → casilla 36, input IVA → casilla 37. Physical goods imports: import IVA is paid at customs (DUA) and recovered via casilla 36/37.

5.10 Investment goods — bienes de inversion (Art. 108–110 LIVA)

Assets with useful life > 1 year and net acquisition cost > EUR 3,005.06: casilla 30/31 (domestic), casilla 34/35 (intra-EU), casilla 38/39 (imports). Subject to a 4-year adjustment period (9 years for immovable property). If gross < threshold → casilla 28/29 (ordinary input).

5.11 Vehicle deduction — 50% presumption (Art. 95.Tres.2 LIVA)

Passenger vehicles (turismos) and related expenses (fuel, maintenance, insurance premiums for the vehicle itself — but insurance is exempt anyway): rebuttable presumption of 50% business use. Apply 50% input IVA recovery by default. Vehicles used exclusively for: taxi/VTC, driving school, commercial transport, or traveling sales → 100% deduction. The 50% presumption does NOT apply to vans (furgonetas), trucks, or motorbikes used for delivery.

5.12 Restricted input VAT (Art. 96 LIVA)

The following categories have restricted or no VAT recovery:

• Jewellery, precious stones, and furs (Art. 96.Uno.1)
• Food, drink, and tobacco (Art. 96.Uno.2) — unless hospitality/catering business
• Spectacles and entertainment (Art. 96.Uno.3) — for client entertainment
• Services related to the above (Art. 96.Uno.4)
• Gifts and samples above EUR 200 per recipient per year (Art. 96.Uno.5) — IVA deductible below threshold

Unlike Malta, Spain does NOT have a hard block on entertainment. The IVA on business meals CAN be deductible if the expense is strictly necessary and directly related to the business activity. However, the conservative default is to block — the burden of proof is on the taxpayer.

5.13 SII — Suministro Inmediato de Informacion (RD 596/2016)

SII-obliged entities must report invoices to AEAT within 4 calendar days of issue (sales) or accounting date (purchases). SII is mandatory for monthly filers. If client is SII-obliged, note in the reviewer brief that invoice data must match the SII submissions.

5.14 Modelo 390 — annual summary

Modelo 390 is an annual informative declaration summarizing all periodic Modelo 303 filings. Due by 30 January following the tax year. SII-obliged entities are exempt from filing Modelo 390 (since 2017).

5.15 Modelo 349 — recapitulative declaration

Quarterly (or monthly if intra-EU operations exceed EUR 50,000 in any quarter): declares all intra-EU supplies and acquisitions. Must reconcile with casillas 15–18 and informative casilla 59.

Section 6 — Tier 2 catalogue (compressed)

For each ambiguity type: pattern, why the bank statement is insufficient, conservative default, question for the structured form.

6.1 Fuel and vehicle costs

Pattern: Repsol, Cepsa, BP, Shell, Galp, fuel receipts. Why insufficient: vehicle type and business-use proportion unknown. Default: 50% recovery for passenger vehicles (Art. 95.Tres.2 LIVA presumption). Question: "Is this fuel for a passenger car (50% presumption), a commercial vehicle (100%), or personal use (0%)?"

6.2 Restaurants and entertainment

Pattern: any named restaurant, bar, cafeteria. Why insufficient: business necessity unclear. Default: block. Question: "Was this a business meal strictly necessary for the activity? (Note: conservative default is to block — reviewer must confirm deductibility under Art. 96 LIVA.)"

6.3 Ambiguous SaaS billing entities

Pattern: Google, Microsoft, Adobe, Meta, Slack, Zoom, LinkedIn, Apple, Amazon, Dropbox, Atlassian, Stripe where the legal entity is not visible. Why insufficient: same brand can bill from Ireland (EU reverse charge casilla 17/18), US (non-EU reverse charge casilla 19/20), or Spain (domestic 21%). Default: non-EU reverse charge casilla 19/20 + 36/37. Question: "Could you check the most recent invoice? I need the legal entity name and country."

