Issuing your first invoice is the moment your activity as a self-employed professional stops being a project and becomes a real business in the eyes of the Spanish tax authority. It's not just a payment receipt: it's a legal document with strict requirements that determine how much VAT you'll pay each quarter, how much income tax your client withholds, and whether your client can deduct the expense.

The good news is that once you understand the required elements, the process is quick and predictable. The bad news is that Hacienda takes errors seriously: non-sequential invoice numbering, misapplied VAT, and missing IRPF withholding are among the most commonly penalised mistakes in freelancer audits. This guide walks you step by step through everything you need to issue your first legal invoice in 2026, with a worked example in real numbers.

Before you issue: what needs to be in place

Before you even think about your first invoice, the following must be done. If any is missing, your invoice is technically invalid.

Tax registration (Hacienda). You need to have filed Modelo 036 or 037 before starting your activity. This is what assigns you an economic activity code (epígrafe del IAE) and legally enables you to issue invoices.
Social Security registration. Enrolment in the special self-employed scheme (RETA) via Modelo TA0521.
A business bank account. Not legally required for individual autónomos, but separating business and personal finances will save you major accounting and deductibility headaches.
Verifactu-certified invoicing software. From 2026, autónomos must use certified systems that send each invoice record to the AEAT. Spreadsheets and Word templates are no longer a legal option.

Mandatory elements of a Spanish invoice

A complete invoice in Spain must include every one of these items, per Royal Decree 1619/2012. If any is missing, the invoice is not valid and Hacienda can reject it.

Sequential invoice number and series. Each invoice must have a unique, consecutive number without gaps. You can use a single series (2026-0001, 2026-0002...) or multiple series by client or type (PRO-2026-0001, NAC-2026-0001). If you use series, each must be sequential internally.
Issue date.
Your details as issuer. Full legal name, NIF (Spanish tax ID), full fiscal address.
Recipient details. Name or company name, NIF/CIF, address. If invoicing an individual, name and NIF are enough.
Description of the operation. Be specific: "Professional services" is not enough; "Corporate identity design for Spring 2026 campaign" is.
Taxable base. The amount before taxes.
VAT rate and amount. The percentage (21%, 10%, 4% or exempt) and the amount in euros.
IRPF withholding where applicable.
Total payable. Base + VAT − IRPF.
Operation date if different from the issue date.

Complete invoice vs. simplified invoice

Spanish regulations allow simplified invoices (what used to be called "tickets") for operations up to €400 including VAT, or up to €3,000 in specific sectors such as hospitality or passenger transport. Simplified invoices need less information: the recipient doesn't need to be identified if they aren't a business.

In practice, as a B2B freelancer, you should almost always issue complete invoices. The reason is simple: if your client is a business or another autónomo and wants to deduct the VAT from your invoice, they need a complete invoice with their details. A simplified one won't work for them. The recommendation is always complete unless you're selling to end consumers in small amounts.

Choosing the correct VAT rate

Spain has four VAT rates and picking the wrong one is one of the costlier mistakes.

21% — general rate. Most professional services (design, consulting, programming, marketing) and general products.
10% — reduced rate. Hospitality, passenger transport, certain housing construction and renovation work, event tickets.
4% — super-reduced rate. Basic food, books, newspapers, medicines, officially protected housing.
Exempt. Regulated education, healthcare, certain financial and insurance services.

If you're unsure which rate applies to your activity, there's a specific guide on choosing VAT and IRPF rates covering the common cases.

When IRPF withholding applies

IRPF withholding is where new autónomos most often get confused. The rules are clear:

Invoices to Spanish businesses or autónomos for professional activities: withholding applies. General rate 15%, or 7% in your year of registration and the two following years (if you haven't carried out the professional activity in the prior 12 months).
Invoices to individuals: no withholding.
Invoices to foreign clients (EU or non-EU): no Spanish IRPF withholding.
Invoices for business (non-professional) activities, e.g. retail in objective estimation regime: generally no withholding.

When withholding applies, your client is the one who pays it to Hacienda, not you. Your client submits that 15% (or 7%) quarterly via Modelo 111, and you declare it as an advance payment in your annual personal income tax return.

