Spanish Freelancer Tax Forms: 036, 111, 130, 303 and 390

The form numbers describe different obligations. Modelo 036 registers your activity and tax position; 111 reports withholding you make as a payer; 130 makes instalments toward your own income tax; 303 reports VAT; and 390 is a VAT annual summary where required. Modelo 037 belongs to older guidance: it was abolished on February 3, 2025.

Start with the current form map#

This guide uses the common AEAT framework for Spanish freelancers. Basque and Navarre foral rules and the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla have territorial differences. Identify the competent tax administration and indirect-tax territory before applying a mainland IVA workflow.

Modelo 036 replaces the old 037 choice#

AEAT’s 2025 change notice confirms the suppression of Modelo 037 from February 3, 2025. Use Modelo 036 for current census registration, modification and deregistration. Simplified assistance within 036 does not make the former 037 a currently available alternative.

Prepare your identity and fiscal address, activity, start date, applicable income-tax regime, VAT position and any withholding obligations. Check the resulting registration rather than keeping only a blank form or application draft. When these facts change, update the census record through the appropriate 036 procedure.

Social Security’s autónomo registration is a separate process. Importass says to apply before starting activity and permits application up to 60 days in advance. It applies to habitual self-employed activity under its requirements; tax registration alone does not complete Social Security registration. Keep the start date and registration confirmations aligned.

Modelo 111: reporting tax you withhold from someone else#

The 111 procedure concerns payers required to withhold or make payments on account for specified income, including relevant employment and professional payments. If a Spanish business client withholds IRPF from your invoice, that client reports the withholding. Receiving a withheld payment does not itself create your own 111 obligation.

You may need 111 when your activity pays employees or qualifying professionals and you must withhold. Keep recipient identifiers, gross bases, payment dates and withheld amounts. Ordinary quarterly filers submit within the first 20 calendar days after the quarter; a monthly obligation uses its own schedule.

AEAT’s withholding-rate table lists 15% as the general professional rate and 7% for qualifying new professionals in the start year and two following years. Eligibility and communication requirements matter. Other income categories have different rates; do not assign 15% to every freelancer or every invoice.

Illustrative professional invoice, where 21% IVA and 15% IRPF withholding both apply: €1,000 service base + €210 VAT − €150 withholding = €1,060 paid to the professional. The payer remits the €150 withholding. The professional records €1,000 revenue and €210 output VAT, with €150 tax withheld on their behalf. The bank receipt is not the revenue figure.

Modelo 130: your income-tax instalment#

AEAT’s 130 instructions cover activities under direct estimation. For ordinary non-agricultural business/professional activity, the calculation generally begins with 20% of cumulative net income from the start of the year, then accounts for relevant earlier instalments, withholding and applicable adjustments. It is not simply 20% of this quarter’s bank deposits.

A professional is generally exempt from instalments for that professional activity if at least 70% of the previous calendar year’s income from it was subject to withholding or payment on account. In a start year, assess the proportion using income in the period covered by the instalment. Distinguish this professional-activity rule from other activities or regimes.

Example for an ordinary non-agricultural activity that must file 130: by the end of quarter two, cumulative revenue is €20,000 and qualifying deductible expenses are €8,000, excluding deductible VAT. Net income is €12,000; 20% is €2,400. With €1,000 in applicable earlier instalments and €900 cumulative withholding, the starting amount is €500 before any other applicable reductions or adjustments. The amounts are invented to illustrate the cumulative method.

Use your records under the applicable recognition rules, not an unexplained list of incoming transfers. If the calculation is zero or negative, follow the relevant filing instructions; it does not automatically cancel an existing obligation to submit.

Modelo 303: separate output VAT from deductible input VAT#

Modelo 303 is the periodic VAT self-assessment. Output VAT on your sales, deductible input VAT on purchases, reverse charges and corrections can all affect it. VAT-exempt activity, special regimes and mixed-use purchases need their own treatment rather than a default “VAT received minus every VAT expense” calculation.

Using the invoice example above, output VAT is €210 even though the professional received €1,060 after IRPF withholding. An eligible €200 purchase carrying €42 of fully deductible input VAT would leave €168 before other VAT entries or adjustments. The €150 IRPF withholding does not reduce output VAT.

A domestic 21% example is not a rule for every client. Cross-border B2B services, electronic consumer services, exempt supplies and special territorial taxes can have different treatment. Identify the transaction and customer before choosing the invoice’s VAT setting.

Modelo 390: an annual summary with exemptions#

Modelo 390 summarizes the annual VAT information; it is not a second payment of the same VAT. Reconcile the year’s VAT books, periodic returns and corrections where it applies.

AEAT’s 2026 calendar notes exempt specified quarterly taxpayers operating only in common territory with simplified-regime activity and/or urban-property rentals, subject to the stated conditions. SII taxpayers are also exempt. Exempt filers must supply the required additional annual information in their last 303. Review all activities and cessation timing before claiming the exemption.

Ordinary consulting under the general VAT regime does not become exempt from 390 just because it is small or files quarterly. Keep the reason for any exemption with your census and year-end records.

Use the right deadline for each form#

The 130 deadline guide and 303 deadline guide confirm their quarterly windows. Check the current AEAT calendar for non-working-day extensions and the earlier deadline if paying by direct debit. Monthly 303 and other monthly obligations have separate rules. In particular, do not copy the January 30 VAT deadline into a quarterly 111 schedule.

What else can sit beside these forms?#

The five current forms above are not an exhaustive tax calendar. Depending on the facts, Modelo 190 summarizes relevant withholding, 115/180 can concern property-rental withholding, 349 can concern qualifying intra-EU transactions, and your annual personal income-tax return remains separate. Modelo 131 belongs to an objective-estimation instalment regime rather than the 130 direct-estimation route.

When appointing a gestor, ask them to list your registered obligations, the reason each applies, its frequency and who submits it. A commercial platform’s record of your payout is not a substitute for your own registration or tax returns.

Keep records that reproduce the return#

• Sales and purchase invoices, including credit notes, linked to the relevant books.
• Gross service income, IVA and IRPF withholding as separate fields.
• Withholding certificates and records of payments you made as a withholder.
• Cumulative income-tax workpapers and earlier instalment amounts.
• The submitted form, presentation receipt and proof of payment or accepted direct debit.
• Census and Social Security confirmations, plus later activity changes.

Before submitting, compare each filed amount with its workpaper and source invoices. Save the final version and receipt, not just a draft. If an error appears after submission, use the correction procedure applicable to the model, period and type of error instead of silently changing the archived return.

At cessation, update both tax and Social Security records as applicable and check outstanding period and annual filings. Stopping new invoices does not erase obligations from earlier activity.