6.4 Round-number incoming transfers from owner-named counterparties

Pattern: large round credit from a name matching the client's name. Default: exclude as owner injection. Question: "The EUR X transfer from [name] — is this a customer payment, your own funds, or a loan?"

6.5 Incoming transfers from individual names (not owner)

Pattern: incoming from private-looking counterparties. Default: domestic B2C sale at 21%, casilla 01/02. Question: "Was it a sale? Business or consumer? Country?"

6.6 Incoming transfers from foreign counterparties

Pattern: foreign IBAN or foreign currency. Default: domestic 21%. Question: "B2B with VAT number, B2C, goods or services, which country?"

6.7 Large one-off purchases (potential bienes de inversion)

Pattern: single invoice EUR 2,500–3,500 range or labelled "ordenador", "equipo", "maquinaria". Default: if net > EUR 3,005.06 → casilla 30/31; if net <= EUR 3,005.06 → casilla 28/29. Question: "Confirm the total invoice amount including IVA."

6.8 Mixed-use phone, internet, home office

Pattern: Movistar, Vodafone, Orange personal lines; home electricity. Default: 0% if mixed without declared %. Question: "Is this a dedicated business line or mixed-use? What business percentage?"

6.9 Outgoing transfers to individuals

Pattern: outgoing to private-looking names. Default: exclude as drawings. Question: "Was this a contractor (with factura), salary, refund, or personal transfer?"

6.10 Cash withdrawals

Pattern: ATM, cajero, reintegro. Default: exclude as personal drawing. Question: "What was the cash used for?"

6.11 Rent payments

Pattern: monthly "alquiler", "renta" to a landlord name. Default: no IVA recovery (residential assumption). Question: "Is this a commercial property? Does the landlord charge IVA on the rent?"

6.12 Foreign hotel and accommodation (non-Spain)

Pattern: hotel abroad. Default: exclude from input IVA. Question: "Was this a business trip?" (For IRPF, the expense may still be deductible.)

6.13 Amazon purchases

Pattern: Amazon.es, Amazon EU SARL. Why insufficient: Amazon can sell as Amazon Spain (domestic 21%), Amazon EU SARL Luxembourg (EU reverse charge), or third-party marketplace seller. Default: domestic 21% for Amazon.es retail. Question: "Was this purchased from Amazon directly or a third-party seller? Check the factura."

6.14 IRPF withholding on professional invoices

Pattern: incoming payment that is less than the invoiced amount by exactly 15% or 7%. Why insufficient: the payer withheld IRPF retencion. Default: gross up the payment to the full invoice amount for IVA base calculation. Question: "Confirm the invoice amount before IRPF retention."

6.15 Platform sales (Amazon, eBay, Wallapop, Etsy)

Pattern: incoming from platform settlements. Default: if selling to EU consumers across multiple countries above EUR 10,000, R-EU-5 OSS refusal fires. For Spain-only: treat gross as casilla 01/02 base at 21%; platform fees as separate reverse charge casilla 17/18 (IE entity). Question: "Do you sell to buyers outside Spain? Total EU cross-border sales for the year?"

Section 7 — Excel working paper template (Spain-specific)

The base specification is in vat-workflow-base Section 3. This section provides the Spain-specific overlay.

Sheet "Transactions"

Columns A–L per the base. Column H ("Casilla code") accepts only valid Modelo 303 casilla codes from Section 1 of this skill. Use blank for excluded transactions. For reverse-charge transactions, enter both the output casilla (e.g. 17) and the input casilla (e.g. 32) separated by a slash in column H.

