When does VeriFactu start? Key dates in Spain

When does VeriFactu start? The short answer

When does VeriFactu start? Under the rules in force on 12 October 2026, it becomes mandatory on 1 July 2027 for autónomos (the self-employed) and on 1 January 2027 for companies. That is the date the BOE, Spain's official gazette, sets today, and the one you should plan around.

The catch: on 5 October 2026 Hacienda (the Spanish Ministry of Finance) announced in an information note that it will postpone those obligations until October 2028, but that delay has not yet been published in the BOE. That is why you see different dates everywhere (2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028): some were legal deadlines and others are announcements. Here you will find the rule behind each date, what is confirmed and a plan with the days counted. If you want to understand the system first, start with what VeriFactu is; if you would rather not issue the invoices yourself, see Melso invoicing.

The VeriFactu dates that apply today

The date is set by the fourth final provision of Royal Decree 1007/2023, the Regulation on invoicing software systems. Its consolidated text in the BOE (last update published on 3 December 2025, checked on 12 October 2026) says this:

The AEAT, Spain's tax agency, confirms this in its note on the extended adaptation period: companies before 1 January 2027 and everyone else required before 1 July 2027.

The deadlines in the last two rows have already passed. Order HAC/1177/2024, with the technical specifications, came into force on 29 October 2024; nine months later, on 29 July 2025, the general deadline expired. The exception, under Royal Decree-law 15/2025: programs sold with multi-year maintenance contracts are adapted to their users' dates. And according to the AEAT's FAQs for developers, the record-receiving service has been in production since 23 April 2025: you can already invoice with an adapted system even if you are not yet required to.

One clarification: "coming into force" and "becoming mandatory" are not the same thing. The regulation came into force the day after it was published, in December 2023. What keeps moving is the date by which each taxpayer must have their software adapted, which is what almost everyone is really asking about.

(opens the image in a new tab)

Timeline: how many times VeriFactu has been delayed

The history of the VeriFactu delays explains the conflicting information out there. Keep the changes made by a rule published in the BOE separate from the announcement that still has no rule behind it.

First delay: from 2025 to 2026

The original text of Royal Decree 1007/2023, published in the BOE on 6 December 2023, set a single date for everyone: before 1 July 2025. Royal Decree 254/2025, published on 2 April 2025, split companies (1 January 2026) from everyone else (1 July 2026) for the first time. Plenty of articles and sales emails still quote these dates, which no longer apply.

Second delay: VeriFactu pushed back to 2027

Royal Decree-law 15/2025 of 2 December, published in the BOE on 3 December 2025, rewrote the fourth final provision and moved both dates back a year. It arrived before 1 January 2026, so the 2026 dates were never enforceable. A royal decree-law must go through Congress within the following 30 days (article 86.2 of the Constitution): this one was validated on 11 December 2025 and the decision appeared in the BOE of 16 December 2025. That is why 2027 is the firm VeriFactu date today.

Third delay: the October 2028 announcement

On 5 October 2026, the Ministry of Finance published an information note announcing the postponement. It is not a rule, and it should not be confused with Order HAC/1028/2026, published in the BOE that same day on e-invoicing. The note says the ministry will proceed "to postpone the obligations of Royal Decree 1007/2023 of 5 December that have yet to apply until October 2028, so that they coincide with mandatory e-invoicing for businesses and professionals whose annual turnover does not exceed €8 million".

It adds two things:

• A second amendment will follow to bring the scope and some technical aspects closer to the future European digital reporting requirements, known as ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age).
• The core requirements stay: records will remain complete, preserved, accessible, legible, traceable and unalterable "in substantially equivalent terms". The technical details may change.

What is still needed for the 2028 delay to be official

A ministry announcement does not change a date set in a royal decree. It takes another rule that amends the fourth final provision and is published in the BOE, as happened with the two previous delays (one by royal decree and the other by royal decree-law).

Plan around 1 July 2027 and treat October 2028 as likely extra time. If the BOE publishes the rule, the extra time will be real and whatever you have prepared will give you a head start, although you may need to update your software for the ViDA amendment.

VeriFactu and e-invoicing: two separate obligations arriving together

The postponement makes sense once you look at the timetable for mandatory e-invoicing between businesses and professionals, which comes from Law 18/2022 (the Crea y Crece Law) and Royal Decree 238/2026 of 25 March. Its deadlines run from Order HAC/1028/2026, published in the BOE on 5 October 2026, which comes into force "the day after its publication", 6 October. The AEAT sums it up like this:

The last row comes from the third transitional provision of Royal Decree 238/2026: twelve months after the general date for all other businesses and professionals.

