The Monthly Foreign Trade Report from the Ministry of Economy, Commerce, and Business reveals that, in 2025, Spain’s exports to the US exceeded €16.7 billion. This figure represents 4.3% of total Spanish exports and positions the US as the sixth-largest importer of Spanish goods, ranking ahead of European countries such as Poland and the Netherlands, and leading among non-EU countries, surpassing Morocco, a neighboring country with which Spain has historically maintained close ties.

However, exporting products and services to the US requires complying with various legal obligations, such as documenting each sale through invoices that are typically more complex than domestic ones due to the obligation to include additional information. In this article, we’ll explain how to invoice the US from Spain, along with specific details of the process.

What’s in this article?

• How to invoice a US business from Spain
  
• How to invoice a US private customer from Spain
  
• Regulations governing invoicing the US from Spain
  
• Mandatory information on invoices issued in Spain to US recipients
  
• How Stripe helps you invoice the US from Spain
  

How to invoice a US business from Spain

In the vast majority of cases, it’s not necessary to include Spanish value-added tax (VAT) on invoices issued from Spain to US business customers. However, all exports must be reported on the quarterly VAT return (Form 303).

In addition, you must include a legal notice on the invoice explaining why the transaction does not include VAT:

• For transactions not subject to VAT: “Transaction not subject to VAT pursuant to Article 69 of Law 37/1992.”
  
• For VAT-exempt transactions: “Export exempt from VAT pursuant to Article 21 of Law 37/1992.”
  

The application of VAT on invoices issued to US businesses varies depending on whether you’re selling products or services:

Invoices for products sold to US businesses

Sales of products to US businesses are exempt from Spanish VAT provided the following conditions are met:

• The goods are sold from Spain.
  
• The goods are transported to the US.
  
• You have the necessary documentation to demonstrate and prove to the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) that these transactions constitute exports. An example of such documentation would be the Single Administrative Document (SAD) which, in addition to serving a customs function, determines any applicable taxes and tariffs.
  

Conversely, if the business purchases the products in Spain and the products do not leave the country, the transaction will be subject to Spanish VAT.

Invoices for services sold to US businesses

As a general rule, sales of services to US businesses are not subject to Spanish VAT, as regulations deem the services to take place in the customer’s country. Therefore, it’s not necessary to include VAT on invoices.

However, transactions will be subject to Spanish VAT when the service is physically provided or used in Spain, regardless of whether the customer’s headquarters are located in the US. This applies in cases such as services related to real estate, event access, catering, short-term vehicle rental, or passenger transport.

How to invoice a US private customer from Spain

As with business-to-business (B2B) relationships, if you invoice US individuals there are important nuances you should be aware of:

Invoices for products sold to US private customers

When the recipient of an invoice for the sale of physical products is a private individual in the US, the same rules apply as if the recipient were a business: it’s not necessary to include VAT as long as the physical product leaves the EU. In such cases, the invoice must clearly state the grounds for the VAT exemption, and the SAD must be retained.

Invoices for services sold to US private customers

• General services
  As a general rule, services to private customers are taxed in the country from which the professional provides them, so many invoices intended for US individuals include Spanish VAT. However, as stipulated in Article 69, Point 2 of the Spanish VAT Law, certain services (such as advisory, consulting, and translation services) are deemed to be performed in the US even if the business provides them from Spain. In such cases, invoices issued to private individuals in the US should not include Spanish VAT, as they’re considered non-VAT transactions.
  
• Services physically provided or used in Spain
  As with B2B transactions, if the US individual uses the service in Spain, the invoice must include Spanish VAT.
  
• Electronic services
  If you sell digital services—such as online training or software—the transaction is taxable in the US, so you must issue the invoice without Spanish VAT. Bear in mind that, for tax purposes, sales of both general and electronic services are deemed to take place in your customer’s country. Therefore, even if your business lacks a physical presence in the US, you might have to pay applicable taxes there—especially if your sales volume of electronic services in the country is very high.
  

With regard to this last requirement, each country has its own regulations, so it is important to verify the specific thresholds for each jurisdiction. In the case of the US, sales tax rates vary not only at the state level, but also by county or even city.

