Verifactu Spain: 2027 Deadlines, Planned Delay to 2028

Verifactu is Spain’s set of rules for invoicing software and tills: if you issue invoices with software, the system must keep tamper-proof, traceable records, and every invoice must carry a tax agency QR code. Under current law, companies must use a compliant system before 1 January 2027 and sole traders and other businesses before 1 July 2027; on 5 October 2026 the Ministry of Finance announced a plan to move this to October 2028, but as of 7 October 2026 it has not been published in the official gazette (BOE). This guide explains the timetable, who must comply, what an invoice must show, the fines and what to do now.

Key takeaway

The law currently says 2027: before 1 January for companies, before 1 July for sole traders and others. The Ministry of Finance plans to move this to October 2028, but that is not yet in the BOE, and the technical requirements are expected to stay essentially the same. If you issue invoices or till receipts (simplified invoices) with software, the system must comply, and both modes print a QR code; invoicing entirely by hand, or only typing and printing invoices in Word or Excel, falls outside the rules. The separate B2B e-invoicing mandate already has fixed dates: 6 October 2027 for businesses with turnover above 8 million euros, 6 October 2028 for everyone else.

When Verifactu applies: current deadlines and the planned delay

Under current law, Verifactu applies to companies paying corporate income tax from 1 January 2027 and to sole traders and other businesses from 1 July 2027; the Ministry of Finance has announced a delay to October 2028, but that is not yet law.

• Current dates: set by Royal Decree-law 15/2025 of 2 December 2025, which Congress has ratified; it was the second postponement of the original 1 July 2025 deadline. The tax agency’s (AEAT) official FAQ gives the same dates. The second group also includes entities taxed under income attribution, such as joint ownerships (comunidades de bienes), and non-residents with a permanent establishment in Spain.
• Planned delay: on 5 October 2026 the Ministry of Finance published a statement (in Spanish) announcing a plan to postpone the pending Verifactu obligations to October 2028, to coincide with mandatory e-invoicing for businesses and sole traders with annual turnover of up to 8 million euros.
• Same requirements: the statement says the integrity, conservation, accessibility, legibility, traceability and inalterability requirements will remain substantially equivalent. A later change will adjust the scope and some technical details to fit the reporting rules of the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age package (ViDA).
• Status today: as of 7 October 2026, the delay has not been published in the BOE, so the 2027 dates are still the law.

For businesses, the delay only adds preparation time; the standard your system must meet stays the same. Treat the date published in the BOE as final.

What Verifactu is: two modes for invoicing software

Verifactu is the popular name for Spain’s technical rules for invoicing software (sistema informático de facturación, SIF), designed to stop deleted sales, edited invoices and second sets of books. Its formal name is the invoicing systems regulation, approved by Royal Decree 1007/2023 under the 2021 law on measures to prevent and combat tax fraud (Ley 11/2021). It requires:

• One record per invoice: each time you issue an invoice, including a simplified invoice such as a till receipt, the system automatically creates an invoicing record (registro de facturación).
• Records that cannot be changed: each record carries a hash (huella) calculated with part of the previous record, so the records form a chain and deleting or editing any of them is detectable. A hash is a digital fingerprint, not encryption. Mistakes are fixed with a new cancellation record or a corrective invoice, and the original record stays.
• A QR code on every invoice: required in both modes; the details are below.
• A declaration from the producer: the company that produces the software must certify, in a written declaration of compliance (declaración responsable), that the system meets the rules; the declaration must be visible inside the system and given to the customer at purchase. It is a self-declaration: no third-party certification or prior registration is required.

Invoicing software works in one of two modes:

The regulation presumes that VERI*FACTU systems comply by design, and you don’t have to manage signatures and event logs yourself, so upkeep is simpler. In the other mode your records stay with you, but the security requirements are heavier. The invoice itself can still be printed or sent as a PDF: an invoicing record is not an electronic invoice.

