How to invoice a US client from Spain (2026)

If you are a freelancer or a company in Spain billing a service to a client in the United States, the rule is straightforward: you issue the invoice with no Spanish VAT. Because the US is a third country (outside the European Union), a service between businesses is located where the client is established, under the general rule of art. 69.Uno.1º of Law 37/1992; since that place is outside the scope of Spanish VAT, the operation is not subject to Spanish VAT and you invoice at zero rate. And here is the part almost nobody explains properly: this is not an intra-EU operation. No modelo 349, no VAT number, no VIES registration, and no EU reverse charge. You can charge in dollars, you keep your right to deduct input VAT, and your US client will ask you for a form called the W-8BEN. Let’s walk through the whole circuit.

Why the invoice to the US carries no Spanish VAT

It starts with the place-of-supply rule. For services between businesses (B2B), VAT is paid — where it applies at all — in the country where the client is, not the country of the supplier. Article 69.Uno.1º of Law 37/1992 sets it out: a service supplied by a Spanish business to a business established outside the scope of Spanish VAT is deemed supplied at the client’s place of business. If that place is in the United States, the operation is located there and is not subject to Spanish VAT.

The Spanish Tax Agency confirms this treatment for outbound services: the operation is not subject to Spanish VAT. The practical result is that your invoice goes out at zero rate, with no VAT line to pay.

It’s worth drawing a distinction that trips a lot of people up: this is a non-subjection by place of supply, not the “zero-rated export” that applies to goods physically leaving the EU (that is a different regime, art. 21 of Law 37/1992). With services we are not talking about exporting merchandise, but about where the service is deemed consumed.

Not intra-EU: no modelo 349, no VIES, no ROI

This is mistake number one when invoicing the US: treating the operation as if it were a client in Germany or France. It isn’t. The United States is a third country, and the entire intra-EU machinery does not apply:

• No modelo 349. The recapitulative return for intra-EU operations only covers dealings with businesses in other EU member states. An invoice to the US falls outside it. If you want to see when that form actually applies, we cover it in the modelo 349 and cross-border guide.
• No VAT number or VIES. The intra-EU VAT number (the VIES register) is only essential to buy or sell goods and services between member states. You don’t need it for a US client, and you don’t have to validate your client in VIES.
• No ROI registration. The Register of Intra-Community Operators is, again, an EU matter. Your ordinary business registration in the census via modelo 036 is enough.
• No EU reverse charge. The “reverse charge” of the common European system is an intra-EU mechanism; it doesn’t come into play with the US. Your client handles their own indirect taxes under their state’s rules (US sales tax is a separate world that is not your concern).

What you do keep is the right to deduct. Even though your invoice is issued at zero rate, art. 94.Uno.2º of Law 37/1992 preserves your full right to deduct the input VAT on expenses tied to that activity, exactly as if the operation had taken place in Spain. Because you charge zero and deduct everything, it is common for your modelo 303 to come out as a refund or credit.

What the invoice must say

An invoice to a US client is almost identical to a domestic one, but with two things you cannot skip: it carries no VAT amount, and it must include the not-subject-to-VAT note.

Field	Domestic invoice	Invoice to a US company
VAT rate	21% / 10% / 4%	No VAT (not subject, place of supply)
VAT amount	Calculated	0.00
Currency	Euros	Euros or dollars (your choice)
Legal note	Not required	Reference to the non-subjection

The general mandatory content is set by article 6 of RD 1619/2012 (the invoicing regulation): number and, where applicable, series; date of issue; your name or company name and tax ID, and the client’s; the address of both; a description of the operation with its taxable base; and the transaction date if it differs from the issue date. On top of that, as recommended documentation practice (the obligation to invoice this not-subject operation derives from art. 2.3 of the same regulation), you add the note stating the operation is not subject — a non-subjection by place of supply, not an exemption, which is a distinct category with its own letter in art. 6.1. A common, valid wording:

Operation not subject to Spanish VAT under place-of-supply rules — art. 69 of Law 37/1992.

As for the deadline (art. 11 of RD 1619/2012), when the client is a business the invoice must be issued before the 16th of the month following the one in which the transaction takes place. The field-by-field detail of a correct invoice is in the freelancer invoicing guide for Spain.

Invoicing in dollars: currency and exchange rate

You can issue the invoice directly in US dollars. Article 12 of RD 1619/2012 allows amounts to be expressed in any currency, and the invoice to be drawn up in any language; the only condition is that, if there were VAT charged, that amount must also be shown in euros using the exchange rate of art. 79.Once of Law 37/1992. Since your invoice to the US has no VAT charged, there is nothing to convert on that front.

That said, even when you charge in dollars, the taxable base must be converted to euros — at the transaction-date exchange rate — for three things: modelo 303, your income-tax return and your bookkeeping. Best practice is to record the euro equivalent and the rate applied on the invoice itself or in its ledger. If you bill in several currencies often, the treatment of exchange differences is covered in the guide to invoicing in 40 currencies from Spain.