With thousands of distinct sales tax jurisdictions, the US is one of the countries with the greatest tax complexity. To simplify tax collection and avoid potential issues, it’s advisable to integrate a tax automation tool such as Stripe Tax, which notifies you through automatic alerts when you’re approaching the sales threshold that requires you to collect taxes in a given jurisdiction.

Regulations governing invoicing the US from Spain

In Spain, the process of invoicing the US is governed primarily by the following two regulations:

• Royal Decree 1619/2012
  Royal Decree 1619/2012, which approved the Regulation Governing Invoicing Obligations, makes explicit reference in Article 2 to invoicing foreign businesses from Spain. Specifically, it requires issuing invoices and copies thereof when selling products or providing services to non-EU customers.
  
• Law 37/1992
  Law 37/1992, or the VAT Law, specifies which invoices issued from Spain to foreign businesses or individuals must or must not include Spanish VAT. To this end, it establishes location rules and exceptions that determine whether transactions invoiced to foreign customers are deemed to have taken place in Spain or abroad.
  

Mandatory information on invoices issued in Spain to US recipients

When preparing an invoice for exports to the US, it’s necessary to include—in addition to the information that must appear on any invoice issued in Spain—a series of additional details. Let’s take a look at those:

• Employer Identification Number: If you’re conducting a B2B transaction, you must provide your customer’s Employer Identification Number (EIN), which is the tax identification number that the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assigns to businesses operating in the US.
  
• HS Code: A Harmonized System code that classifies and identifies shipped products. Customs authorities use this code to determine the tariffs and taxes applicable to exported goods.
  
• Incoterms: International commercial terms that outline the conditions of the agreement, such as who assumes the risks and how transportation costs are divided.
  
• Origin and destination of the goods: The invoice must clearly indicate that the goods are being shipped from Spain to the US.
  
• Currency in which the transaction is carried out: Although it’s common for payment to be made in euros regardless of the customer’s country, it’s legally permissible to use US dollars on invoices for exports to the US.
  
• Exchange rate applied: If the invoice is issued in US dollars, it’s mandatory to indicate the exchange rate used to calculate the VAT amount in euros.
  
• Unit and total price: The invoice should itemize the amount for each product or service, and reflect the total value of the goods.
  
• Payment terms: The invoice must include details about the payment method and the deadline for the US customer to pay the amount after receiving the goods.
  
• Freight cost: The cost of transporting the goods must be indicated, as well as the method used to transport them to the US.
  
• Insurance amount: If liability insurance is taken out for the delivery of the goods, the amount must be included on the invoice.
  
• Grounds for exemption: If the invoice does not include VAT, the reason for exemption must be stated. The most common practice is to cite Article 21 of Law 37/1992.
  

To summarize, we’ve prepared two tables that indicate whether or not invoices to US customers must include VAT, as well as the additional information you’re required to include depending on the type of transaction:

B2B invoices to US businesses

B2C invoices to US individuals

How Stripe helps you invoice the US from Spain

According to data from the Ministry of Economy, Commerce, and Business, in 2025, Spain’s exports to the US recorded an 8% year-over-year decline. The complexity of legal and tax compliance for these transactions was one of the factors that contributed to this downturn. However, invoicing the US from Spain is simpler if you make the payments through a reliable international payment gateway that complies with current regulations. With Stripe Payments, you can accept payments using your US customers’ preferred payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, digital wallets, and even installment payment options by way of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services such as Klarna.

Furthermore, with Adaptive Pricing, your rates automatically adapt to your customers’ locations, allowing you to display prices in the local currency in over 150 countries.

To further facilitate your company’s exports to the US, the Stripe App Marketplace offers a library of apps that integrate seamlessly with your payment platform and adapt to your business’s most specific needs.

One of the applications available in the App Marketplace is Billit, a pioneering electronic invoicing platform in Europe that focuses on ensuring compliance with the various electronic invoicing requirements across the EU. This platform simplifies the sending of electronic invoices to customers abroad, as it’s able to automatically choose the correct format and delivery network based on your customer’s tax ID.

For its part, Invopop is a solution developed in Spain that has specific functions for compliance with Spanish regulations. One of the most important of these is full integration with the VERI*FACTU system, which ensures that records of invoices issued from Spain to the US are sent to the AEAT in real time and without alteration.