A VAT number is the number under which a company or entrepreneur appears in the European Union’s shared database of VAT payers. It is needed for exactly one thing: so that a seller in one EU country can invoice a partner in another without tax, with the buyer paying the tax in their own country.
In Spain it is called the NIF-IVA and looks like an ordinary Spanish tax number with the prefix ES. No separate document is issued: the number appears in the European VIES database once you have been included in the register of intra-EU operators.
Below: what this number is not, how to check someone else’s, how to get your own in Spain and what you will have to file afterwards.
What a VAT number is not
Three numbers that are constantly mistaken for one another.
| Number | What it is | Visible in VIES |
|---|---|---|
| NIF or CIF | the Spanish tax number of an individual or a company; everyone has one | no |
| NIF-IVA, also known as the VAT number | the same number with the prefix ES, assigned on application | yes, after inclusion in the register |
| Russian INN and Russian VAT | unrelated to the EU system | no |
The key beginner’s mistake. Having a NIF does not mean you are in VIES. You can work as an autónomo (self-employed) with a Spanish number for years and still not be entitled to invoice Germany without tax.
How to check someone else’s number
The check is free and takes seconds: the European Commission’s VIES service. It is important to understand how it works, otherwise the result is easy to misinterpret.
- There is no single database. The service forwards your query to the national database of the country whose prefix you entered and shows the answer from there. Hence the glitches: if a country’s database is unavailable, there will be no answer.
- Not all countries show the name and address. This is decided by national data protection law. For Spanish numbers you have to enter the name and address together with the number — the Spanish database will not return them itself, only confirm whether they match.
- “Invalid” does not mean “fraudster”. First check the number of characters and the prefix. If the number is still invalid, only the tax authority of that country can correct the data — not the European Commission and not you.
- Check before every invoice. The number may have been cancelled since you checked it last quarter.
Keep proof of the check. In a dispute with the tax authorities, the evidence will be your query on the invoice date, not a general claim that the client “was in the database”.
How to get your own number in Spain
The number is assigned on inclusion in the ROI — Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios (register of intra-EU operators). If your company is not yet registered in Spain, start by choosing how to establish your presence: entering the Spanish market. The application is not a separate form but part of the modelo 036 return: either at registration or later, as a separate modification.
| What | How |
|---|---|
| Form | modelo 036, IVA page |
| Key field | box 582 — application for inclusion in the ROI |
| Number format | the ISO-3166 prefix ES plus your ordinary NIF |
| Decision deadline | three months |
| If there is no answer | the application is deemed rejected |
| Result | the number appears in the VIES database |
Two traps where people lose months.
- The simplified version of 036 does not include ROI. If you choose the simplified form at registration, box 582 simply is not there, and you will later have to file a modification. A field-by-field walkthrough is in our guide on how to register as an autónomo in Spain.
- Silence from the tax authority means refusal. Three months of silence does not mean “still under review” but is grounds to consider the application rejected. The tax authority is entitled to refuse and often checks that the business is genuine before including you in the register.
Who must have the number
The law lists four cases, and the third and fourth apply to almost every freelancer working with European clients.
- Supplies and acquisitions of goods within the EU.
- Legal entities that are not businesses, when they buy goods within the EU.
- Recipients of services from suppliers not established in Spain, where the recipient pays the tax. This includes anyone paying European providers for advertising, hosting or subscriptions.
- Service providers whose services, under the place-of-supply rules, are deemed supplied in another EU country, if the client pays the tax there. This is the typical case of a freelancer with a client in Germany or France.
The logic of the rule is simple: for business-to-business services, the place of supply is the client’s country, not the supplier’s. So Spanish IVA does not appear on the invoice, and the client charges the tax in their own country — this is the reverse charge, inversión del sujeto pasivo.
What you will have to file afterwards
The number gives you the right not to charge tax, but it adds reporting.
| What to file | When |
|---|---|
| Modelo 349, the recapitulative statement of intra-EU transactions | monthly by default, by the 20th of the following month |
| The same, quarterly | if neither in the current quarter nor in any of the four previous ones did transactions exceed €50,000 excluding tax |
| Return for the last period of the year | the first 30 days of January |
| July return | can be filed in August and up to 20 September |
| Record book of certain intra-EU transactions | kept on an ongoing basis |
The €50,000 threshold is cumulative. If you exceed it in the middle of a quarter, you file a return for the months already passed without waiting for the quarter to end.
Your ordinary tax reporting does not go away: modelo 303 quarterly and the annual 390. The period becomes monthly with turnover above €6,010,121 in the previous year and under several special regimes.
Common mistakes
- Invoicing without tax before being included in the register. Until your number is in VIES, you must charge Spanish tax at 21%. A European client will generally refuse to pay such an invoice, and the tax is still yours.
- Checking a client only once. Numbers are cancelled without warning to counterparties.
- Only one party has a number. The mechanism requires valid numbers on both sides.
- Forgetting report 349. It is not replaced by the 303 return and is filed separately, even if the amount is small.
- Waiting for “approval” for more than three months. After three months you should not wait but reapply or find out the reason.
Frequently asked questions
What is a VAT number in simple terms?
It is a VAT payer number under which a business is visible to partners in other EU countries. It confirms that you are a business and lets you trade within the Union without tax on the invoice.
How does it differ from a Spanish NIF?
It is the same number with the prefix ES, but it exists for intra-EU transactions only after inclusion in the register of operators. Having a NIF gives you nothing on its own.
How long does it take to be assigned?
Up to three months. If the tax authority has not replied within that time, the application is deemed rejected.
Do I need the number if all my clients are outside the EU?
Not for dealings with non-EU clients as such. But if you buy services from European providers and you pay the tax on them, the number is mandatory.
Will a Russian INN do?
No. The VIES system only knows numbers from EU countries and Northern Ireland.
What should I do if my number shows as invalid?
Contact your tax authority: only it updates the data in the system. Until it is corrected, you cannot issue invoices without tax.
Official sources
- VIES — number checks and the European Commission’s answers on how the service works
- Royal Decree 1065/2007, article 25 — the ES prefix, the assignment procedure, three months and refusal by silence
- Register of intra-EU operators on the Spanish tax agency website
- NIF-IVA: registration and payment of tax — the government portal, box 582 and obligations
- VAT Regulation, article 81 — deadlines and the €50,000 threshold for report 349
- Law 37/1992, articles 69 and 84 — place of supply of services and the reverse charge
This article is for information only and does not replace tax advice. Thresholds and deadlines are revised: check them as of the date of your transaction.
