Fill the AEAT Modelo 303 Quarterly VAT Return — Free, No Sign-Up

Modelo 303 is the Declaración trimestral del IVA — the quarterly Value Added Tax (Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido) self-assessment that every VAT-registered business in Spain files with the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT). It reports the IVA charged on sales (IVA devengado), the IVA reclaimed on purchases (IVA deducible) and the net amount owed to or refunded by Hacienda for the quarter. The annual summary that consolidates all four quarters is Modelo 390.

Modelo 303 must be filed by every person or entity carrying out economic activities subject to IVA in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands — autónomos (self-employed), SLs, SAs, civil partnerships and professional partnerships alike. There is no minimum turnover threshold: from the very first invoice, a registered taxpayer files Modelo 303 each quarter. Activities in the Canary Islands fall under IGIC (Modelo 420), not IVA, and Ceuta/Melilla use IPSI; those operators do not file Modelo 303 for local sales but may still need to file for any peninsular activity.

Modelo 303 is filed every quarter: 1T (Jan–Mar) by 20 April, 2T (Apr–Jun) by 20 July, 3T (Jul–Sep) by 20 October, and 4T (Oct–Dec) by 30 January of the following year. When the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday the term is extended to the next business day. To pay by direct debit (domiciliación), submission is brought forward to the 15th of the same months. A negative or zero return is still due — failing to file even an empty Modelo 303 triggers a sanción for falta de presentación.

Modelo 390 is the resumen anual del IVA — the annual recap that summarises the figures already reported in the four quarterly Modelo 303 filings (1T, 2T, 3T and 4T). It is due in January (typically between 1 and 30 January) for the previous calendar year and contains no payment: the tax has already been settled through Modelo 303. Some taxpayers — broadly, those on the SII régimen and certain simplified-regime operators — are exempt from Modelo 390 because AEAT already has the same data via SII or via box 88 of the 4T Modelo 303.

Three IVA rates apply in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands: tipo general 21% (default rate for most goods and services), tipo reducido 10% (hospitality, transport of passengers, most food not at superreducido, water, healthcare products not exempt, certain housing) and tipo superreducido 4% (basic food staples, books, newspapers, medicines, prosthetics, social housing under VPO). Modelo 303 has dedicated rows for each rate, plus separate rows for adquisiciones intracomunitarias, recargo de equivalencia (small retailers) and IVA deducible on imports.

If you trade with VAT-registered businesses in other EU member states you must be listed in the Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios (ROI) and obtain an NIF-IVA. Sales and purchases to EU customers without IVA charged are reported on Modelo 349 (informative declaration of intracomunitario operations) and also flow into specific boxes of Modelo 303: adquisiciones intracomunitarias de bienes (boxes 10–11) and entregas intracomunitarias (box 59). Modelo 349 frequency is monthly, quarterly or annual depending on volume.

Modelo 369 implements the EU One-Stop Shop (OSS) for cross-border B2C ecommerce and digital services. Once a Spanish business exceeds €10,000 of distance sales to consumers in other EU countries (in a single tax year), it must charge IVA at the destination-country rate and either register for IVA in each country or — much more commonly — use OSS via Modelo 369 in Spain. OSS does not replace Modelo 303 for domestic Spanish IVA; it sits alongside it for the EU B2C portion of the business.

Recargo de equivalencia is the special IVA regime for autónomos who resell goods to final consumers without transforming them — typical small retail (clothing, hardware, pharmacy, etc.). The supplier charges an extra recargo (5.2% on top of 21%, 1.4% on top of 10%, 0.5% on top of 4%, plus 1.75% for tobacco) which the supplier remits via their own Modelo 303. Retailers under recargo de equivalencia do NOT file Modelo 303 for those sales — that is the whole point of the régimen — but they still file for any activity outside it.

Régimen especial del criterio de caja (RECC) lets eligible small businesses defer accounting for IVA devengado until they actually collect from the customer, and defer deducting IVA soportado until they actually pay the supplier — useful when invoices have long payment terms. To qualify, turnover in the previous year must be under €2,000,000 and cash collections from a single client under €100,000. You opt in by ticking the box on Modelo 036/037 in December for the following year, and Modelo 303 must then track payments not invoices.

No. The Agencia Tributaria only accepts Modelo 303 through the sede electrónica AEAT, authenticated with a digital certificate, electronic DNI or Cl@ve credentials, and large taxpayers under SII (Suministro Inmediato de Información) push invoice data in near real time via API. PDF Edit lets you fill the Modelo 303 layout in your browser for drafting, agent review, paper records or learning the form — your data stays on your device and nothing is uploaded. For the actual presentation, log into agenciatributaria.es and submit there.