Refund of VAT paid in the EU

If in 2025 your company sent any employee to perform tasks in another country of the European Union or to any fair located in that territory, it is very likely that they incurred expenses for which they paid VAT in that country: hotels, vehicle rentals, meeting room rentals, access to fairs, purchase of products abroad that were not subsequently transported to Spain, etc.

Well, remember that, since it is VAT paid in another country, your company cannot deduct it in the periodic VAT returns (form 303). To recover the tax, you must request a refund using form 360 (which is submitted online). From there, the Spanish tax administration communicates the request to the country where the VAT was paid so that it can manage the refund.

Your company can recover the VAT paid in another EU country as long as it would have been deductible if it had been paid in Spain (that is, it must have been paid in the course of business activities). If your company is under prorate and can only deduct a percentage of the VAT paid, you can also request a refund of part of the VAT based on that prorate (you must indicate that percentage in the return).

You must submit a refund request (form 360) for each country where you have paid VAT and in relation to quarterly or annual periods. The submission period begins once the quarter or year to which the request refers has passed and ends on September 30 of the following year. Thus, the deadline to request the refund of VAT paid during 2025 will expire on September 30,2026.