Modelo 303 step by step with an example
Modelo 303 is the quarterly IVA self-assessment. It has more than seventy boxes, but a typical autónomo uses a dozen. Here we take a real quarter, run it through each box and arrive at the amount due. The output is a draft. The filing is something you review with your advisor or do yourself on the AEAT website.
The example quarter
A designer in Madrid invoices Spanish companies. In the second quarter she issues invoices for €12,000 of taxable base, all at 21%. On the expense side she has €2,400 of base at 21% (software, accountant, equipment) and €300 of base at 10% (work meals with a justified allowance).
No intra-community operations and no foreign clients. No credit carried over from the previous quarter. It is the simplest possible case and it is still worth seeing in full.
Output IVA: boxes 07, 08 and 09
The output IVA block has three fixed rows: 4%, 10% and 21%. Each row has base, rate and quota. All our sales go in the 21% row.
Box 07 (base at 21%): €12,000.00. Box 08 (rate): 21. Box 09 (quota): €2,520.00.
Sales at 10% would go in boxes 04, 05 and 06. At 4%, in 01, 02 and 03. A classic mistake is putting a 21% sale in the 4% row because it is the first one on the form.
Box 27 (total output IVA): €2,520.00.
Deductible IVA: boxes 28 and 29
IVA paid on ordinary domestic purchases goes together, without splitting by rate. Box 28 holds the sum of bases and box 29 the sum of quotas.
Bases: €2,400 at 21% plus €300 at 10%. Box 28: €2,700.00.
Quotas: 2,400 × 21% = €504.00, plus 300 × 10% = €30.00. Box 29: €534.00.
A capital asset (a computer over €3,005, for instance) would go in boxes 30 and 31, not 28 and 29.
Box 45 (total deductible): €534.00.
Result: boxes 46, 64, 69 and 71
Box 46 (general regime result): output minus deductible. 2,520.00 − 534.00 = €1,986.00.
Box 64 (sum of results): €1,986.00. It would only change under the simplified regime, which is not the case here.
Box 67 (credit from previous periods): €0.00. If last quarter came out negative and you did not ask for a refund, that amount goes here and is subtracted.
Box 69 (result): €1,986.00.
Box 71 (final result): €1,986.00. That is what you pay between 1 and 20 July.
What happens when it is negative
If input IVA exceeds output IVA, box 71 is negative. In the first three quarters you can only mark it as a credit: the balance moves to box 67 of the next 303.
In the fourth quarter you can request a refund. The tax office has six months to pay and usually checks before paying, so keep your ledgers up to date.
The mistakes that come up most
- Entering the invoice total, IVA included, in the base box. The base is without IVA.
- Deducting IVA on an expense without a full invoice. A receipt does not qualify.
- Deducting 100% of the IVA on a car. The legal presumption is 50%.
- Forgetting box 67 with last quarter's negative balance. You overpay.
- Mixing up the 303 and the 130. The 303 is IVA. The 130 is the IRPF payment on account.
How this draft comes out in Fider
Fider groups your income and expenses for the quarter by IVA rate, applies each expense's deductible percentage and fills in the same boxes as this example. What you see is a draft with a notice to review it with your advisor. Fider does not file forms with the AEAT.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to file the 303 if I invoiced nothing?
Yes. While you are registered for an activity subject to IVA, you file the 303 every quarter even with no activity, ticking the corresponding box.
Where do invoices to EU clients go?
A service to an EU business with a valid VAT number goes without IVA in box 59 and also on modelo 349. It does not go in boxes 07 to 09.
Can I deduct IVA from invoices of earlier quarters?
Yes, within the following four years. A March expense invoice you forgot can be deducted in the July 303.