Form 130 is the quarterly income-tax instalment for Spanish freelancers under direct assessment. It uses net profit accumulated since 1 January, applies 20%, then subtracts withholdings and earlier instalments. It is filed from 1 to 20 April, July and October, and from 1 to 30 January. Professionals whose qualifying income was at least 70% subject to withholding may be exempt.
Employees have income tax withheld from their payslip. Freelancers (mostly) do not, so the Spanish tax agency asks for a quarterly advance: that is form 130, the income tax instalment. It is not an extra tax — it is an advance on the annual return you will file the following year.
Who must file it?
Freelancers under direct assessment (normal or simplified). The main exception: if you are a professional and at least 70 % of that activity's income in the previous calendar year carried withholding, you do not have to file form 130 for that activity — your clients already advance the tax for you on each invoice. It is automatic: there is nothing to apply for.
The same 70 % rule covers farming, livestock and forestry activities, although there grants and compensation payments are left out of the count. If you have just registered, the quarter's own percentage is used instead of the previous year. And business activities (retail, hospitality…) always file: they do not invoice with withholding, so the exception never reaches them.
How it is calculated (cumulative, not quarterly)
The detail that confuses most people: each quarter is calculated on figures accumulated since 1 January, not just the quarter's.
- 1. Cumulative net profit = income − deductible expenses for the year to date.
- 2. Under simplified direct assessment, also subtract hard-to-justify expenses (5 % as a reference, capped at €2,000/year).
- 3. Apply 20 % to that base.
- 4. Subtract the instalments already paid in previous quarters and, if you are a professional, the withholdings borne. Business activities do not invoice with withholding: that box stays at zero for them.
If the result is negative, you pay nothing (and get nothing back: it stays at zero and the excess shows up later in the annual return). Run your numbers in the form 130 calculator.
To turn that result into a monthly reserve, see also how much to set aside for Spanish VAT and income tax.
The low-income reduction, quarter by quarter
If your net profit from economic activities in the previous year was 12.000 € or less, you can subtract a reduction in every instalment (as a reference): 100 € if it was 9.000 € or less, 75 € up to 10.000 €, 50 € up to 11.000 € and 25 € up to 12.000 €. That is up to 400 € a year, not 100 €.
The detail almost nobody mentions: if you carried out no economic activity last year, that profit counts as zero, so the largest reduction applies to you. It is exactly the case of someone just starting out. And if the reduction exceeds the amount payable, the difference carries over to later instalments of the same year.
When it is filed
On the same deadlines as VAT: from the 1st to the 20th of April, July and October, and from the 1st to the 30th of January for the fourth quarter. See the tax calendar.
20 % is not your real rate
The 20 % is only the advance percentage. Your final income tax is settled in the annual return using the bracket scale (19 % to 47 % on the reference combined scale, which varies by region) and your personal circumstances. Advance too much and the return comes back in your favour; too little and you pay the difference. That is why estimating the full year — not just the quarter — pays off.
Common mistakes
- Calculating with the quarter's figures instead of the cumulative year.
- Forgetting to subtract instalments already paid (you would pay twice).
- Skipping a "zero" or negative filing when due (the obligation remains).
- Confusing the 20 % advance with your final tax rate.
- Looking for an "annual form 130" that does not exist: it is settled in the tax return.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an annual summary for form 130?
No. VAT does have an annual summary (form 390), but the income tax instalment does not: the four form 130 filings are settled in your income tax return for that same tax year, the one you file in the spring of the following year. The fourth-quarter 130, filed between 1 and 30 January, is the last instalment of the year, not a summary of the previous ones.
How is form 130 filled in?
You start from income and deductible expenses accumulated since 1 January: the difference is your net profit. Under simplified direct assessment you also subtract 5 % for provisions and hard-to-justify expenses, capped at 2.000 € a year — and yes, this already applies in every form 130, not just in the annual return. You then apply 20 % to that base (8 % where the Ceuta and Melilla deduction applies). From the result you subtract the instalments paid in previous quarters of the same year and, if you are a professional, the withholdings borne so far this year. Aurio works those figures out from your transactions; filing is done by you or your accountant on the tax agency website.
When is the fourth-quarter form 130 filed?
Between 1 and 30 January of the following year. The other three quarters run from the 1st to the 20th of April, July and October. Direct debit gives you five calendar days less: until 25 January and until the 15th of April, July and October. And if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day (the direct debit window shifts by the same number of days).
Are form 130 and form 303 filed together?
They share the same deadlines but they are two separate returns filed independently: form 303 settles the quarter’s VAT and form 130 advances income tax. They are usually prepared on the same day, which is why they get mixed up.
Does Aurio file form 130 for me?
No. Aurio is an informational tool: it calculates and estimates so you reach the quarter with clear numbers, but it does not file anything with the Spanish tax agency and it is not a substitute for an accountant.
