Personal income tax – commonly known in Spain as IRPF (“impuesto sobre la renta de las personas físicas”) – is a direct tax on income earned by professionals in Spain. While every citizen must ensure they meet their tax obligations with the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) on their income tax return, businesses are required to make advance IRPF payments for their employees and the self-employed professionals they work with.

These IRPF advance payments help reduce the amount owed in the income tax return, and in some cases, the AEAT might need to refund money to the taxpayer. Advance payments are made quarterly, and sometimes monthly, using Form 111. This guide will explain what Form 111 is, who needs to file it, how to file it, and the penalties for late submission.

What’s in this article?

• What is Form 111, and what is it for?
  
• Who has to file Form 111?
  
• What is the deadline for filing Form 111?
  
• What happens if Form 111 isn’t filed on time?
  
• How do I file Form 111?
  

What is Form 111, and what is it for?

Form 111 is a tax return that businesses and self-employed people in Spain must submit to settle the income tax withholdings made during a quarter. For salaried employees, their pay stubs show a personal income tax withholding, which depends on their gross salary, contract type, and personal circumstances. This rate is close to what they need to pay in their income tax return, typically between 19% and 47%. The business uses this form to pay the withheld amount to the AEAT on behalf of its employees. When a self-employed person (known in Spain as “autónomos”) invoices a business or another freelancer in Spain, they deduct a percentage from the total amount (typically 15%, but it can be reduced to 7% during the first three years of activity). The recipient then pays this amount to the AEAT on behalf of the service provider.

In summary, you can use Form 111 to make payments on account of IRPF for professionals working with your business, whether they are salaried employees or freelancers. You can also use Form 111 to gradually pay withheld IRPF, supplemented by the annual informative declaration, Form 190.

Who has to file Form 111?

Any business or self-employed person with a tax domicile in Spain must file Form 111 if at least one of these conditions is met:

• It has at least one employee who receives a salary or any form of work-related income.
  
• It hires freelancers who issue invoices with IRPF withholding.
  

Though other situations require filing Form 111, these are rarer among freelancers and businesses in Spain, such as profits from public land exploitation, contest and sweepstakes prizes, or payments for image rights.

Conversely, it is not mandatory to file Form 111 if the business or self-employed person has not had any employees on payroll or received any invoices with IRPF withholding throughout the fiscal year. The AEAT does not permit submitting this tax document with the Calculation (“Liquidación”) section left blank. In this situation, you must file Form 036 to inform the AEAT that your business no longer has employees on its payroll and to end the requirement to file Form 111.

What is the deadline for filing Form 111?

The deadline for filing Form 111 depends on whether the business or self-employed person must self-assess IRPF quarterly or monthly. However, deferring payments on account of withholdings is never allowed. Therefore, you must complete the process within the dates outlined in the following sections.

Deadline for monthly self-assessments

If you have a large business (a “gran empresa,” defined by Article 71.3 of the Value Added Tax Regulations as having an annual turnover exceeding €6,010,121.04), you must meet the monthly self-assessment deadline, which is 20 calendar days after the end of the period subject to IRPF withholding. For instance, if you withheld IRPF from your employees in August 2025, you must make the corresponding payment between 1 September and 20 September 2025.

Deadline for quarterly self-assessments

Typically, the self-assessment deadline is quarterly, and the same window of 20 calendar days applies:

• First quarter: between 1 April and 20 April
  
• Second quarter: between 1 July and 20 July
  
• Third quarter: between 1 October and 20 October
  
• Fourth quarter: between 1 January and 20 January of the following year
  

Note that if the 20th falls on a Bank Holiday or weekend, the deadline is extended to the next business day. If you pay by direct debit, you must submit the documentation five days before the general deadline.

The annual summary of these withholdings (Form 190) must be submitted between 1 January and 31 January of the following year. After the deadline for your final monthly or quarterly return of the year, you have 11 more days to file this form.

What happens if Form 111 isn’t filed on time?

If a self-employed person or a business misses the deadlines mentioned above, they will face a penalty. The surcharges differ based on the type of delay and are added to the total unpaid IRPF amount:

• If the professional notices they have missed a payment and then voluntarily files the delayed Form 111 before the AEAT notifies them about the delay, these surcharges will be applied:

  • 5% if Form 111 is filed after three months
    
  • 10% if Form 111 is filed after three months and one day or, at the latest, six months
    
  • 15% if Form 111 is filed after six months and one day or, at the latest, after one year
    
  • 20% and late payment interest if Form 111 is filed after more than one year
    

• If the AEAT notes the delay, it can impose penalties based on the severity outlined in the General Tax Law:

  • 50% for minor infringements, such as an unintentional error that doesn’t financially affect the AEAT
    
  • 100% for serious infringements, such as reducing the income of employees or the self-employed, whether the error is intentional or not
    
  • 150% for very serious infringements, such as intentionally hiding tax information to hinder the AEAT’s inspection efforts
    

In addition to these financial penalties, a delay in submitting this tax form can trigger an inspection by the AEAT. To ensure your taxes are current, alongside consulting with an expert advisor in your field, using a tax automation tool in your payment system can be beneficial. For instance, Stripe Tax enables you to automatically calculate and collect VAT on your sales and produce reports on the collected amounts. Stripe Tax frequently updates with the latest tax regulation changes in over 50 countries where it is available, ensuring you will apply the correct tax rate to your sales (see the list of excluded territories).

How do I file Form 111?

Form 111 can be filed online or in person. For the first option, you need to log in to the AEAT website using a digital certificate or Cl@ve. If you choose the in-person method (this option is no longer available if you manage a business), you need to print a paper copy after downloading Form 111 in PDF format. The process for completing the form is the same in both scenarios.

Once you’ve filled out all the boxes with the requested information, the Payment (“Ingreso”) section should show the amount owed to the AEAT. You should then tick the box for the method of payment you want to use. To have the amount debited from your bank account, you need to provide an account number from a bank in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) zone.

Remember that the deadline for requesting direct debit is five days earlier than the general deadline. If you can no longer request collection from your account, you can pay the amount on the website or through your bank’s online portal using the Full Reference Number (NRC) of your return.