Form 303 (quarterly VAT) step by step on the tax website
Form 303 is the VAT return you file every quarter: the VAT you charged on your invoices minus the VAT you paid on your expenses. A very common misunderstanding: form 303 is not a file you «attach». It is filled in online, in the form on the tax website, or imported as a file produced by your accounting software.
Get your numbers ready
For the quarter you need: the base and VAT of the invoices you issued, split by rate (21 %, 10 %, 4 %), and the base and VAT of the invoices for your business expenses.
Our self-employed draft works out the boxes of forms 303 and 130 from the income and expenses you enter. Prepare it there and keep it open while you fill in the form.
Open the form
On the tax website go to Todas las gestiones › Impuestos, tasas y prestaciones patrimoniales › IVA › Modelo 303, and choose filing with the Pre303 help service for the right year.
Identify yourself with Cl@ve, a certificate or the electronic ID card. Enter your NIF and name, choose the year and the period (1T, 2T, 3T or 4T) and confirm.
It shows your VAT registration details: check them and carry on with form 303.
💡 Tip: Pre303 is the official form with help: it fills in some boxes and, if you keep your VAT books on the tax website, it can bring the amounts from there. Always check what it suggests: the figures are your responsibility.
Form or file?
If you do it by hand, start a new return and fill in the boxes on screen.
If your accounting software or your accountant gives you a form 303 file in the official format, use «Importar» (import): the form is filled in from that file and you check it before filing.
You do not attach invoices or PDFs: nothing else is asked for when filing. Keep your invoices in case the tax office asks for them later.
What goes in each box (the typical self-employed case)
VAT charged: boxes 07, 08 and 09 hold what you invoiced at 21 % (base, rate and VAT); boxes 04, 05 and 06, at 10 %; and boxes 01, 02 and 03, at 4 %. Box 27 is the total VAT charged.
Deductible VAT (what you paid): boxes 28 and 29 hold the base and VAT of your current expenses; boxes 30 and 31, those of capital goods. Box 45 is the total to deduct.
Result: box 46 is the difference (27 − 45). If you have amounts to offset from earlier quarters, they go in boxes 110 and 78. The final result is in box 71.
If you sell to customers in other countries, those operations go in other boxes (for example 59, 60 or 120). If that is your case, read the official instructions or ask your accountant.
The Finanverso self-employed draft shows you these same boxes with their amounts.
⚠️ Watch out: You can only deduct the VAT of business expenses with an invoice in your name, with your NIF and the VAT shown separately.
Validate and review
Click «Validar declaración» (validate). Errors must be fixed; warnings do not stop you filing, but read them.
«Vista previa» gives you a draft PDF (not valid for filing). «Guardar» saves the return on the tax website to finish later. «Exportar» downloads a file you can import again.
File and pay
Click «Presentar declaración» (file). If there is something to pay, choose how:
Direct debit: you enter your IBAN and the charge is made at the end of the period. You can only do it if you file before the direct debit deadline, which is shorter (up to the 15th in April, July and October).
Pay with an NRC: pay at your bank or from the form itself with «Realizar pago (NRC)» (account charge, card or Bizum) and you get a 22-character NRC code that goes into the return.
Acknowledgement of debt (reconocimiento de deuda): you file without paying and then ask to defer or offset it from «Tramitar deuda» on the receipt. It is also how you pay by transfer from a bank that is not a collaborating bank.
If the result is negative you pay nothing and offset it in the next quarters. A refund can only be requested in the 4th quarter, unless you are in the monthly refund register.
To finish, click «Firmar y enviar» (sign and send), review the summary, tick your agreement and confirm.
Keep the receipt
You get a PDF with the receipt number, date and time, the secure verification code (CSV) and a copy of the return. Download it.
Write down the receipt number: if you need to correct form 303 later, you will be asked for it.
If you made a mistake or are late
To correct a form 303 already filed, you file a corrective return (autoliquidación rectificativa) for the same period, ticking that box and entering the receipt number of the original.
If you file late without the tax office asking you to, there is no penalty but there is a surcharge: 1 % plus another 1 % for each full month late and, after 12 months, 15 % plus late-payment interest. The surcharge is reduced by 25 % if you pay on time, in the cases the law allows.
Even if you invoiced nothing in a quarter, form 303 is still filed (there is a «sin actividad», no activity, option), except in special cases.
Deadlines
- 1st quarter (January to March): 1 to 20 April.
- 2nd quarter: 1 to 20 July.
- 3rd quarter: 1 to 20 October.
- 4th quarter: 1 to 30 January of the following year.
- With direct debit: up to 15 April, July and October; in January, a few days before the 30th (in 2026, up to 27 January).
- If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day.
Videos
Finanverso video: Modelo 303 para tontos: el IVA trimestral paso a paso
Source: Agencia Tributaria (sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es), checked on 17 October 2026.
A simplified guide for orientation only. Button and menu names on the tax website may change, and your case may have exceptions. It does not replace the official information of the Agencia Tributaria or the advice of a tax adviser: always double-check before filing.