IRPF withholding (retención) is the part of your invoice your client does not pay you: they keep it and pay it to Hacienda, the Spanish tax agency, in your name. It is not a separate tax but an advance on your IRPF (personal income tax), which you later subtract in your modelo 130 and in your Renta (annual income tax return). It is one piece of autónomo taxes in Spain, the guide that covers every other return and deadline.
Here is the rate to put on each invoice: the general 15% for professionals, the 7% for those starting out, invoices with no withholding and the 19%, 2% and 1% cases. Each rule cites the article of Ley 35/2006 (the IRPF Law) or of its Reglamento (Real Decreto 439/2007, the IRPF Regulation) it comes from.
Who withholds and who does not
Companies and other entities that pay you withhold. So do autónomos when they pay you as part of their business (article 99.2 of the IRPF Law and article 76.1 of the Regulation). A private individual who hires you for something at home never withholds. That is why the same job carries withholding when you invoice a company and none when you invoice a person.
Not everything you invoice is subject either. Among business income, the Regulation only subjects professional income, agricultural, livestock and forestry income and a few activities taxed under módulos to withholding (article 75.1.c). If your activity is a business rather than a profession and you calculate your profit under estimación directa (the standard method based on real income and expenses), like a shop, a bar or a hair salon, your invoices carry no withholding even when the client is a company.
Which rate to use: the table
| Your case | Withholding | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Professional invoicing a company or an autónomo | 15% | Article 101.5.a of the Law and 95.1 of the Regulation |
| Professional in the start year and the two following, if notified in writing | 7% | Article 95.1 of the Regulation |
| Certain artistic activities with low income the year before | 7% | Article 95.1.d of the Regulation |
| Agricultural, livestock or forestry activities | 2% (1% for pig fattening and poultry) | Article 95.4 and 95.5 of the Regulation |
| Some activities under módulos invoicing businesses | 1% | Article 95.6 of the Regulation |
| Renting business premises or an office (you withhold from the landlord) | 19% | Article 100 of the Regulation |
| Invoice to a private individual | None | Article 99.2 of the Law |
| Business activity in estimación directa | None | Article 75.1.c of the Regulation |
15%: the rule for professionals
If your activity is professional, withholding is 15% (article 101.5.a of the Law and article 95.1 of the Regulation). Broadly, professional activities are those in sections two and three of the IAE (Impuesto sobre Actividades Económicas, the business activity tax) classification: lawyers, architects, designers, programmers, consultants, translators or artists. The Regulation adds authors and translators paid royalties, commission agents who only bring parties together and teachers, unless they teach in their own academy (article 95.2).
Withholding is calculated on the invoice base, without IVA (Spanish VAT). If you invoice €1.000 plus IVA, your invoice adds €210 of IVA, subtracts €150 of withholding and your client pays you €1.060. Your client pays those €150 to Hacienda with their modelo 111 and they count as already paid for you.
7% if you have just started
If you start a professional activity, withholding drops to 7% for the start year and the two following years. The condition is that you carried out no professional activity in the year before your start date (article 95.1 of the Regulation). If you registered on 10/03/2026, you apply 7% in 2026, 2027 and 2028. From 01/01/2029 you go back to 15%.
It is not automatic. You have to tell each client in writing and the client has to keep that signed notice. The law sets no format: a short letter with your details, your start date and a statement that you had no professional activity the year before is enough. If a client does not have it, they will apply 15%.
If you register again after a break, only the year before the new start counts. If you carried out no professional activity that year, you are entitled to 7% again.
Other 7% cases
The 7% rate also applies, with no time limit, to municipal tax collectors, insurance intermediaries working with external assistants and sales agents of Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (the state lottery). It also applies to certain artistic and entertainment activities listed by their IAE heading in article 95.1.d, provided that the year before that income was under €15.000 and made up more than 75% of your business and employment income. Here too you have to notify the payer in writing.
Invoices with no withholding
- To private individuals. Only entities and people paying within a business withhold (article 99.2 of the Law).
- Business activities in estimación directa. Retail, hospitality, repairs or personal services such as a hair salon are not among the income subject to withholding (article 75.1.c of the Regulation).
- Foreign clients with no establishment in Spain. A company from another country that does not operate here through a permanent establishment is generally not among those required to withhold from you (article 76.1 of the Regulation).
- Autónomos paying you for something personal. If the expense is not part of their business, they do not withhold.
Withholding at 19%, 2% and 1%
Renting your premises: 19%
If you rent business premises or an office, you are the one who withholds: 19% of everything you pay the landlord, without IVA (article 100 of the Regulation). There is no withholding if what you pay one landlord does not exceed €900 a year, if a company rents a home for its employees or if the landlord proves they pay IAE under a rental heading with a non-zero charge (article 75.3.g). You pay it with modelo 115 and summarise it in January in modelo 180.
Farming, livestock and forestry: 2% or 1%
If you sell what your farm produces without processing it, your client withholds 2% of the income. For pig fattening and poultry it is 1% (article 95.4). Forestry activities carry 2% (article 95.5). Subsidies and compensation payments are left out.
Módulos: 1%
If you are taxed under estimación objetiva (módulos, a flat-rate method based on set indicators) for one of the activities listed in article 95.6, such as bricklaying, plumbing, painting, carpentry and locksmithing, road freight or removals, the businesses that pay you withhold 1%. If you move to estimación directa, you tell them in writing and they stop withholding. How that withholding fits into your quarterly payments is covered in modelo 131 under módulos.
What you do with the amounts withheld
What is withheld from you is already paid towards your IRPF. You subtract it in two places:
- In modelo 130. As a professional, you subtract the withholding accumulated during the year (article 110.3.a of the Regulation). If at least 70% of your professional income carried withholding the year before, you do not have to file it (article 109.2). It is explained step by step in how to fill in modelo 130.
- In the Renta. Withholding is subtracted from the tax due (article 79.e of the Law). We cover it in the Renta for autónomos.
Every client that withholds from you must give you a certificate of the year's withholding before the Renta campaign opens (article 108.3 of the Regulation). They also report it in their annual summary, modelo 190. If a figure does not match your invoices, ask them before you file your Renta.
How Facturaz helps
In Facturaz you choose the withholding on each invoice and the app subtracts it from the total. It calculates your returns from your invoices and expenses as you add them. On Autónomo Go (€24 + VAT a month) it prepares the official file of modelo 130, 111, 115 and the rest for you to file yourself with a step-by-step guide. On Autónomo Plus (€44 + VAT a month) our team files them for you, along with your Renta. You can try it free for 14 days from Facturaz pricing.