Numbering your invoices correctly

Sequential numbering is one of the areas Hacienda examines carefully. Three basic rules:

No gaps allowed. If you issue 2026-0001 and then 2026-0003, Hacienda will ask what happened to 2026-0002. You can't skip numbers.
You can't delete an issued invoice. If you make a mistake on an invoice that's already been sent or recorded, you correct it with a corrective invoice (R- or similar series), not by deleting the original.
Multiple series are allowed. You can have PRO-2026-0001 for business clients and PAR-2026-0001 for individuals if you prefer, as long as each series is internally sequential.

The simplest approach for beginners: use a single series reset each fiscal year — 2026-0001, 2026-0002... through year-end.

Verifactu in 2026: what changes

Royal Decree 1007/2023 introduces the Verifactu system, which requires all invoicing software to generate a digitally signed record of each invoice and automatically send it to the AEAT. In practice this means:

Every issued invoice carries a verifiable QR code.
Data cannot be altered after issuance without leaving a trace.
You cannot use Word, Excel templates, or legacy software.

The complete guide to Verifactu covers the details. For your first invoice, the relevant point is: make sure the software you choose from day one is Verifactu-certified. Switching later is complicated because your numbering has to keep its sequence.

Your first invoice, step by step — a worked example

Let's issue a complete invoice with real numbers. The case: María López García, graphic designer, newly registered as autónoma in January 2026. Her first client is Acme Estudios SL, a Madrid company. The service: corporate identity design for a campaign, priced at €1,500 plus VAT.

Invoice nº: 2026-0001
Issue date: 15 January 2026

Issuer:
María López García
NIF: 12345678Z
Calle Gran Vía 10, 28013 Madrid

Recipient:
Acme Estudios SL
CIF: B12345678
Calle Alcalá 50, 28014 Madrid

Description:
Corporate identity design for "Primavera 2026" campaign (logo, style guide, applications)

Taxable base: €1,500.00
VAT (21%): €315.00
IRPF (7% — new autónomo): −€105.00
Total payable: €1,710.00

What happens to this money in practice:

Acme pays María €1,710.
Of those €1,710, €315 is VAT that María will remit to Hacienda in April (Modelo 303 for Q1 2026).
The €105 of IRPF is withheld by Acme and paid directly to Hacienda in their quarterly Modelo 111. María won't see that money until it's offset against her annual personal income tax return.
The €1,500 base is what María can actually consider earned in her activity, before deducting her business expenses.

If Acme were an individual client (not a business), the invoice would be identical except no IRPF withholding: total payable would be €1,815 (€1,500 + €315 VAT). If Acme were in France, there would be neither withholding nor Spanish VAT, but intra-community rules would apply.

Legal deadlines for issuing an invoice

If your client is an individual (B2C): you must issue the invoice at the time of the operation.
If your client is a business or autónomo (B2B): you have until the 15th of the month following the operation.

Example: you provide the service on 28 March to a company. You can issue the invoice up to 15 April. If the issue date and the operation date differ, both must appear on the invoice.

If you make a mistake: the corrective invoice

If you discover an error on an already-sent invoice (wrong VAT, wrong amount, incorrect client data) and it hasn't yet been paid or reported, the cleanest approach is to cancel it by issuing a corrective that replaces the original. If the quarter has already closed and the invoice has been declared in Modelo 303, you have to issue a corrective invoice with a separate series (usually R- or RECT-) referencing the original.

What you should never do: delete the original invoice or alter its data. This breaks the sequence and exposes your accounting to sanctions.

Record keeping and archive

You are required to keep issued and received invoices for four years for tax purposes before Hacienda, and six years for commercial law purposes. Electronic storage is legal and recommended. If you use Verifactu-certified software, the system retains the record for the legal periods automatically.

How Facturaz simplifies your first invoice

Facturaz is built specifically for Spanish autónomos and takes care of all the critical points of your first invoice for you:

Automatic numbering with configurable series, guaranteed sequence and annual reset.
Automatic VAT calculation based on client and service type.
Smart IRPF withholding that detects whether your client is a Spanish business or not.
Verifactu integrated from day one with QR, digital signature and AEAT submission.
Corrective invoice in one click with a separate series and reference to the original.
Automatic archive of all your invoices for the legal periods.

You can start free and issue your first invoice in five minutes. You only pay €24/month once you're invoicing regularly.

How to create your first invoice as autónomo in Spain (2026)