Tax advice for companies in Spain with an English-speaking adviser
Own or run a Spanish company and want an adviser who explains everything in plain English? We look after its VAT, corporate income tax, withholdings and tax registration all year round, in step with the bookkeeping. From our office on the Costa Blanca, we work with companies anywhere in Spain.
Your adviser: Patrick Gordinne Pérez, economist registered under no. 2722 with the Colegio de Economistas de Alicante (Alicante Association of Economists) since 2004.
Does your accountant just file returns, or do they know your company?
Filing your Spanish VAT return on time is not the same as filing it correctly. Many business owners only find out something was wrong when a letter arrives from Hacienda, the Spanish tax authority: VAT reclaimed on an invoice that did not qualify, a sale to another EU country reported the wrong way, or tax registration details that no longer match what the company does.
The forms are the same for everyone. What makes the difference is how the work is done.
Form-filling accountant
- Gets the paperwork a few days before the deadline.
- Files the return with whatever is there.
- Bookkeeping and tax are handled separately.
- You hear about the problem when Hacienda writes to you.
How we work
- We know your activity, customers, suppliers and shareholders.
- We check the tax treatment before filing, not afterwards.
- Invoices, books and tax returns all reconcile.
- We tell you before the year-end if something will change your tax bill.
What we handle for your company
Every tax obligation of a Spanish company, throughout the financial year. Under each heading you will see the Spanish tax forms (modelos) usually involved.
Spanish VAT (IVA)
Quarterly or monthly VAT returns and the annual summary. We check which input VAT can be reclaimed and how each transaction should be treated: domestic, intra-EU, imports or reverse charge.
Corporate income tax
Year-end close, adjustments between accounting profit and taxable profit, instalments and the annual return (Impuesto sobre Sociedades), at the rate that applies to your company.
Withholding tax
Tax withheld from employees and self-employed professionals, on the rent of business premises and on investment income, plus the annual summaries.
Tax registration
Registration and changes of activity, address or tax regime, so that what the Spanish Tax Agency has on file matches what your company really does.
ROI, VIES and EU trade
Registration on the Spanish ROI (VIES), checking your EU customers and suppliers on VIES, and reporting intra-EU transactions.
SII, REDEME and information returns
Companies on the SII (Spain's real-time VAT reporting) or on monthly VAT refunds (REDEME): VAT books sent to the AEAT within four days, not counting weekends or national holidays. Plus information returns such as Modelo 347.
What corporate tax rate does your company pay in Spain?
Not every company pays 25 %. For financial years starting in 2026, Spanish law sets different rates depending on the size of the company.
A micro-company with €80,000 of taxable profit pays €9,500 on the first €50,000 and €6,300 on the remaining €30,000: €15,800 in total. At the standard rate it would have paid €20,000. This is a rough guide, before any deductions or allowances.
Which band your company falls into depends on its turnover and other conditions, and there are exceptions: asset-holding companies (sociedades patrimoniales), for instance, cannot use the micro-company rates. We review this with you before the year-end, not once everything is closed.
Source: Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT), corporate income tax rates (in Spanish).
Your tax comes from your accounts, so we handle both
Spanish corporate income tax is calculated from the accounting profit. VAT comes from the invoices recorded in the books. If the bookkeeping goes one way and the tax returns another, the errors surface at the year-end, just when there is no time left to fix them.
That is why we prefer to also provide your company's accounting and bookkeeping. And if you have staff, our payroll and employment service ties in with the withholding returns, so you never send us the same data twice.
One point of contact for tax, accounts and payroll: fewer emails, less duplicated paperwork, and someone who genuinely knows your company.
How we manage a Spanish company's tax
Getting to know the company
Activity, customers, suppliers, shareholders and invoicing. We review its recent returns.
Setting the calendar
Which forms apply, how often, and what documents we need for each deadline.
Checking before filing
We reconcile invoices, books and returns, and ask you about anything unclear.
Support all year round
Year-end, changes of activity, letters from Hacienda and decisions with tax effects.
Three common tax slip-ups in Spanish SMEs
Tax registration that no longer matches the business
The company changes activity, opens premises or starts selling abroad, but its tax registration (Modelo 036) still says what it did on day one. Any tax check will spot the mismatch.
Working out Modelo 347 without VAT
Modelo 347 lists transactions with any single customer or supplier above €3,005.06 a year, VAT included. Doing the sums net of VAT leaves out transactions that should have been reported.
The last VAT quarter has a longer deadline
Fourth-quarter VAT is filed from 1 to 30 January, together with the annual summary (Modelo 390) where it applies. The other quarters are due from the 1st to the 20th of the following month.
Foreign shareholders, EU customers and post-Brexit trade
All over Spain, from the Costa Blanca and the Mar Menor to the Costa del Sol, the Balearics or the Canaries, many Spanish companies (usually an SL, the Spanish limited company) are owned or run by British, Irish or other English-speaking people, or trade with other countries. It is ground we know well.
UK trade after Brexit
Since 2021 the UK has been a third country for VAT: goods sold to or bought from Great Britain are exports and imports, not intra-EU trade, and need an EORI number for customs. Northern Ireland (XI VAT numbers) still follows EU rules for goods. Ireland is in the EU.
Shareholders and directors abroad
We explain, in plain English, what your Spanish company must file, when, and which decisions have tax consequences. Your personal UK or Irish tax is for HMRC or Revenue and your adviser there; we give them the Spanish figures they need.
In your language: English, Spanish and French
We talk to each shareholder in their own language. The returns are filed in Spain under Spanish rules, with no middlemen and no half-translated advice.
