Inversión del sujeto pasivo (VAT reverse charge)

The invoice is issued without VAT added, with an explicit note stating that reverse charge applies, and it is the recipient who self-assesses it in their own Modelo 303.

In practice, whoever receives the invoice makes a double entry: they declare the VAT as accrued and, if they are entitled to deduct it, include the same amount as input VAT. For a business with full deduction the cash effect is neutral, but both entries must appear. What an autónomo or a small SL sees most often are certain construction works between businesses and services bought from foreign companies, such as software or advertising.

Typical mistake: receiving an invoice without VAT from a foreign platform and booking it as an exempt expense, without self-assessing anything. Even if no tax is payable, the return is incomplete. The opposite error also happens: the supplier charges VAT where reverse charge applied, and the customer deducts it without being entitled to.

It is linked to output VAT, input VAT and, for EU transactions, to the ROI and the recapitulative statement. It ends up in the quarterly VAT return and in the registers of issued and received invoices.In kontora the forms are prepared box by box from your double-entry books, with deadline reminders, and you file them from the app itself with your digital certificate (303, 130, 111, 115 and 123 by direct filing; 349, 347, 190, 180 and 193 through TGVI), or your adviser does.

Guides that use this term

• Invoicing foreign clients from Spain: when there is no VAT and what you still declare
• How to fill in the modelo 303 box by box: a practical 2026 guide with a worked example
• Modelo 347: your annual report of operations with third parties
• How to fill in the modelo 390 box by box: instructions, a full-year example and how to reconcile it with your 303 returns
• Factura rectificativa (corrective invoice) in Spain: when it is mandatory, how to issue it and how to report it on the modelo 303

Related terms

• Autónomo: An autónomo is a self-employed individual who works independently in Spain and bears the financial risk of their own business.
• Modelo 303: Modelo 303 is the quarterly VAT self-assessment, where you declare the VAT charged on your invoices and deduct the VAT paid on eligible purchases and expenses.

Full glossary