Invoicing as a freelancer in Spain

Overview

As an autónomo, every invoice you issue needs to meet specific legal requirements to be valid for tax purposes — both for you and for your client. Getting the format right from your first invoice avoids problems at tax time.

Requirements

• You must be registered as self-employed with the Agencia Tributaria before issuing invoices
• Invoices must be sequentially numbered, with no gaps, in a series you control

Step-by-step process

• Include your full name/business name, NIF, and address, along with your client's equivalent details, on every invoice
• Number invoices sequentially (e.g. 2026-001, 2026-002) — Spanish tax authorities expect an unbroken series
• Apply the correct VAT (IVA) rate for your activity, or clearly note if you're VAT-exempt (some professional activities are)
• For clients based outside Spain, check whether reverse-charge VAT rules apply instead of charging Spanish VAT directly

Required documents

• Your NIF/NIE and registered business activity details
• Client details for each invoice issued

Common mistakes

• Skipping invoice numbers or restarting the sequence without a clear justification — this can flag your records during a tax review
• Applying the wrong VAT treatment for international clients, particularly those in the EU versus outside it

Practical tips

• Free and low-cost invoicing tools built for Spanish autónomos can auto-generate compliant, sequentially numbered invoices
• Keep a copy of every invoice issued and received — you'll need them to support your quarterly VAT and income tax filings

How Tuchati can help

If you're setting up invoicing for the first time and want to make sure your format is compliant, Tuchati can point you in the right direction.