Spanish tax and VAT: Do freelancers need to charge Spanish VAT to US clients?

By
Bruno Bianchi
-

Question

“How are people dealing with IVA/VAT as freelancers with longstanding clients from the US?? I can’t all of a sudden charge my clients an extra 21%, so I guess I have to just forfeit that additional percentage of my already tiny income? Any insight?”

Answers

Spanish tax and VAT: Do freelancers need to charge Spanish VAT to US clients?

“I don’t charge VAT to my US clients/clients outside the EU.”

“Right but you still have to pay VAT on that income, so you just lost 20% of what you make?”

“For context, 100% of my clients are US.”

“No. I don’t pay VAT if I don’t gather VAT.”

“Is that how it works? I can’t imagine that it is. I’ll ask my gestor, though.”

“You don’t charge VAT to non-eu customers, and neither you have to pay it since you didn’t charge it.”

“This is not tax advice.”

“That’s how it works. The critical point is you can only not collect VAT when the law allows you not to collect VAT. People outside the EU aren’t subject to VAT.”

“Of course you don’t pay VAT if you don’t charge VAT.”

“If your services directly relate to Spain somehow, like basically any consulting/doc preparation/translation/tax planning for clients who want to move to Spain, then VAT does apply. This changed in 2023.”

“Thanks, yeah, my services have nothing to do with Spain so I don’t think that would apply.”

“3rd confirm ^ – VAT not applicable for services outside EU.”

“Most of our clients are in the US. We never charge them VAT. Remember, the general concept is that most exports of services and tangible products to customers in countries outside the EU aren’t subject to VAT in order for those services and products to be competitive with providers not in the EU.”

“Clients outside of the EU, you don’t charge IVA (VAT). As you don’t charge it, there is nothing to pay!”

Conclusion

According to the Spainguru community, freelancers in Spain working with clients outside the EU—particularly in the US—do not need to charge VAT (known in Spain as IVA).

Since VAT is generally not applied to exports of services, there’s also no VAT liability on that income. Several members confirm that if you do not invoice VAT, you are not required to pay it, aligning with Spanish tax rules aimed at keeping EU service providers globally competitive.

However, one important nuance was mentioned: if your services are directly connected to Spain (such as consulting for relocating clients), VAT may still apply regardless of the client’s location.

Freelancers are encouraged to check specifics with a qualified gestor to ensure compliance, as this information is based on personal experiences and is not tax advice.

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