How to use it
Pick Taxable base → Total or Total → Taxable base from the tabs above, and enter an amount in euros. Choose a rate (21%, 10%, or 4%) to see the taxable base, IVA, total, and the formula behind them. If the transaction is subject to the equivalence surcharge (recargo de equivalencia), turn on the checkbox — the surcharge for the rate you picked is calculated alongside it.
Rates and what they cover
Spain’s main IVA rates are listed below. Exemptions and special rules depend on the item and transaction; the examples alone do not determine the applicable rate.
- General rate 21% (Article 90.Uno) — most goods and services
- Reduced rate 10% (Article 91.Uno) — certain food, restaurant and lodging services, passenger transport and qualifying housing supplies
- Super-reduced rate 4% (Article 91.Dos) — basic foods such as bread, milk, eggs, fruit, vegetables and olive oil; qualifying books and newspapers; human medicines and menstrual products
Supplies of alcoholic drinks and drinks with added sugar or sweeteners as goods are generally taxed at 21%. Distinguish these from restaurant services supplying food and drinks. Veterinary medicines are taxed at 10%, unlike human medicines.
Formula and reverse calculation
- Adding IVA: IVA = taxable base × 21%, total = taxable base + IVA. A taxable base of €100 gives €21.00 IVA and a total of €121.00. At 4%, that’s €4.00 IVA and a total of €104.00.
- Removing IVA: IVA = total × 21/121 (10/110 for 10%, 4/104 for 4%), taxable base = total − IVA. Dividing the total by 1.21 to get the taxable base directly is also common, but this calculator rounds the tax amount first. A total of €50.00 at 21% gives €8.68 IVA and a taxable base of €41.32.
Rounding (to the nearest cent)
This calculator rounds IVA and the surcharge separately to the nearest cent (0.5 cents rounds up). Without a surcharge, taxable base = total − IVA. With the surcharge on, the entered total is treated as including both IVA and the surcharge.
IVA = total × rate ÷ (100 + rate + surcharge rate); surcharge = total × surcharge rate ÷ (100 + rate + surcharge rate). Round both amounts, then calculate taxable base = total − IVA − surcharge. At 21% plus a 5.2% surcharge, a total of €126.20 gives a base of €100.00, IVA of €21.00 and surcharge of €5.20.
Calculating the equivalence surcharge
Recargo de equivalencia (equivalence surcharge): A special regime for certain individual retailers and qualifying income-attribution entities (Articles 148–163). Suppliers calculate IVA and the surcharge on the same taxable base and show them separately on the invoice. The surcharge rates are 5.2% with 21% IVA, 1.4% with 10% and 0.5% with 4%. Covered retailers generally do not file periodic IVA returns for this activity, but intra-EU acquisitions, imports and reverse-charge transactions can create separate filing and payment obligations.