If the postponement is confirmed, most autónomos will face both obligations at once in October 2028. One is having an invoicing system that complies with the regulation, in VERI*FACTU or NO VERI*FACTU mode, which records every invoice so it cannot be altered. The other is issuing invoices in a structured electronic format to businesses and professionals with a registered office, establishment or address in Spain, except simplified invoices that are not qualified (articles 3 and 4 of Royal Decree 238/2026). It makes sense to prepare for both with the same tool; the details are in mandatory e-invoicing in Spain.

(opens the image in a new tab)

Who each date applies to

The date only matters if VeriFactu applies to you. According to the AEAT's FAQs, it applies if you meet all four of these conditions:

1. You use some software to issue invoices, even for just part of your business.
2. You are not on the Immediate Supply of Information system (SII), the near real-time VAT ledger system used by large businesses.
3. You are not taxed under the foral rules of the Basque Country or Navarre, which have their own regime (TicketBAI in the Basque territories).
4. The AEAT has not granted you an exemption.

Nor does it apply to entities fully exempt from Corporate Income Tax under article 9.1 of that law; partially exempt entities are covered for the transactions that generate taxable, non-exempt income (article 3 of Royal Decree 1007/2023).

If you write your invoices by hand or with a Word or Excel template you only use to type, print and save them, the AEAT makes clear that this is not an invoicing software system. If your Excel has macros that generate the register of issued invoices or prepare your quarterly returns, it is. The breakdown by profile is in VeriFactu for the self-employed.

(opens the image in a new tab)

Worked example: your plan if you are self-employed

Marta is a plumber in Zaragoza, self-employed since 2021. She pays personal income tax (IRPF) and issues about 25 invoices a month to residents' associations, businesses and private customers. She does them in an Excel with macros that number the invoices, generate the register of issued invoices and prepare her quarterly VAT. That Excel is an invoicing system, so VeriFactu applies to her.

Step 1. How much time she has. Today is 12 October 2026 and the date in force is "before 1 July 2027". Days are counted date to date: the start day does not count and the end day does. From 12 October 2026 to 1 January 2027 there are 81 days (19 in October, 30 in November, 31 in December and 1 January itself).

(opens the image in a new tab)

Step 2. What she risks if she misses it. Article 201 bis of the General Tax Law sets a flat fine of €50,000 per tax year for having uncertified software when it must be certified. If Marta invoices about €48,000 a year, the fine would be more than everything she invoices in a year. It only applies once the obligation is enforceable, but it is reason enough not to leave things to the last minute.

Step 3. When she switches. Marta picks 1 April 2027, the first day of the second quarter, 171 days from today. That way the whole second quarter comes out of a single system and her quarterly VAT return, Form 303 (modelo 303), does not mix two tools. It is not a legal requirement, just a way to keep things tidy.

Step 4. What she does each quarter.

Step 5. If October 2028 is confirmed. The work gives her a head start, but it is not final. She will have to review what the new rule brings (including the ViDA amendment), update her software and check that she can send e-invoices to anyone acting as a business or professional in Spain: businesses and, only when acting as such, residents' associations. Private customers are not covered by that obligation, and neither are simplified invoices that are not qualified (article 4 of Royal Decree 238/2026).

To fit these steps around your quarterly payments, check them against the 2026 tax calendar.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the date is 2028. As of 12 October 2026 it is an announcement. Until the BOE publishes the rule, the legal date is 1 July 2027 for the self-employed.
• Still using the 2026 dates. Those came from Royal Decree 254/2025 and were replaced by Royal Decree-law 15/2025 before they applied.
• Mixing up companies and the self-employed. Companies currently have a date six months earlier, 1 January 2027.
• Thinking "in force" means "mandatory". The regulation has been in force since 2023; what is being postponed is the deadline for adapting your software.
• Waiting until the last month. Switching tools mid-quarter complicates your VAT and IRPF.
• Believing VeriFactu and e-invoicing are the same thing. They are separate obligations, although Hacienda wants them to arrive together.
• Confusing VeriFactu with TicketBAI. TicketBAI is the Basque territories' own system; if you are taxed there under the foral rules, VeriFactu does not apply to you.

How Melso helps

Melso is your AI tax agent, with human professionals behind it: an online gestoría (tax and admin advisor) for the self-employed that works over WhatsApp and keeps track of your tax calendar. With Melso invoicing you issue your invoices with your approval, and Melso sorts your income and expenses for your quarterly taxes, such as Form 303, which Melso and its professionals prepare and review according to your activity and tax profile. You review and approve the exact draft in the app; with the necessary authorisation, the professional files that approved version with the AEAT, and the filing receipt is proof that it has been filed. Which returns are covered depends on your case, and Melso confirms the scope before you sign up. See the plans on pricing, get started at melso.ai or tap Message us on WhatsApp to tell us how you invoice today.

This article is for information only and does not replace professional advice for your case. Last reviewed: 12 October 2026.