Who must comply with Verifactu and who is outside it

In principle, every company and sole trader operating in Spain that issues invoices with software or a till must comply. The AEAT’s FAQ on scope lists four conditions; meeting any one of them takes you outside Verifactu:

1. No invoicing software at all: every invoice is handwritten or made with a receipt book or typewriter.
2. You use SII, the immediate VAT reporting system: this covers the businesses that must use it, such as large businesses filing monthly VAT returns, VAT groups and businesses registered for monthly VAT refunds (REDEME), plus businesses that join voluntarily. SII already requires invoice data to be reported to the tax agency.
3. Your tax domicile is in the Basque Country or Navarre: what counts is your tax domicile (domicilio fiscal), not where the shop is. A company based in Madrid with a shop in Bilbao still falls under Verifactu. The three Basque provinces apply their own TicketBAI system; Navarre follows its regional tax authority’s rules.
4. You hold an individual AEAT decision: on request, the tax agency can decide that the rules do not apply to a sector or a specific business.

Módulos and the equivalence surcharge

Verifactu does not exempt anyone by tax regime: what matters is whether you issue invoices, and how.

• Transactions with no legal invoicing obligation are outside it: businesses that file income tax under the objective estimation method (estimación objetiva, known as “módulos”) and pay VAT under the simplified regime or the equivalence surcharge (recargo de equivalencia, for retailers who are individuals) generally do not have to invoice ordinary consumers.
• Some cases still need an invoice: for example, when the customer is a business, a sole trader or a public body, or needs the invoice to exercise a tax right. Once a till or software issues any invoice or receipt, that system must comply.
• If you file income tax under direct estimation (estimación directa), you must issue invoices whatever your VAT regime. For example, a shop paying VAT under the equivalence surcharge but filing income tax under direct estimation falls under Verifactu if its till prints receipts.

If you are unsure which case applies to you, ask your accountant (gestoría) to check against your tax registration.

Excel, Word and handwritten invoices

• Using Word or Excel only to enter, print and store invoices does not count as an invoicing system, so Verifactu does not apply.
• Using a spreadsheet to generate VAT or income tax registers or accounts automatically (with a macro, for example) makes it an invoicing system, and it must comply.
• No mixing: once you use invoicing software, every invoice must come from it; you cannot issue some invoices with software and others by hand.

Online stores and invoices issued by your accountant

• Online stores are covered too: selling online or in person makes no difference to Verifactu.
• Accountant-issued invoices: when your accountant issues invoices for you with their software, their system creates the records (and sends them in VERI*FACTU mode), but compliance remains your responsibility.

What a compliant invoice must show: QR code and required details

Every invoice and till receipt issued with an invoicing system must carry the tax agency’s QR code at the top; in VERI*FACTU mode it must also show “VERI*FACTU” or “Factura verificable en la sede electrónica de la AEAT”, in a clearly visible font similar in size to the rest of the invoice.

According to the AEAT’s QR code FAQ:

• invoices issued in either mode must carry the QR code;
• it must measure between 30 x 30 mm and 40 x 40 mm, no smaller and no larger;
• it goes at the beginning of the invoice, before the content: at the top on a portrait invoice, and only on the first page of a multi-page invoice.

What the QR code contains is set by Order HAC/1177/2024, article 21 (in Spanish): a link to the AEAT’s verification service that includes the issuer’s tax ID, the invoice series and number, the issue date and the invoice total.

The invoicing system generates the QR code automatically. The other required details come from Spain’s invoicing regulation (Royal Decree 1619/2012) and differ between full and simplified invoices:

Three more points: exempt transactions must state the legal basis of the exemption; special cases need specific wording, such as “inversión del sujeto pasivo” for the reverse charge; and the Canary Islands use IGIC, and Ceuta and Melilla use IPSI, instead of VAT (IVA). Businesses with several shops can use a separate invoice series for each shop.

What happens if you don’t comply: fines

Article 201 bis of the General Tax Law (in Spanish) sets fixed fines, not maximums, and classes these offences as serious:

A business already fined as a producer is not fined again as a user. If a company develops its own invoicing system for its own use, the company must sign the declaration of compliance itself.

