# Issue your invoices

> What to put on your TicketBAI invoices for clients in Spain, in other EU countries and outside the EU.

- Page: https://autonomo.eus/steps/invoices
- Part: Part D: Run your business
- For: Everyone
- Last checked: 14 October 2026

**Every sale needs an invoice made through TicketBAI.** What goes on it depends on who your client is and where they are.

## Before you start

- [TicketBAI invoicing set up](https://autonomo.eus/steps/ticketbai)
- Your client's name, address and tax ID. For a business in another EU country, its EU VAT number.

## What it unlocks

- Getting paid
- [File your quarterly returns](https://autonomo.eus/steps/quarterly-returns)

## What to put on the invoice

| Your client | Spanish VAT | Income tax kept back by the client | What the invoice must show |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| A business or professional in Spain | Yes | For professional work (IAE section 2): 15%, or 7% in your start year and the 2 years after | The VAT and the withholding |
| A business in another EU country | No | No | The client's EU VAT number and the words *inversión del sujeto pasivo* |
| A business outside the EU | No | No | No fixed wording. Common practice: *operación no sujeta a IVA* plus the article of the VAT law |

Selling to private people in other countries has its own rules. Some sales to private people in other EU countries, such as online services and goods sent to the buyer, carry the VAT of the buyer's country once they pass €10,000 a year across the EU. You can declare that VAT through the EU One Stop Shop (*ventanilla única*, OSS): the modelo 035 to sign up and the modelo 369 every quarter.

Before your first sale to a private person abroad, contact your Hacienda Foral and ask: "I am an autónomo and I will sell [your service] to private people in [country]. Does it carry Spanish VAT or the VAT of the buyer's country? Do I need to sign up for the One Stop Shop with the modelo 035?" The contacts for your territory are below. For every Hacienda office, phone and online form, see [Contact your Hacienda Foral](https://autonomo.eus/steps/offices#contact-your-hacienda-foral).

### Álava

Call the tax information line (*Información fiscal*) on 945 181 555, Monday to Friday 8:00 to 14:30, or email consultasfiscales@araba.eus. You can also send the question in the [online VAT question form](https://web.araba.eus/es/hacienda/formulario-hacienda-iva-imp-especiales). It asks for your NIF or NIE and an email address. To go in person, [book an appointment](https://web.araba.eus/es/hacienda/cita-previa) online or on 945 181 510. Álava explains the OSS and the modelo 035 on its page on [VAT and online sales](https://web.araba.eus/es/hacienda/impuestos/iva/iva-y-comercio-electronico).

### Bizkaia

Call the Hacienda Foral de Bizkaia on 946 125 500, Monday to Friday 8:30 to 19:00. To go in person, open the [appointment page](https://www.bizkaia.eus/es/cita-previa-hacienda) and choose "Solicitar cita para trámites tributarios" (book an appointment for tax procedures). You get a date and an office.

### Gipuzkoa

Call the Hacienda Foral de Gipuzkoa on 943 113 000, Monday to Friday 8:00 to 15:00. You can also write in the online form for questions, complaints and suggestions ([Gertubide](https://w390w.gipuzkoa.net/WAS/CORP/DMDGertubideWEB/sarrera?locale=es_ES)). You get a reference number, and the answer comes within 20 days. To go in person, open the [appointment page](https://www.gipuzkoa.eus/es/web/ogasuna/oficinas-departamento/cita-previa) and choose "Trámites tributarios" (tax procedures).

## How to do it

1. Check your client's details. For an EU business, check its VAT number in the European Commission's [VIES VAT number check](https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/). Choose the client's country and type the number. The answer is "Yes, valid VAT number" or "No, invalid VAT number". Save or print the answer for your records. If the number is not valid, ask the client to check it before you send the invoice.
2. Create the invoice in your TicketBAI app.
3. Choose the right VAT treatment and add the wording from the table.
4. Send the invoice to your client.

## The 7% withholding rate

You can use 7% instead of 15% in your start year and the 2 years after, if you had no professional activity in the year before you started. Tell your Spanish clients in writing. They keep your signed notice.

## Common mistakes

- Charging Spanish VAT to a business in another EU country.
- Invoicing an EU business before you are in the EU traders register (ROI). See [Register with your Hacienda Foral](https://autonomo.eus/steps/register-hacienda).
- Forgetting that foreign clients keep back no income tax, so nothing is prepaid for you.

## From our experience

Our client is a company in Ireland. Our invoices carry no Spanish VAT and no withholding, and each one goes on our EU sales list (modelo 349).

## Official sources

- [Spain's invoicing rules (RD 1619/2012)](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2012-14696)
- [Álava: withholding rates](https://web.araba.eus/es/hacienda/retenciones)
- [European Commission: VIES VAT number check](https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/) and [what VIES answers mean](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/vies-vat-information-exchange-system_en)
- [Álava: VAT and online sales (OSS, modelo 035)](https://web.araba.eus/es/hacienda/impuestos/iva/iva-y-comercio-electronico)
- [Álava: contact Hacienda](https://web.araba.eus/es/hacienda/cita-hacienda) and [appointments](https://web.araba.eus/es/hacienda/cita-previa)
- [Bizkaia: Hacienda appointments](https://www.bizkaia.eus/es/cita-previa-hacienda)
- [Gipuzkoa: Hacienda phone line](https://www.gipuzkoa.eus/es/web/ogasuna/departamento/asistencia-telefonica) and [appointments](https://www.gipuzkoa.eus/es/web/ogasuna/oficinas-departamento/cita-previa)

Next step: [Record your income and expenses](https://autonomo.eus/steps/records.md)

---

Free, independent information. Not an official government website or a gestoría. General information, not legal, immigration or tax advice. Confirm current requirements with the authority before you act. Report a mistake: a@halawa.io. Source: Autónomo.eus (https://autonomo.eus).