Modelo 036 in English: what it is, who files it and how

• The self-employed (autónomos) and professionals about to start one or more activities in Spain.
• Companies and other entities: the 036 is also how they request their tax number (NIF), provisional and then definitive.
• Anyone paying income subject to withholding (salaries, professionals' invoices, the rent of business premises), even if they aren't in business.
• Partners, heirs and co-owners of pass-through entities (régimen de atribución de rentas), such as a co-ownership (comunidad de bienes) that runs an activity.
• Non-residents operating in Spain through a permanent establishment or paying income subject to withholding, and anyone not established in Spain who is liable for Spanish VAT.
• Landlords of business premises: letting property is a business activity for VAT.

Someone who only lets VAT-exempt property, such as a home the tenant lives in, isn't on the census (article 3.2 of the tax-management regulation) and doesn't file the 036, unless they pay income subject to withholding. That changes on 1 December 2026 for short lets: holiday-let owners who now charge VAT must file the 036.

Do you need to be autónomo? Modelo 036 is not Social Security

No. The 036 is a tax formality, with the Agencia Tributaria, and has no Social Security fields at all. Registering as a self-employed worker (RETA) is a separate procedure with the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social: you apply before you start, at most 60 days ahead, and they ask for your IAE code. Only the single electronic document (DUE), filed through a business support point (Punto de Atención al Emprendedor), does both at once. A company, for example, files the 036 without joining the RETA.

Non-residents: NIE and tax representative

You need a Spanish tax identification number to file the 036: a foreign individual uses their NIE as their tax number (NIF) (without an NIE, they request one with box 110, on paper), and a foreign company requests its tax number with the 036 itself. A non-resident can't use Censos WEB or the simplified 036: they file the full 036.

For VAT, a business not established in the European Union must appoint a representative domiciled in Spain (article 164.Uno.7.º of the VAT Law), unless it is established in a State with mutual-assistance instruments: today, according to the Agencia Tributaria, only Norway. Owners living in the United Kingdom need one (ruling V0657-22), and so, on the same reading, do owners in Switzerland, which the Agencia Tributaria doesn't mention; owners in the EU or Norway don't.

Running late? Filing a 036 late before the tax agency asks halves the fine: see the penalties.

1. 1Open the 036's print-to-PDF form on the Sede electrónica: it asks for no Cl@ve or certificate.
2. 2Choose individual or company, enter your tax number and name (leave the number empty if you are requesting one) and click «Acceder a la predeclaración».
3. 3Fill in the pages, click «Validar declaración» and, once there are no errors, «Generar predeclaración».
4. 4Print and sign the PDF, which carries a receipt number, date and time, and hand it in with any supporting documents at the tax office (Administración or Delegación) of your tax address, ideally with an appointment, or send it there by registered post. Anyone can hand it in for you: it's a mere formality.

Need a copy of a 036 you already filed? It's under «Modelo 036. Consulta de declaraciones presentadas» on the Sede electrónica; as proof of registration, use the census certificate.

Changing your tax address

An individual's tax address (domicilio fiscal) is where they habitually live. If you move while registered, the change goes on the 036, box 122, with the new property's cadastral reference, within the following month; Censos WEB walks you through it. With no economic activity, you report a new address on the Modelo 030 instead.

Deregistering (baja)

• Tick box 150, give the reason in box 151 (stopping all activities, no longer paying income subject to withholding, death…) and the effective date in box 152.
• You can only deregister once you run no activity and withhold on nothing. Dropping one activity among several is a change (box 127), not a deregistration.
• A company can only deregister once removed from the Registro Mercantil; meanwhile, if it stops trading, it reports that with box 140.
• Deregistering doesn't cancel the returns due for the period when you were still registered.

• VAT return

  Modelo 303

  Who:

  Anyone charging VAT, a holiday let subject to VAT included

  When:

  Each quarter: 1–20 April, July and October; 1–30 January

• Yearly VAT summary

  Modelo 390

  Who:

  Those who file the 303, unless exempted

  When:

  1–30 January of the following year

• Income-tax instalment (direct method)

  Modelo 130

  Who:

  The self-employed and professionals under the direct method (not lettings that aren't a business activity, nor professionals with at least 70% of last year's income subject to withholding)

  When:

  Each quarter, with the 303's deadlines, even when it comes to zero

• Income-tax instalment (flat-rate method)

  Modelo 131

  Who:

  Activities under the flat-rate method (módulos)

  When:

  Each quarter, with the 303's deadlines

• Withholding on salaries and professionals

  Modelo 111

  Who:

  Anyone paying salaries or invoices with withholding

  When:

  Each quarter (monthly for large businesses), only if something was paid; the yearly summary, Modelo 190, in January

• Withholding on rents

  Modelo 115

  Who:

  Tenants of business premises who withhold

  When:

  Each quarter with a payment; the yearly summary, Modelo 180, in January

• Transactions with third parties

  Modelo 347

  Who:

  Anyone above €3,005.06 with one customer or supplier in a year

  When:

  In February of the following year

• Pass-through entities

  Modelo 184

  Who:

  A co-ownership (comunidad de bienes) with an activity or more than €3,000 of income a year

  When:

  In January, each year

• Intra-EU transactions

  Modelo 349

  Who:

  Those on the ROI trading with the EU

  When:

  Monthly or quarterly, by volume

• Non-resident income tax

  Modelo 210

  Who:

  Non-resident owners: the holiday let's rent included

  When:

  Rent with tax to pay: 1–20 April of the following year

Once registered for VAT, you file the 303 every quarter, even with nothing to declare: with no transactions and no deductible VAT, you tick «Sin actividad» (no activity).

If you live outside Spain, your Modelo 210 has its own deadlines: get them in your calendar with CasitaTax's deadline calendar.