Sheet "Casilla Summary"

One row per casilla. Column A is the casilla number, column B is the description, column C is the value computed via formula. Mandatory rows:

Output:
| 01 | Output base 21% | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "01") |
| 02 | Output IVA 21% | =Casilla_Summary!C[01_row]*0.21 |
| 03 | Output base 10% | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "03") |
| 04 | Output IVA 10% | =Casilla_Summary!C[03_row]*0.10 |
| 05 | Output base 4% | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "05") |
| 06 | Output IVA 4% | =Casilla_Summary!C[05_row]*0.05 |
| 15 | Output base intra-EU goods | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "15") |
| 16 | Output IVA intra-EU goods | =C[15_row]*0.21 |
| 17 | Output base intra-EU services | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "17") |
| 18 | Output IVA intra-EU services | =C[17_row]*0.21 |
| 19 | Output base non-EU reverse charge | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "19") |
| 20 | Output IVA non-EU reverse charge | =C[19_row]*0.21 |
| 27 | Total output IVA | =SUM(C[02],C[04],C[06],C[16],C[18],C[20]) |

Input:
| 28 | Input base domestic current | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "28") |
| 29 | Input IVA domestic current | =variable rate — use SUMIFS on VAT column |
| 30 | Input base investment goods | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "30") |
| 31 | Input IVA investment goods | =C[30_row]*0.21 |
| 32 | Input base intra-EU current | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "32") |
| 33 | Input IVA intra-EU current | =C[32_row]*0.21 |
| 36 | Input base imports/non-EU | =SUMIFS(Transactions!E:E, Transactions!H:H, "36") |
| 37 | Input IVA imports/non-EU | =C[36_row]*0.21 |
| 45 | Total input IVA | =SUM(C[29],C[31],C[33],C[35],C[37],C[39],C[41]) |

Sheet "Return Form"

Final Modelo 303-ready figures:

Casilla 27 = Total output IVA
Casilla 45 = Total input IVA deductible

Casilla 46 = Casilla 27 - Casilla 45   [difference]
Casilla 67 = Credit brought forward from prior period
Casilla 69 = Casilla 46 - Casilla 67   [final result]

Positive Casilla 69 → payable to AEAT (ingreso)
Negative Casilla 69 → credit to carry forward (a compensar) or request refund (devolucion, only in Q4 annual or REDEME monthly)

Color and formatting conventions

Per the xlsx skill: blue for hardcoded values from the bank statement, black for formulas, green for cross-sheet references, yellow background for any row where Default? = "Y".

Mandatory recalc step

After building the workbook, run:

python /mnt/skills/public/xlsx/scripts/recalc.py /mnt/user-data/outputs/spain-vat-<period>-working-paper.xlsx

Section 8 — Spanish bank statement reading guide

Follow the universal exclusion rules in vat-workflow-base Step 6, plus these Spain-specific patterns.

Extracto bancario format conventions. Spanish bank statements (extractos bancarios) vary by institution but share common fields:

• CaixaBank: CSV/Excel export from CaixaBankNow. Columns: Fecha (date DD/MM/YYYY), Concepto (description), Importe (amount, negative for debits), Saldo (balance). The concepto field often includes the beneficiary name after a dash.
• Santander: Online export from Santander One. Columns: Fecha Valor, Fecha Operacion, Concepto, Importe, Saldo. Uses "ADEUDO" for debits, "ABONO" for credits.
• BBVA: Export from BBVA app/web. Columns: Fecha, Concepto, Movimiento (Cargo/Abono), Importe, Disponible. "Cargo" = debit, "Abono" = credit.
• Bankinter: Columns: Fecha, Descripcion, Debe (debit), Haber (credit), Saldo.
• Revolut/Wise/N26: ISO date format (YYYY-MM-DD), English column headers, amount in EUR with sign.

Key Spanish-language terms in bank descriptions:

Internal transfers and exclusions. Own-account transfers between the client's CaixaBank, Santander, BBVA, Revolut accounts. Labelled "traspaso", "transferencia propia", "movimiento entre cuentas". Always exclude.

Self-employed (autonomo) draws. A self-employed person (autonomo/persona fisica) cannot pay themselves wages — any transfer to a personal account is a drawing. Exclude.

IRPF retenciones. Incoming payments from business clients may be net of 15% IRPF retention (or 7% for new autonomos in first 3 years). The bank statement shows the net amount received. The IVA base is the full invoice amount before retention. Always gross up.

Refunds and reversals. Identify by "devolucion", "anulacion", "abono por devolucion". Book as a n

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