B2B e-invoicing: a separate rule with fixed dates

Mandatory B2B e-invoicing is a separate rule from Verifactu: it comes from Spain’s business creation and growth law (Ley 18/2022, known as “Crea y Crece”) and requires businesses and sole traders to issue and receive invoices to and from each other in a structured electronic format. The detailed rules are published and the dates are fixed.

• Rules: Royal Decree 238/2026 of 25 March 2026, and Order HAC/1028/2026, which was published in the BOE on 5 October 2026 and has been in force since 6 October 2026, the day the legal deadlines started to run.
• Format: a structured e-invoice (UBL, CII, EDIFACT or Facturae), not a PDF or a photo.
• Scope: transactions where the customer is a business or sole trader established in Spain; simplified invoices (till receipts) issued to consumers are generally not covered.
• Cost: the tax agency’s public e-invoicing solution is free to use.

According to the AEAT’s implementation calendar:

The two rules connect: mandatory e-invoices must be produced by systems that meet the same anti-tampering requirements, and the Ministry of Finance plans to align Verifactu with small-business e-invoicing in October 2028. When you choose a system now, consider both.

What to do now

The most practical first step is to list everywhere you issue invoices and get written answers from your software vendor or accountant; the planned delay does not change the standard you must meet.

About the AEAT’s free invoicing app: it runs in the tax agency’s online office (sede electrónica) in VERI*FACTU mode, is aimed at sole traders and businesses that issue few invoices or have a simple invoicing process, and you sign in with a digital certificate, an electronic ID card (DNIe) or Cl@ve Móvil. It has three limits: it issues full invoices only, not till receipts; every invoice must name a customer; and its records cannot be exported to other software, so switching later means starting again. That makes it unsuitable for restaurants and shops.

When comparing invoicing or POS software, check the same points for each: whether the declaration of compliance is visible in the system, which mode it supports, whether data exports cleanly for your accountant, whether several shops can keep separate invoice series, and whether support is available in your language. The period before the deadline is a test period, so you can try VERI*FACTU mode early. To connect an online store, an ERP and invoicing software automatically, see our guide to process automation tools for small businesses.

FAQ

Is Verifactu mandatory, and when does it start?

Yes, if you issue invoices with software or a till. Current law requires companies paying corporate income tax to use a compliant system before 1 January 2027, and sole traders and other businesses before 1 July 2027. On 5 October 2026 the Ministry of Finance announced a plan to move this to October 2028, but as of 7 October 2026 it is not in the BOE; the final date is the one published there, and the technical requirements stay essentially the same.

Do sole traders (autónomos) and módulos businesses need Verifactu?

Sole traders who issue invoices with software or a till do; invoicing entirely by hand, and transactions with no legal invoicing obligation, fall outside it. Businesses under módulos or the equivalence surcharge generally don’t have to invoice ordinary consumers, but once their software issues any invoice or receipt, the system must comply; anyone filing income tax under direct estimation must issue invoices.

Can I still issue invoices in Excel or Word?

Yes, as long as you only use them to enter, print and store invoices: the AEAT does not count that as an invoicing system. If the spreadsheet automatically generates VAT registers, accounts or similar (with a macro, for example), it counts as an invoicing system and must comply. And once you use invoicing software, you can’t issue some invoices with it and others by hand.

Is Verifactu the same as e-invoicing?

No. Verifactu requires invoicing software to be tamper-proof and traceable, and invoices can still be printed or sent as PDFs. Mandatory B2B e-invoicing is a separate rule requiring structured electronic invoices between businesses, from 6 October 2027 for businesses with turnover above 8 million euros and from 6 October 2028 for other businesses and sole traders.

UsualMatrix can map every place your business issues invoices across shops, online stores and ERP, connect your store and ERP automatically to compliant invoicing software, or build the internal tools around them. We work with clients worldwide in Chinese, Spanish and English. See our automation and custom tools service or contact us.

Important: this article is general information as of 7 October 2026, not tax or legal advice. The Ministry of Finance has announced a planned delay; the final dates are those published in the BOE. Ask your accountant (gestoría) or tax adviser about your specific obligations.