Equivalence surcharge calculator.
Self-employed shopkeepers in Spain usually fall under the recargo de equivalencia: suppliers add a surcharge on top of VAT (IVA), and the shop files no quarterly VAT return for its sales. Enter the bases of a supplier invoice to see the VAT, the surcharge and the total, line by line.
Your invoice with the surcharge
Total you pay
€35.30 of it is surcharge. It is your real cost: you deduct neither the VAT nor the surcharge.
- Surcharge€35.30
- VAT€155.80
- Base€970.00
- Goods at 21%Base €600.00 · VAT €126.00 · surcharge €31.20
- €757.20
- Goods at 10%Base €250.00 · VAT €25.00 · surcharge €3.50
- €278.50
- Goods at 4%Base €120.00 · VAT €4.80 · surcharge €0.60
- €125.40
- Taxable base
- €970.00
- VAT
- €155.80
- Equivalence surcharge
- €35.30
- Invoice total
- €1,161.10
The recargo de equivalencia applies to you: your supplier must charge it, and you file no 303 for these sales.
An estimate under 2026 rules. Your case may have details that change it, so check before you decide. Calculated in your browser: nothing you type is sent or stored.
How it is calculated.
Official sources
- Ley 37/1992 del IVA: régimen del recargo de equivalencia (arts. 148 a 163) (BOE)
- Reglamento del IVA, RD 1624/1992: requisitos y productos excluidos (art. 59) (BOE)
- Tipos del recargo de equivalencia, Manual práctico de IVA 2026 (Agencia Tributaria)
- Reglamento de facturación, RD 1619/2012 (arts. 2, 3 y 16) (BOE)
Who is under the regime.
Retailers who are natural persons or joint ownerships (comunidades de bienes), resell what they buy without transforming it and sell more than 80% to consumers (arts. 148 and 149 of the VAT law). It is compulsory, and a company never uses it.
What your supplier charges.
On the same base as the VAT, a surcharge of 5.2% with 21% VAT, 1.4% with 10% and 0.5% with 4%. Tobacco carries 21% VAT and a 1.75% surcharge (art. 161).
What you do not file.
For your sales under the regime you file no modelo 303, the quarterly VAT return: you pay no VAT to Hacienda and deduct none of the VAT you pay (art. 154). You charge customers VAT, never the surcharge.
Your real cost.
Since you recover neither the VAT nor the surcharge, the invoice total is what the goods cost you. It is the figure to set your prices from.
What you still file.
When you buy from another EU country, you pay the VAT and surcharge on that purchase with the modelo 309. Your income tax (IRPF) follows its own path, as for any autónomo.
Would you rather Melso did it?
Your agent gathers invoices and expenses on WhatsApp, and your advisors prepare and file your taxes after you approve them in the app.
What people ask us most.
A special VAT regime for small shops in Spain. Your supplier charges an extra percentage on top of VAT and, in return, you file no quarterly VAT returns for your sales.
Yes, if you are a natural person or a joint ownership, sell at retail goods you do not transform, and more than 80% of last year’s sales went to consumers. It is not a choice: if you meet the conditions, it applies.
Not to consumers, unless they ask for one to exercise a tax right. To businesses and autónomos, yes. You never charge the surcharge: only the VAT on the product.
Among others, vehicles, boats, jewellery, luxury furs, art and antiques, used goods, industrial machinery and building materials (art. 59 of the VAT regulation). If you sell them, that part goes under the general regime.
Tell them you are under the regime: you have to prove it to them. If they still do not charge it, you must report it to the tax agency (AEAT) to avoid a penalty.
Leave the maths to your tax advisor.
Tell us about your situation. We confirm the scope before work starts.