The eCommerce has a different taxation than the general self-employed, so it is important that whoever decides to start selling online knows its peculiarities.
To do this, we have requested expert advice from Marta Zaragozá, tax attorney and CEO of , an online tax advice for freelancers. She will explain the steps to follow when opening an eCommerce at the tax level.
How to register to open an eCommerce
The first step (this does coincide with that of the self-employed) is to register with the Treasury and Social Security.
Registration in model 036 and 037 and the IAE
The way to register as a self-employed trader is to present the in the AEAT, which is used to inform about the activity in which you want to register.
Marta Zaragozá explains: “It is very important that you fill out the form correctly, because the boxes you check on your registration will determine key aspects of your tax life”.
For this, the Treasury has enabled a series of epigraphs —the so-called IAE epigraphs— that refer to the professional activities to which you can dedicate yourself and that are expressed in the form of numbers.
Practical example
Let’s take an example to make it clearer. Let’s imagine that Pepe wants to open an eCommerce store selling sunglasses for surfers. The first thing he would have to do is present model 037, which is the simplified registration model or 036, an extended and more complex version, but necessary in some cases. Like, for example, if you are going to create an SL or if you are going to have clients from other EU countries.
Once this is decided, tap to select the corresponding IAE. And in this case, it would correspond to Pepe heading 659.3which refers to the retail trade of optical devices among others.“90% of the registrations in the Treasury that we see contain basic errors, such as the choice of an incorrect heading, which is normal because there are hundreds of them. They are governed by rules, but there are many exceptions, and even exceptions of the exceptions to these rulesZaragozá explains.
This means that the self-employed person is going to assume tax obligations that, in reality, do not correspond to him and “The consequences range from paying more taxes than you should to exposing yourself to surcharges and penalties, so taking this step safely is crucial” continues the lawyer.
The merchant’s status
At this point it is important to stop for a moment to clarify the situation of the self-employed person who opens an eCommerce.
“To open an eCommerce it is important that the Treasury gives you the status of merchant”, explains Marta Zaragozá.
This situation implies that the self-employed must make Invoices for both purchases from the supplier and sales to the customer. In addition, it is important that you have your own online store where you sell your own products to be considered as such.
As for the product storage, this is not a point that the Treasury considers relevant for the status of merchant but for VAT taxation. Why? because it is not the same to store a product as it is to store, manipulate and alter it. (paint it or screen print it, for example).
In summary, it is of vital importance that you carry out the sales operations in your name and that you have your own product sales store. If you meet these two requirements, the Treasury will assign you the status of merchant.
Difference Between Trader and Broker
Another important point is to know differentiate between trader and broker at discharge time. The main difference is that intermediaries receive a sales commission, they do not take the final payment made by the customer for the purchase of the product. In addition, they do not have a website or store the products because this corresponds to the merchant; intermediaries are only the intermediate step to get the product to the customer.
If you think you are an intermediary, you must include the IAE 631 in your registration, which refers to commercial intermediaries and not to merchants.
VAT management in an eCommerce
VAT management in an eCommerce varies depending on how you sell the products and the type of customers you have.
Spanish customer
If the client is Spanish, as a general rule, you will have to make sales invoices with VAT, which in most cases will be 21%. But be careful, because there is an exception: you will not need to issue invoices for sales of less than €400 (including VAT) to private customers.
In that case, as the Treasury knows that it is difficult to request billing information from a private person, it does not request an invoice.
European customers
On the other hand, VAT on European sales changes. If your client is a businessthe first thing you should do is find out if it is registered in the ROI or Registry of Intra-Community Operators (you can find this out in the ).
If so, and you are also registered as an intra-community operator, you will not need to add VAT, because the VAT exemption for investment of the taxable person applies.
But for everything to be correct with the accounting of VAT-exempt intra-community invoices, they must contain a specific paragraph that refers to their condition and the VAT Law by which they are governed.
Billing and tax management software
As they explain to us from Declaring, this is another of the points that raises more headaches. For this reason, they have created a very simple billing and tax management software that avoids the usual errors in creating invoices by doing everything automatically.
“In Declaring the invoices are filled out by themselves, with automatic VAT and IRPF depending on your type of client, whether national or international, individual or company. In the case of VAT-exempt invoices, the exemption from the tax and the attached comment required by law applies directly” says the lawyer.
If you sell to European customers and/or suppliers that are not private individuals, you will have to present the to inform the Treasury of your intra-community operations. And furthermore, if you pass the threshold of €10,000, you will have to submit form 369 for VAT settlement.
On the other hand, the rules are not the same when it comes to European sales to individualsbecause in these cases the Spanish VAT is applied directly.
Here it is important to bear in mind that the sales of all private customers in that country cannot exceed €10,000. Once this threshold has been passed, it is necessary to resort to the single window to pay taxes at destination.
non-European customers
Lastly, in sales to non-European customers —whether they are companies or individuals— Spanish VAT is not applied either, but the VAT is borne by the customer’s country.
In these cases, it is important to remember that any self-employed person who imports or exports is required to register with the EORI, a kind of registration with Customs that allows you to export the products you sell outside of Europe.
In conclusion, as you can see, it is very important that the Treasury treats you as a merchant. To do this you need your own website and sales invoices in your name. Once you have registered and chosen the IAE heading correctly, VAT taxation depends on your situation and the end customer you are selling to.
If you have any questions or need advice about your specific case, advice from professionals such as those of Stating.
Image: Depositphotos
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