• Business owners must have software programs that connect with the tax authorities in 2026

• Companies and self-employed workers face fines of 50,000 euros in 2026 for failing to comply with the obligation to have a Computerized Billing System (SIF) or if it lacks any of the requirements that these software programs must have.

Taxpayers who pay Corporate Income Tax must have these systems starting January 1, 2026; the rest, such as self-employed individuals subject to Personal Income Tax (IRPF), starting July 1, 2026. As the deadline approaches, the Tax Agency has been defining, changing, and qualifying all the information regarding this matter. These are the keys to understanding what Verifactu is and who it affects.

WHAT IS VERIFACTU?

What is currently erroneously known as Verifactu are the new requirements that Computerized Billing Systems (SIF) must meet for companies and self-employed individuals to issue invoices, with the aim of preventing less VAT from being declared. These software programs must allow the issuance, generation, and storage of invoices, and additionally, they must be able to connect with the Tax Agency to submit the information.

Business owners are not obliged to automatically share all their invoices with the tax authorities; it is enough for them to have a billing system that meets the requirements and, in the event of a request from the Treasury, can connect with the Administration to send the requested data. However, those systems that do share invoices immediately with the tax authorities are known as Verifactu, and professionals will be able to decide whether they prefer them or not. For the time being, the automatic exchange of billing data is not mandatory, although the tax agency does not rule it out for the future.

WHAT IS A SIF?

Computerized Billing Systems are those that allow the issuance of invoices, their storage, and the processing of information for other purposes, such as preparing accounting ledgers, VAT, or IRPF books. These programs must be certified to comply with all the Tax Agency’s requirements, guarantee that invoices once issued cannot be altered to prevent fraud, allow electronic signatures on them, and generate a QR code on each invoice with all its information.

WHO IS AFFECTED?

Companies and self-employed workers are required to have a billing system if they meet four requirements: they do not bill exclusively by hand; they are not covered by the Immediate Supply of Information (SII) system, which is mandatory for companies billing more than six million euros a year; they do not have their tax domicile in the Basque Country or Navarre; and they are not exempt from the obligation to comply with these programs, such as professionals in agriculture, livestock, and fishing who are not required to issue invoices, or those operating under the simplified VAT regime.

MANUAL BILLING

The Tax Agency indicates that professionals who bill exclusively by hand will not have to comply with this obligation. However, if at any time they use a computerized system to issue them, from then on it will be mandatory for them to have an authorized program or use the tax agency’s free application.

WHAT HAPPENS WITH WORD OR EXCEL?

This is one of the points where there are the most doubts. The Treasury clarifies that it will depend on the uses that professionals give to these systems.

If they use Word or Excel to enter invoice data, issue it, and keep it, they will not be required to have a computerized billing system. However, if they also use these spreadsheets or word processors to process data—meaning to generate accounting, VAT, or IRPF registry books—then Word or Excel must meet the criteria required of a SIF. The Tax Agency will be able to verify whether these programs comply or not based on the tools and capabilities they utilize.

BRICK-AND-MORTAR AND ONLINE BUSINESSES

Small businesses, such as bars or stores, whether brick-and-mortar or online, that issue simplified invoices to customers (receipts) must also comply with the obligation to have a billing system that meets the new requirements and, if the program is Verifactu, share all their billing data with the Treasury.

MICRO-SMEs

Micro-SMEs with up to three employees can apply until next October 31st for the Digital Kit, which grants a maximum amount of 2,000 euros to finance the acquisition of these billing systems. However, they can also choose to use the Tax Agency’s free application to fulfill their billing obligations, although it is limited only to companies and self-employed individuals who carry out a low number of invoices per year, without specifying how many.

RENTAL ACTIVITY

Individuals who rent out properties will be exempt from the obligation to use a SIF. However, if they carry out an economic activity, for which it is required to have at least one person hired on a full-time basis, they will have to comply with the new obligation. Those who rent out tourist apartments and offer any complementary service typical of the hotel industry, such as room cleaning or changing bed linen, must also have these new programs.

WHAT IS THE QR CODE FOR?

The QR code that all issued invoices must have (although it will be replaced by a URL if they are electronic invoices) will allow the recipient to obtain all the data and verify whether or not the document is held by the Tax Agency, which will guarantee that the supplier is not committing tax fraud or passing on a VAT amount that they do not declare. Likewise, this same recipient, if they wish, may submit all the invoice data to the tax authorities to leave a record of its existence or for a future cross-check.

DIGITAL INVOICE

The obligation to have a computerized system to issue invoices that prevents their alteration and can connect with the Treasury has nothing to do with the future obligation for SMEs and the self-employed to invoice electronically. This second duty, which stems from the 2022 “Crea y Crece” Law, affects business owners billing less than 8 million euros a year and aims to put an end to paper invoicing. For now, the Treasury keeps the application of this regulation frozen, although it is expected from 2027 onwards.

Source: elEconomista