Spain publishes tool to calculate payment deadlines and interest due
You can use this tool to calculate the additional amount that will be paid as interest when refunds are paid late by the authorities. You can also check when a penalty is exactly due.
New tool in Spain to calculate your payment deadline
The Spanish tax authorities often require the payment of a penalty to be made within a number of working days from the moment the letter informing you about the penalty is received. This approach is difficult to follow, especially by foreign taxpayers who are not aware of local holidays in Spain. To make things easier, you can now access the tool and simply indicate the reference number of the letter received and the date on which it was delivered. The tool will automatically provide the latest date by which you will need to pay the penalty.
How do I pay tax penalties in Spain?
You will require a Spanish bank account and a form received from the tax authorities indicating a reference number and exact amount to be paid. This form is called Modelo 002.
Normally, if you paid late or submitted a VAT return late, you will first receive a letter indicating the penalty and interest amount proposed by the tax authorities. This letter often includes a discount in case you agree with the proposed sanction. If this is the case, you simply need to wait for Modelo 002 and make the payment once received. If you appeal the proposed penalty, the full amount will be due in case the authorities uphold their decision.
Unlike other EU countries, penalties are rarely waived in Spain. Only in very exceptional circumstances, the tax authorities will accept cancelling a proposed penalty. These are normally sent by their system (no human intervention) and processed without further appeals by the taxpayers. However, if your business is subject to a significant penalty and you would like to explore a potential appeal, contact one of our advisors.
Tool to calculate interest on Spanish tax refunds and payments
If a VAT refund is paid late by the Spanish tax authorities, interest will be paid on top of the principal amount. Interest starts being accumulated after a period of six months from the moment the VAT refund is requested. However, it is difficult to calculate the exact amount of interest to be repaid due to different rates each period.
Interest can also be due by the taxpayer. In case of a regularization, for example, interest will be due on top of the principal amount and penalties imposed. This late payment interest follows the same rules as the interest calculated by the tax authorities to repay a late VAT refund.
To make things easier, the authorities developed a tool to calculate this interest amount by simply indicating the date on which the principal amount was due and the amount due.
Please contact our team to get further help on your Spanish VAT compliance obligations. Our dedicated team will assist you with regularizations, tax audits or day to day VAT obligations.
You can access the tools with this link.