Since 2013 what used to be called a ticket (till receipt) is called a factura simplificada (simplified invoice). It is a real invoice, with a number and series, but with fewer details than a full one: the client does not have to be identified. It is one part of how to invoice as an autónomo, the guide with every invoicing rule.
Here is when you can issue one, when you cannot, what it must contain and whether your client can use it to deduct the IVA (Spanish VAT). The rules come from articles 4 and 7 of the Invoicing Regulation (Real Decreto 1619/2012) and article 97 of Ley 37/1992 on IVA.
When you can issue a simplified invoice
Any autónomo (self-employed person) or company can issue a simplified invoice instead of a full one in two cases (article 4.1 of the Invoicing Regulation):
- When the amount is no more than €400, IVA included.
- When it is a corrective invoice (factura rectificativa), whatever the amount.
Up to €3.000 in certain activities
The limit rises to €3.000, IVA included, for these operations (article 4.2):
- Retail sales, meaning sales to final consumers, including those made by the manufacturer. Goods that by their nature are mainly for business use do not count.
- Street sales or services and sales or services at the consumer's home.
- Transport of people and their luggage.
- Hospitality and restaurant services in restaurants, bars, cafés and similar places. Also food or drink sold for immediate consumption.
- Dance halls and nightclubs.
- Hairdressers and beauty salons.
- Use of sports facilities.
- Photo developing and photography studios.
- Car parks, toll motorways, film rental, dry cleaning and laundry.
- Public phones or phone cards that do not identify the holder.
The Agencia Tributaria (Spanish tax agency) can authorise simplified invoices in other cases, when the practices of a sector make it hard to include every detail of a full invoice (article 4.3).
An example. Lucía runs a hair salon. A €35 haircut gets a simplified invoice. So does a €650 bridal package, because hairdressing is on the list and it stays under €3.000. Jorge, a graphic designer, charges a private client €600 for a logo and must issue a full invoice with the client's name and NIF (tax ID): his activity is not on the list and the amount is over €400.
When you cannot use it
Even for small amounts, article 4.4 does not allow a simplified invoice for these operations:
- Supplies of goods to a business in another EU country, exempt under article 25 of the IVA Law.
- Operations that, under the place of supply rules, do not take place in Spain: for example a service to a business in another EU country under the reverse charge or a service to a business outside the EU.
- Operations in Spain by a non-established business where the client declares the IVA and issues the invoice itself.
In practice, if your client is in another country you almost always need a full invoice. We explain it in how to invoice a client abroad.
What a simplified invoice must show
Article 7.1 of the Invoicing Regulation sets its compulsory details:
- Number and, if you use several, series. Numbering within each series is consecutive.
- Date of issue.
- Date of the operation or of an advance payment, if different from the date of issue.
- Your NIF and your full name or company name.
- What you sell: the type of goods or services.
- The IVA rate applied and, if you wish, the words "IVA incluido" (IVA included). If you mix different rates, the base for each rate is shown separately.
- The total amount.
- If it is a corrective invoice, an express reference to the invoice it corrects and to what changes.
- Special mentions when they apply, such as an exemption with its article, the reverse charge or the cash accounting scheme (letters j to p of article 6.1).
It does not carry the client's name, NIF or address, nor the IVA amount separately. That changes when the client asks, as you will see below.
A series separate from full invoices
If in the same year you issue both simplified and full invoices, you must number them in separate series (article 7.1.a). Full corrective invoices also go in a series of their own (article 6.1.a).
The Veri*Factu QR code
If you issue the simplified invoice with invoicing software, it also carries the QR code and, if the software sends the records to the Agencia Tributaria, the words "VERI*FACTU" (article 7.5, which refers to article 6.5). Under the law in force, if you invoice with software it must be adapted before 01/07/2027, or before 01/01/2027 if you pay Corporate Income Tax (Real Decreto 1007/2023, as amended by Real Decreto-ley 15/2025). The government has announced a delay to 2028 that is not yet in the BOE.
When your client asks for their NIF
If the buyer is a business or a professional and asks for it, you must add to the simplified invoice (article 7.2):
- Their NIF, Spanish or from another EU country.
- Their address.
- The IVA amount, separate from the price.
The same applies if the client is a private individual who needs those details to exercise a tax right (article 7.3). Another option is to exchange the simplified invoice for a full one. That exchange invoice is not a corrective invoice if the original simplified invoice was correct (article 15.6). If there was an error, then you do need a factura rectificativa.
Why without the NIF your client cannot deduct the IVA
The IVA Law only lets a business deduct input IVA if it holds the document that justifies it: the original invoice meeting the regulation's requirements (article 97.Uno). For that purpose the Invoicing Regulation accepts the full invoice under article 6 (article 6.4) and the simplified invoice that shows the client's NIF and address and the IVA amount separately (article 7.2). On top of that, you can never deduct more IVA than the amount shown expressly and separately on the document (article 97.Tres).
So a simplified invoice without the buyer's NIF and without the IVA broken down gives no right to deduct. An example with supplies for your workshop:
| Document | Base | IVA you can deduct |
|---|---|---|
| Simplified invoice without your NIF | €50,00 | €0,00 |
| Simplified invoice with your NIF, your address and the €10,50 IVA shown separately | €50,00 | €10,50 |
| Full invoice | €50,00 | €10,50 |
That IVA is only deductible if the expense belongs to your activity, like any other. The general rules are in how to deduct expenses as an autónomo.
For the seller nothing changes: the IVA on each simplified invoice goes into modelo 303 (the quarterly IVA return) exactly like that of a full invoice. What changes is what your client can do with it.
How Facturaz does it
Facturaz issues simplified invoices as well as full, recurring and corrective ones. An issued invoice is never deleted or edited: every correction is a rectificativa that copies the lines as negative amounts and references the original. Facturaz is Verifactu compliant. Autónomo Go costs €24 + IVA a month and Autónomo Plus €44 + IVA a month, with 14 days free: see pricing.
