# Invoicing for freelance translators in Spain: foreign agencies, per-word rates and withholding

> Agencies in other countries, per-word rates and lots of small invoices. How to invoice them properly without spending the month on it.

## Depending on who you invoice

- **A business or freelancer in Spain**: 21% VAT and, if your activity is professional, 15% withholding (7% in your first year and the two after)
- **A private individual in Spain**: 21% VAT, no withholding
- **A business in another EU country**: No VAT (reverse charge) and no withholding; it also goes on modelo 349
- **A business outside the EU**: No VAT (outside the scope) and no withholding

To invoice an EU business without VAT, check that its VAT number is registered in the EU's VIES database. Nyrut counts it correctly in the 303 and warns you about the 349, but doesn't generate the 349.

## Translation agencies

Many agencies are in another EU country: then you invoice without VAT, under reverse charge, and those invoices also go on modelo 349. With a Spanish agency, 21% VAT and, if your activity is professional, withholding.

## Per word, per page or per hour

Put the quantity and the unit price on each line (2,500 words at €0.08), not just the total. Your client sees where the figure comes from, and so do you when you review the quarter.

## Lots of small invoices

If you do lots of short jobs, what eats your time isn't invoicing: it's knowing which ones have been paid. Keep track of what's pending and what's overdue, and chase it in time.

## Literary translation

If you translate books and get paid for the transfer of copyright, the invoice has its own particularities. Take that one to your gestor.

## Usual expenses

- Computer-assisted translation tools and their licences, paid dictionaries and glossaries.
- Your self-employed contribution and related training.
- Your computer, monitor or camera are capital assets: they're depreciated over several years rather than deducted in one go. Nyrut doesn't calculate depreciation; your gestor does.

## How Nyrut helps

Lines with quantity, unit and price. Each client with their language and currency, and the invoice in the client's language. The home screen tells you which invoice is overdue and lets you chase it in one click. And your 303 and 130, worked out every quarter.

This is a guide to understand the system, not tax advice: for your specific case, ask your gestor.

- [How to invoice in Spain](https://www.nyrut.com/en/how-to-invoice-in-spain)
- [Modelo 303](https://www.nyrut.com/en/modelo-303)
- [All guides](https://www.nyrut.com/en/guides)
- [Start free](https://www.nyrut.com/app)