Worked example

A Spanish consultancy provides a strategy service to a New York company for 5,000 USD. For illustration, assume the official exchange rate on the transaction date were 1.08 USD per euro (always use the real rate for your date):

Item	Amount
Consulting services	5,000.00 USD
VAT (not subject, place of supply)	0.00
Total to collect	5,000.00 USD
Euro equivalent of the base (example, 1.08)	4,629.63 EUR

Operation not subject to Spanish VAT — art. 69 of Law 37/1992.

The US client pays 5,000 USD in full. You collect no VAT on this operation, but you record 4,629.63 EUR of base (using your date’s real rate) for modelo 303 and income tax. That euro figure is what you carry across all your returns: on modelo 303 it is reported as an operation not subject under place-of-supply rules, with the right to deduct. Where exactly it is entered is covered in the modelo 303 step-by-step guide.

The W-8BEN form: what it is and why your client asks for it

When you start working with a US client, they will very likely ask you to complete a W-8BEN form (or the W-8BEN-E if you invoice through a company). Don’t panic: it’s routine.

The W-8BEN is a form from the IRS — the US tax authority — with which you certify that you are not a US citizen or tax resident. It lets your client know they should not apply the standard withholding on certain payments, and it lets you claim the benefits of the double-taxation treaty between Spain and the US. Two practical points:

• It is not sent to the IRS. You hand it to your client or payer, who keeps it on file.
• Your Spanish tax ID usually suffices as your tax identification number for this purpose; you generally do not need a US tax number.

As a general rule, the form is valid for around three years (until 31 December of the third year after signing), after which your client may ask you to renew it. Because it is a document of the US administration and not the Spanish AEAT, if your case has particularities it is worth confirming with your adviser.

The income is still taxed: income tax and withholding

The fact that the invoice carries no VAT does not mean the income is tax-free. The income is still taxed. Because the payer is a foreign company not required to withhold in Spain, your invoice carries no Spanish income-tax withholding: you collect the gross amount. But that income enters your income tax like any other business earnings — through the quarterly payments on account and the annual return under the direct-estimation regime.

As a general rule, a service supplied from Spain by a freelancer with no permanent establishment in the US does not bear US federal withholding on services (dividends, interest or royalties are a different matter), and the W-8BEN documents your non-resident status. If in a specific case your client did withhold an amount, the way to correct it in Spain is the relief for international double taxation. The exact treaty rates for Spain and the US depend on the type of income and should be verified case by case with your adviser before accepting any withholding.

The nuance that can change everything: effective-use rule

The general destination rule has exceptions. Article 70 of Law 37/1992 sets out special place-of-supply rules (real estate located in Spain, certain events, and so on) and, above all, the “effective use and enjoyment” rule of art. 70.Dos. For certain services, if the operation would be located outside the EU but the service is effectively used or exploited within the scope of Spanish VAT (mainland Spain and the Balearics), that rule can “pull back” the operation into Spanish VAT.

It is not the usual case for a professional service consumed by a US client in its own market, but it is the nuance worth checking before you issue — especially if your service has a real connection to use in Spain. When in doubt, check it with your adviser or the “Localizador” tool on the AEAT’s electronic office.

Common mistakes

• Treating the US like an EU client. No reverse charge, no VIES, no modelo 349: it is a third country. Putting a US invoice on modelo 349 is a classic error.
• Charging Spanish VAT “just in case”. If the operation is located at destination, charging VAT distorts the invoice and forces you to issue a correction.
• Leaving the VAT line blank with no explanation. The invoice needs the not-subject note (“Operation not subject to Spanish VAT under place-of-supply rules — art. 69 LIVA”), not just an empty field.
• Forgetting to convert to euros. Even if you charge in dollars, the euro base (transaction-date exchange rate) is what goes to modelo 303, income tax and your books.
• Thinking no VAT means nothing to declare. The income is still taxed through your income tax; only the VAT line disappears, not the income tax.
• Ignoring the W-8BEN. Not handing it over in time can trigger avoidable withholding by your US client.

Invoicing the US, without the tedious part

The manual workflow — the correct legal note, a dollar invoice with its euro equivalent, the date’s exchange rate, carrying the base into modelo 303 without double-counting it — is exactly where errors creep in. Frihet recognises your operations with clients outside the EU from your own invoices (non-EU client, no VAT rate), applies the correct not-subject note, stores the dollar amount alongside its euro equivalent at the date’s exchange rate, and reuses that base to prepare your modelo 303 preview.

To be clear about scope: Frihet calculates and prepares the return from your invoices and expenses; the final filing is always yours, at the AEAT electronic office with your certificate. You review and file.

Executive summary (valid for 2026)

1. Place of supply: a B2B service to a US company → located at destination (art. 69.Uno.1º of Law 37/1992). No Spanish VAT.
2. Nothing intra-EU: no modelo 349, no VAT number/VIES, no ROI, no EU reverse charge.
3. Invoice: no VAT amount, with the recommended not-subject note (“Operation not subject to Spanish VAT under place-of-supply rules — art. 69 LIVA”); you may issue it in dollars (art. 12).
4. Euros for your returns: convert the base at the transaction-date exchange rate for modelo 303, income tax and your books.
5. The client’s paperwork: the IRS W-8BEN certifies your non-US residence. The income, though, is still taxed through your Spanish income tax.

The first invoice to the United States takes a little preparation. After that, it’s routine.