The number of companies in Spain continues to increase. In 2023 alone, over 109,000 new companies were established, and nearly 16,000 new self-employed workers registered with social security. The entrepreneurial spirit remains strong among Spaniards, but it’s important to remember that taking this step comes with various responsibilities.

Many of these obligations are tax-related – like the quarterly value-added tax (VAT) declaration, corporate income tax, and self-employed contributions – while others involve the bureaucratic steps needed to establish your business. Here, we discuss one of these formalities: this guide will explain how to complete Form 036, what this census declaration involves, and other important details you need to be aware of.

What’s in this article?

• What is Form 036?
  
• How is Form 036 used?
  
• What are the differences between Form 036 and Form 037?
  
• Who has to file Form 036?
  
• What is the deadline for filing Form 036?
  
• How to file Form 036
  

What is Form 036?

Form 036 is a census declaration professionals use to notify the Agencia Tributaria about their current status regarding the economic activity they are engaged in or plan to start. By submitting this form, self-employed individuals and companies can join the census of entrepreneurs, professionals, and withholders, which contains all persons or entities required to apply tax withholdings like personal income tax, or IRPF.

Once the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) receives the information from Form 036, it can monitor the company’s tax obligations.

How is Form 036 used?

Form 036 notifies the AEAT about various changes related to a company’s economic activity. Here are some procedures you can handle with Form 036:

• Process census registration: This process involves completing Form 036 when starting an economic activity or receiving any income subject to withholding or payment on account.
  
• Modify census data: In other words, inform the AEAT about changes in the business’s tax address or other personal and professional details.
  
• Apply for or modify the Tax Identification Number (NIF): The NIF is a key ID for conducting professional activities in Spain; it’s also needed to get the VAT taxpayer certificate. When the company begins its commercial activity, it must collect VAT on its sales and then declare and pay this amount to the AEAT. Companies are opting to integrate a tax automation solution to streamline this process, like Stripe Tax, into their payment systems. Aside from automatically calculating and collecting the correct tax percentage on your sales, Stripe regularly updates Stripe Tax to ensure you’re aware of the latest tax regulations in the more than 50 countries where it is available (see the updated list of excluded territories).
  
• Process census de-registration: This process occurs when economic activity ends. Depending on the reason for the termination, it could be necessary to also de-register from the taxpayers’ census by completing Form 030.
  
• Supply information that the AEAT needs to verify that professionals are managing taxes correctly: For example, you can use Form 036 to notify the AEAT that you are under the general regime and will contain the corresponding VAT rates in your invoices or to indicate that you qualify for the special cash basis regime and intend to benefit from this optional VAT regime.
  

What are the differences between Form 036 and Form 037?

As we’ve just seen, Form 036 serves almost the same purpose as Form 037: to notify the AEAT about the current census status. However, this doesn’t mean they are identical forms. Although they share some similarities, there are significant differences between Form 036 and Form 037:

• Both individuals and legal entities can fill out Form 036. On the other hand, only individuals can complete Form 037.
  
• Form 036 has more fields to complete and covers a total of 20 pages. Form 037, with its six pages, is a more concise and simplified version. For instance, while both can be used to update census information like your address, Form 036 needs to be used if your tax address differs from your administrative address.
  

Who has to file Form 036?

Form 036 is for those who meet at least one of these criteria:

• Self-employed individuals (known as “autónomos” in Spain) or companies planning to start economic activity in Spain
  
• Self-employed individuals or companies de-registering from the census of entrepreneurs, professionals, and withholders due to cessation of activity
  
• Self-employed individuals or companies needing to update previously provided tax information
  
• Individuals who, although they are not self-employed or do not own a company, engage in some economic activity on their own and receive income subject to withholdings or payments on an account (such as someone who rents out a property and receives monthly income from rental payments)
  
• People who don’t have their tax domicile in mainland Spain or the Balearic Islands but are still subject to VAT
  
• People involved in an entity under the regime for income attribution, such as a community of owners, whether they participate as partners, heirs, or in any other capacity that requires a tax obligation
  
• Request the intracommunity VAT number to apply VAT exemptions on purchases and sales in the European Union
  

Some other special situations might require filing Form 036. You can find the complete list in the AEAT’s instruction manual for Form 036.

What is the deadline for filing Form 036?

The deadline for filing Form 036 depends on the information you provide to the AEAT.

• Starting an economic activity: Any time, as long as it’s before beginning professional transactions like buying and selling goods or services. You must also complete Form 036 before you fulfil the requirements to apply for any tax withholding or make a tax deposit.
  
