IVA vs IRPF: What's the Difference for Spanish Autónomos?

If you're new to being an autónomo, the two acronyms you'll see most are IVA and IRPF. They sound similar, they appear on the same invoice, and they confuse people for months. They're completely different taxes. Get this right and the rest of your bookkeeping makes sense.

The 30-second version

	IVA	IRPF
What it is	VAT (sales tax)	Income tax
Whose money?	The state's, you collect it	Yours, you pre-pay it
Rate	0% / 4% / 10% / 21%	7% / 15% (withheld) or progressive 19–47%
Paid by	End consumer (you're the middleman)	You, on your profit
Form	Modelo 303 (quarterly), 390 (annual)	Modelo 130 (quarterly) or withheld, 100 (annual)
Deadlines	Apr 20, Jul 20, Oct 20, Jan 30	Same (130) / June (100)

IVA — Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido (VAT)

IVA is not your money. You add it to your invoices, the client pays it, and you pass it to Hacienda. You can also deduct the IVA you paid on business purchases.

IVA rates in Spain (2026)

• 21% — standard (most services and goods)
• 10% — reduced (hospitality, transport, healthcare products)
• 4% — superreducido (basic food, books, medicines)
• 0% — exports, intracommunity B2B with valid VIES VAT number, some financial services

How IVA actually works — example

You're a designer. You invoice a Spanish company €1,000 for a logo:

• Base imponible: €1,000
• IVA 21%: €210
• Total invoice: €1,210

The client pays you €1,210. The €1,000 is yours. The €210 is the state's — you're holding it.

Meanwhile, you bought Figma (€60) and Adobe (€80) that quarter. Both included €12.60 + €16.80 of IVA = €29.40.

Quarterly Modelo 303:

• IVA repercutido (collected): €210
• IVA soportado (paid): €29.40
• You owe Hacienda: €180.60

If you spent more on business than you earned in a slow quarter, you can carry the negative forward or request a refund at year-end.

When IVA = 0%

• Selling to a non-EU client (US, UK, Switzerland, Ukraine, LatAm): your invoice is 0% IVA. You note "operación no sujeta — exportación de servicios".
• Selling to an EU business with a valid VIES VAT number: also 0% IVA, reverse charge.
• Selling to an EU individual consumer: Spanish 21% applies (or local rate if you cross the €10,000 OSS threshold).

This is why so many Russian/Ukrainian devs working for US clients have €0 in IVA owed every quarter, but still need to file Modelo 303.

IRPF — Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas

IRPF is income tax. You pay it on your profit (revenue − deductible expenses), at progressive rates. As autónomo you have two ways to pre-pay it during the year:

1. Retención — Spanish business clients withhold it from your invoice automatically.
2. Modelo 130 — you advance-pay it yourself if you don't have retención.

At year-end, Modelo 100 reconciles everything.

IRPF withholding rates on professional invoices

When you invoice a Spanish business as a profesional (epígrafes 700–800):

• 15% — standard rate
• 7% — reduced, in the year of registration + the two following years (new autónomo benefit)

IRPF withholding — example

You're a new autónomo writer. You invoice a Spanish magazine €1,000:

• Base imponible: €1,000
• IVA 21%: +€210
• IRPF 7% retención: −€70
• You receive: €1,140

The magazine pays €70 directly to Hacienda on your behalf. At year-end you reconcile.

When you owe vs claim a refund

Your year-end IRPF is calculated on profit at progressive rates:

Annual profit	Rate
0 – €12,450	19%
€12,450 – €20,200	24%
€20,200 – €35,200	30%
€35,200 – €60,000	37%
€60,000 – €300,000	45%
€300,000+	47%

If retentions + Modelo 130 payments > tax owed → refund. If retentions + Modelo 130 < tax owed → you pay the difference in June.

Example: writer earning €40,000 from Spanish magazines

• Revenue: €40,000
• Deductible expenses: €8,000
• Profit: €32,000
• Tax owed (using brackets): ≈ €6,800
• Retentions already paid by magazines (7%): €2,800
• Modelo 130 not required (because >70% of his revenue was with retención)
• He owes: €4,000 in June

Or: the same writer with mostly foreign clients (no retención):

• Revenue: €40,000
• Profit: €32,000
• Tax owed: €6,800
• Retentions: €0
• He must have filed Modelo 130 each quarter at 20% of profit: €6,400 total
• He owes the small difference in June: ~€400

Modelo 130 vs no Modelo 130

You file Modelo 130 if less than 70% of your invoices have IRPF retención. So:

• Mostly US/UK clients → Modelo 130 every quarter at 20% of net profit YTD.
• Mostly Spanish business clients → no Modelo 130. They withhold for you.
• Mix → depends on the 70% threshold over the year.

The four-deadline calendar (2026)

Date	Forms
April 20	Modelo 303 Q1 + Modelo 130 Q1
July 20	Modelo 303 Q2 + Modelo 130 Q2
October 20	Modelo 303 Q3 + Modelo 130 Q3
January 30	Modelo 303 Q4 + Modelo 130 Q4 + Modelo 390 annual + Modelo 347
April–June	Modelo 100 (personal income tax return)

The most common confusions

"IVA is a cost" — no. IVA passes through you. The only IVA that costs you anything is what you paid on purchases — but you recover that.

"I don't charge IVA because I'm small" — wrong. There's no small-business exemption like in some countries. From €1 of revenue, IVA applies unless your activity is exempt (education, medical, financial services have special rules).

"My foreign clients pay IRPF" — no. They don't withhold anything. You owe the IRPF yourself, via Modelo 130 and Modelo 100.

"7% forever" — no. The reduced 7% only applies in your year of registration + the next two. Then it's 15%.

"IVA refund is free money" — it's your money you advanced. Just delayed.

Quick decision table

Your client	IVA	IRPF withheld?
Spanish business (B2B)	21% (or 10%/4%)	Yes, 7% or 15%
Spanish individual (B2C)	21%	No
EU business with VIES	0% (reverse charge)	No
EU individual	21% Spanish (until €10k → OSS)	No
Non-EU business or individual (US, UK, Ukraine, etc.)	0% (export)	No

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