Has your company received a letter from Hacienda?
Don't put it in a drawer. The first step is to identify which procedure it is, how long you have to respond and which documents are being requested. Find out how we handle it on our page about Spanish tax inspections and requests.
Is your company a good fit for us?
We are a good fit if your company…
- Is a Spanish company or SME filing VAT and withholdings every quarter.
- Wants its tax and its bookkeeping handled by the same firm.
- Trades with the EU or the UK, or is on the ROI, the SII or REDEME.
- Has employees, or foreign shareholders and directors.
- Wants to change accountant and start afresh, properly organised.
What we don't do
- One-off returns for companies that are not clients.
- Corporate income tax returns for companies whose books we don't keep.
- Litigation or legal representation: we are tax advisers and accountants, not lawyers or solicitors. If your case needs a lawyer, we will tell you so.
We would rather look after fewer companies properly than file lots of one-off returns.
Switching accountant in Spain is easier than you think
Plenty of companies stay with a service they are unhappy with because the handover sounds daunting. You don't have to wait for the year-end: you can switch at any time, and the start of a quarter is the easiest moment. Everything can be done remotely, wherever your company is.
We talk about your company
What it does, its size and what isn't working right now.
We gather the paperwork
Recent returns, the accounts and any access we need.
We review the starting point
We spot anything that should be put right before carrying on.
We take over from the next deadline
Your company joins our calendar and you have one point of contact.
Questions about tax advice for companies in Spain
They handle the company's tax obligations all year round: Spanish VAT (IVA), withholdings, corporate tax instalments, the annual corporate income tax return, information returns and any changes to the company's details in the Spanish tax register. A good adviser also checks the tax treatment before each return is filed and warns you about anything that will affect the tax bill before it is too late.
At Asesoría Orihuela Costa we do this together with the company's bookkeeping, with one point of contact: Patrick Gordinne Pérez, economist registered under no. 2722 with the Colegio de Economistas de Alicante (Alicante Association of Economists).
With quarterly VAT, Modelo 303 is filed from 1 to 20 April, July and October, and the fourth-quarter return from 1 to 30 January, together with the annual VAT summary (Modelo 390) where applicable.
Corporate tax instalments (Modelo 202) are paid in the first 20 calendar days of April, October and December. The annual corporate income tax return (Modelo 200) is due within the 25 calendar days following the six months after the end of the financial year: for a year ending on 31 December, that is 1 to 25 July. If the last day is a non-working day, the deadline moves to the next working day.
It depends on the size of the company. For financial years starting in 2026, the standard rate is 25 %. Companies that qualify as small (empresas de reducida dimensión) pay 23 %. Micro-companies, with a turnover below €1 million, pay 19 % on the first €50,000 of taxable profit and 21 % on the rest.
There are conditions and exceptions: for example, asset-holding companies (sociedades patrimoniales) cannot use the micro-company rates. That is why we review each case before the year-end.
Yes. Spanish VAT and corporate income tax are national taxes, filed online with the Spanish Tax Agency, so we can look after companies anywhere in Spain remotely: Madrid, Málaga, Barcelona, the Balearics, the Canaries or elsewhere. We work with the company's digital certificate and stay in touch by email, phone, WhatsApp and video call.
The exceptions are companies taxed by the regional tax authorities of the Basque Country or Navarre, which have their own tax systems. Closer to home, clients from Orihuela Costa, Torrevieja, the Vega Baja and the Mar Menor can also meet us at our office in Dehesa de Campoamor.
Since 1 January 2021 the United Kingdom has been a third country for VAT purposes. Sales and purchases of goods with Great Britain are exports and imports, not intra-EU transactions, so they are not reported on Modelo 349, and customs formalities need an EORI number.
Northern Ireland is a special case: for goods, it is still treated as part of the EU VAT area, and businesses there use VAT numbers starting with XI. Ireland, of course, is an EU Member State, so trade with Irish businesses follows the normal intra-EU rules.
Yes. We apply for registration on the Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios (ROI) using Modelo 036, making sure the company's activity, resources and address are consistent with the application. We then check your EU customers' and suppliers' VAT numbers on VIES and file Modelo 349.
Yes. We work in English, Spanish and French, and many of our clients are Spanish companies with British, Irish or other foreign shareholders and directors. We explain the company's Spanish obligations in plain English and take care of filing them in Spain.
Your personal tax position in the UK or Ireland is a matter for HMRC or Revenue and your adviser there. We are happy to give them the Spanish figures and documents they need.
Yes. There is no need to wait until the year-end. The easiest moment is the start of a quarter: we gather the latest returns, the accounts and the access we need, review the starting point and take over from the next deadline.
No. We work with companies whose tax we look after all year round, and we do not prepare the corporate income tax return of companies whose bookkeeping we do not keep. That way we can stand behind everything we file.
Shall we talk about your company?
Tell us what your company does, whether it has staff and what worries you most about its tax right now. We will tell you clearly how we can help. We work remotely with companies anywhere in Spain, and locally across Orihuela Costa, Torrevieja, the Vega Baja and the Mar Menor.
Asesoría Orihuela Costa, S.L.
Avenida Adelfas 12, Local 5, Dehesa de Campoamor, 03189 Orihuela Costa (Alicante), Spain
Phone +34 965 323 126
WhatsApp +34 608 109 331
Winter (October to June): Monday to Thursday 9:00–17:00; Friday 9:00–14:00.
Summer (July to September): Monday to Friday 8:00–15:00 (Spanish time).
We speak English, Spanish and French.
Last reviewed: 31 October 2026 · Patrick Gordinne Pérez, economist no. 2722