• Applying for a NIF: Before taking any professional action, like hiring an employee or acquiring a service needed for the business.
  
• Modifying data: Generally, you have one month from the day after the event that causes the change, such as transferring the company’s headquarters. Other modifications, like requesting corporate income tax instalment payments, have specific deadlines. We suggest checking the instruction manual for Form 036 to find the available period for each modification.
  
• Cessation of activity by a self-employed person: One month from the cessation.
  
• Cessation of activity by a company: One month from when the company dissolves, or you cancel its entries in the Commercial Register.
  
• Death of the individual: Six months, whether the inheritors handle the census de-registration or make a modification.
  

How to file Form 036

To file Form 036, first decide whether to do it online or in a physical format. Please note that companies, company collaborators, and entities without legal personality must file it online.

• Online: Go to the official AEAT website and log in with your Cl@ve, digital certificate, or electronic ID.
  
• Physically: Download Form 036 in PDF format and print it. When you have finished filling out the form, you can submit it at an AEAT office.
  

To fill out Form 036:

1. Stick your identification label in the space provided in the “Identification data” section. If you don’t have it, enter your NIF in Box 101 and your name and surname in Boxes 103 and 102, respectively. If you represent a company, write its name in Box 102.
   
2. In the “Reasons for filing” section, check the box corresponding to the reason for filing the census return:
   
   • Boxes 110–111: Requesting the NIF or registering.
     
   • Boxes 120–141: Modifications. In the final box, enter the date when the change takes effect.
     
   • Boxes 150–152: De-registering. In the last box, specify the date on which the de-registration occurred.
     
3. Under “Identification,” fill out the corresponding text fields in section “A” if you are an individual. If you represent a legal person (i.e., a business) or an entity, you must fill out section “B.” Section “C” is for permanent establishments of non-residents.
   
4. If you are filing Form 036 on behalf of another person because you are a company collaborator or a legal representative, enter your identification data in the third section: “Representatives.”
   
5. In “Declaration of economic activities and premises,” there are two very important sections:
   
   • A) Describe your activity and specify the type and the IAE code to which it belongs.
     
   • B) Specify where the economic activity takes place, including premises indirectly related to business operations, such as a warehouse.
     

6. Under ”Taxpayer, large company and public administrations,” you need to answer YES or NO to two questions:

   • Are you a large company with operations exceeding €6,010,121.04 in value?
     
   • Is your last annual budget as a public body over €6 million?
     

   Regardless of your answers to both questions, enter the date your business becomes a large company in Box 545 and the date your budget exceeds the specified amount in Box 578.

7. Under “Value-added tax,” you also need to answer two questions:

   • Is your headquarters as a freelancer or company located in the Iberian Peninsula or the Balearic Islands?
     
   • Do you only conduct operations that are not subject to VAT or exempt from the tax?
     After answering, complete section “B” with details about the economic activity linked to the start of operations, including the start date.
     In section “C,” mark the boxes on the left to show if you are signing up for or leaving the listed VAT regimes. In the right-hand columns, enter the IAE heading and the date.
     In section “D,” specify if you are signing up for or leaving two types of registers: exporters and other economic operators or intracommunity operators.
     In section “E,” inform the AEAT if you are suggesting a provisional deduction percentage, and enter the proposed amount in the box. Also, enter the differentiated sectors and special deductions, if any.
     

8. Under “Personal income tax, corporate income tax, and non-resident income tax,” you need to provide the information for these three taxes in the following sections:

   • A) IRPF
     
   • B) IS
     
   • C) IRNR
     

9. In “Special tax regime of Title II of Law 49/2002,” mark Box 651 if you are in the regime for non-profit entities, with tax obligations detailed in the BOE. If you are going to leave this regime, mark Box 652. In any case, enter the date.

10. Under “Withholdings and payments on account,” detail your obligations when applying withholdings and making advance payments to the AEAT. The most common examples are income from employee work and real estate rentals.

11. Under “Other taxes,” mark the appropriate boxes exclusively if your economic activity involves selling products with special taxes such as alcohol, tobacco, and hydrocarbons or insurance and capitalization operations as specified in Article 12 of Law 13/1996.

12. Finally, under “Special regimes for intracommunity trade,” mark the boxes for the distance sales conducted in each country and state whether you have exceeded the limit.

Keep in mind that you only need to complete the sections relevant to your professional activity, making Form 036 generally easier to fill out than its 20 pages might imply. Additionally, you can save your changes to the form, and if you don’t complete it in one session or encountered an error, you can retrieve it without re-entering all the information.