Verifactu for Autónomos: What Changes for Freelancers in Spain from 2027

If you're self-employed in Spain, you've probably heard "Verifactu" mentioned alongside a 2027 deadline — but whether it actually applies to you, and when, depends on which tax regime you're in. Here's the breakdown, without the general-business framing most Verifactu guides default to.

For the full regulatory picture, including the separate Crea y Crece B2B mandate, see our complete Spain e-invoicing guide and 2026 updates timeline.

The Date That Matters for Most Autónomos: 1 July 2027

Verifactu (formally the Reglamento de los Sistemas Informáticos de Facturación) is an anti-fraud invoicing-software regulation — not the same as the full B2B structured e-invoicing mandate under the Ley Crea y Crece, which arrives later (2027–2028) and is separate.

Under Real Decreto-ley 15/2025, which postponed the original 2026 dates by one year:

• Companies (Corporate Income Tax / Impuesto sobre Sociedades taxpayers) must comply from 1 January 2027
• Self-employed workers and other businesses in direct estimation (estimación directa) must comply from 1 July 2027

Most freelancers who keep standard income/expense accounts fall into the second group and have until 1 July 2027.

The Exception: Módulos (Estimación Objetiva)

Spain's simplified flat-rate tax regime, módulos (estimación objetiva), is only available for specific activities — taxi driving, small retail, hospitality, and similar — below defined turnover thresholds (broadly, up to €250,000 in sales to consumers, €125,000 to businesses, and €250,000 in purchases).

If you're in módulos and your activity doesn't legally require you to issue invoices (many consumer-facing módulos activities don't), you fall outside Verifactu's scope entirely.

If you are in módulos but you do issue invoices — for example because you sometimes bill other businesses or professionals — you're pulled back into scope: you must use Verifactu-compliant software from 1 July 2027, the same date as direct-estimation filers.

In short: módulos exempts you only if you have no invoicing obligation in the first place. The moment you issue invoices using software, the technical requirements apply regardless of your tax regime.

What Verifactu Actually Requires

Whether you're a company or an autónomo, Verifactu-compliant invoicing software must:

• Generate invoices as tamper-evident records, chained together with a cryptographic hash so earlier entries can't be silently altered
• Embed a QR code on each invoice, linking to an AEAT verification page
• Either transmit invoice records to the AEAT in near-real-time, or maintain them in a certified, audit-ready local format, depending on which of the two compliance modes your software implements

The invoice itself can still look like a normal PDF or paper invoice to your client — the Verifactu requirements live in the software generating it, not in a new invoice layout you need to design yourself.

What This Doesn't Cover

Verifactu is not Spain's full B2B e-invoicing mandate. The separate Crea y Crece law requires structured B2B invoice exchange (comparable to Peppol-based mandates elsewhere in the EU) on a later timeline set by Royal Decree 238/2026: 1 October 2027 for businesses above €8 million turnover, and 1 October 2028 for everyone else — which will eventually include most autónomos too. Verifactu and the B2B mandate are separate, sequential obligations, not the same requirement under two names.

What Autónomos Should Do Now

1. Check your tax regime. Direct estimation → 1 July 2027 deadline. Módulos with no invoicing obligation → currently out of scope. Módulos but you do invoice → 1 July 2027 applies to you too.
2. Ask your invoicing software provider directly when they expect Verifactu certification — don't assume current software will automatically qualify. Software vendors have been required to make compliant versions available since 29 July 2025, so many tools already have a certified option; confirm yours does.
3. Don't confuse this with the B2B mandate. Getting Verifactu-ready doesn't mean you're also ready for Crea y Crece's structured e-invoicing requirement — that's a separate project on a later timeline.
4. Re-check official guidance closer to mid-2027. Spain has already postponed these dates once (by Real Decreto-ley 15/2025); confirm the July 2027 date hasn't shifted again via the AEAT's Verifactu documentation before finalising your preparations.

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Last updated: August 2026. Verifactu's deadlines were postponed once already (December 2025) — always confirm current dates directly with the AEAT before making compliance decisions.