An issue that has been generating a lot of controversy for SMEs and the self-employed has been the postponement of VAT. In the latest legislative amendments, changes have been introduced aimed at solving the problem linked to the payment of output VAT in cases where it has not been charged by the customer.

The General Tax Law, in the text of its article 65, determines that, in order to be able to make the
deferral of the payment of output VAT,
it is necessary to justify that it has not collected that amount.

This obligation is also included in Royal Decree Law 10/2016 and has meant a great upheaval in the field of SMEs and the self-employed.

However, as of 2017, thanks to a modification introduced by the collection department of the AEAT in Instruction 1/2017 of January 18, the need to justify not having collected those amounts for amounts less than 30,000 euros is eliminated.

The deferral in the quarterly VAT is granted for a maximum period of 6 months for companies and companies,and for a period of 12 months in the case of natural persons. All this, as long as the amount does not exceed 30,000 euros.

If you are in this situation and need to request a deferment of VAT payment in self-employed, you should know the requirements and steps you have to take to proceed with your request.

How to request the deferral of quarterly VAT for SMEs in 2017

VAT in Spain has always generated debates and controversies. One of the main reasons why this is an issue of concern to SMEs and the self-employed is the fact that it has a direct impact on the economic flow available to companies.

After the changes produced in 2017 on the treatment that companies can give to VAT and the possibility of its postponement, one of the main concerns that you will surely have will be to know how you can request that postponement.

Considering that it can only be postponed without the need to provide guarantees in cases where the amount is less than 30,000 euros, if you want to request its postponement you must take into account the following:

  • It is necessary to make the payment of the part of debt with the Treasury that corresponds to the installments that have been passed on and that it has collected.
  • In the requests for postponement that are processed, it will be established that at the time you receive the collection of the amount you will have a period of 10 days to make the deposit in the Treasury. This will be the case even if at the time of collection of the invoice the deadline established for the postponement has not been met.
  • For the deferral, a guarantee is required, which may be a guarantee from a bank or a surety insurance certificate.
  • The maximum period of time of deferral of VAT in self-employed workers that you can request if the requirements are met is 36 months, in case of offering as a guarantee a bank guarantee, or 24 months in case the guarantee offered is any other.
  • By the mere fact that you request the postponement, it is assumed that there has been no collection of that output VAT by the customer.

How to account for the deferral of VAT exceeding 30,000 euros

In the event that the amount that is intended to be deferred is greater than 30,000 euros, the requirements that must be met if you are a company will be different:

  • List of invoices you have issued that have not been collected, including an identification of the customers, the amount of the invoice and the payment deadline.
  • A receipt to prove that the invoices have not been paid.
  • List of invoices you have received including information from suppliers and amounts and inform about whether they have been paid and by what means.
  • Justification of the actions carried out to claim the payment of the invoices.

Repercussions of the payment of VAT on the self-employed

The self-employed very often face problems linked to the payment of VAT. The main difficulty for this group is that the amounts paid in this concept have an important impact on the amount of money available for their activity and on their liquidity.

Thanks to the changes that have been described and that have made the payment of VAT more flexible for this group, the situation they face in their activity is more stable and they can have greater control over the expenses and income that affect their activity.

Based on the information analyzed in this article, it can be said that the legislation has established measures more favorable to the self-employed and SMEs that need higher margins than large companies and this has an important impact on the liquidity available by this group to face payments.