The 21% is almost never included in the price you see. What changes if you are an end consumer or a deductible freelancer, and what to check in a quote before signing.
Web prices in Spain include VAT: design and development are taxed at the general rate of 21% in the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. Almost no studio includes this in their advertised figures. For an end consumer, that 21% is a cost; for a freelancer or a company with the right to deduction, it is an advance that is recovered.
The 21% is not a studio's choice: it is the general rate
Web design and development are service provisions without a reduced rate or specific exemption. They are subject to the general rate.
What is a studio's choice is where they place that 21%. Most Spanish pricing pages advertise the bare figure and add a "plus VAT" in small print next to it. The first one on the list we opened while preparing this article, Nerade, labels "€590 Plus VAT" at each tier: €590 advertised, €713.90 invoiced.
A quote without the word VAT is not a low price; it is an incomplete price.
The same price does not cost you the same as your neighbor
Here is the gap that none of the pages currently ranking for this search fill. The 21% is identical for everyone. The actual cost is not.
An arithmetic example based on a quote of €3,000 plus VAT — this is not a market figure, it is a calculation:
| Who is hiring | Pays the studio | Recovers | Actual cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private individual, end consumer | €3,630 | €0 | €3,630 |
| Freelancer or company with subject activity and right to full deduction | €3,630 | €630 via form 303 | €3,000 |
| Exempt activity without right to deduction (Art. 20 of Law 37/1992 lists which ones) | €3,630 | €0 | €3,630 |
The difference between the first row and the second is €630 for the same work. It is not a discount: it is that the VAT is recovered, not saved. And it is only recovered if the service is related to your activity, a condition that the Tax Agency requires to be proven "by any means of proof".
Standard industry practice: The sector advertises "€590 plus VAT" and lets each reader calculate their own total. The private individual discovers an extra €123.90 on the invoice, and the freelancer does not know that those €123.90 are returned via form 303.
Our criteria: Aura writes the final number in the proposal: brand website, from €3,000 with VAT already included, along with the taxable base. Fixed price per phase, agreed upon before starting. No surprise hours and no surprise VAT.
The €590 in the example is market, not an Aura offer: our floor is €3,000, VAT included.
What makes that VAT truly deductible
Having the invoice is not enough. It must be the correct invoice.
- The invoice bears your Tax ID (NIF) and address, not just your trade name
- The VAT amount appears listed separately from the taxable base
- If you are given a simplified invoice, check that it includes those details: without them, it does not support the deduction, and the general limit for issuing them is €400 VAT included (RD 1619/2012, arts. 4 and 7)
- The description specifies the service provided, not a generic "professional services"
- The contract names the code, source files, and documentation in the assignment
Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla: neither 21% nor VAT
If your company is in the Canary Islands, the tax that applies to you is not VAT.
A peninsular studio that invoices you in the Canary Islands issues the invoice without VAT, and you self-liquidate the IGIC. Ceuta and Melilla have their own tax, the IPSI, with municipal rates. If a quote arrives with 21% and your fiscal address is in Las Palmas, someone hasn't checked your Tax ID.
The same occurs when the studio is not established in Spain. Aura operates from Cosmolabs OÜ: in a service to a Spanish company with a VAT-registered ID (NIF-IVA) in the VIES system, the invoice is issued without VAT and the recipient self-liquidates it via reverse charge (Law 37/1992, art. 84.One.2º). We tell you this before signing, not upon receiving the first invoice.
Personal Income Tax (IRPF) withholding: the other number that confuses the total
If the person making the website for you is a self-employed professional registered in sections 2 or 3 of the Economic Activities Tax (IAE), their invoice to your company carries a 15% withholding that you pay to the Tax Office on their behalf. It drops to 7% during the year of registration and the following two years if they did not practice the previous year. This does not apply if the client is a private individual. Nor does it apply if the issuer is a corporation.
Practical result on €3,000: you pay €3,180 to the professional and €450 to the Tax Office. The total remains €3,630. It only changes who receives each part.
Royal Decree-Law 15/2025, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on December 3, 2025, postponed the mandatory Verifactu requirement to January 1, 2027, for corporations and July 1, 2027, for freelancers. Many pages continue to give 2026 as the correct date: while preparing this article, we found consultancy guides with both dates coexisting. Verified on 08-27-2026.
A tax guide does not expire when the rule changes; it expires when the reader cannot know what date the data is from. That is why every figure on this page has its verification date next to it.
A quote should be read from bottom to top: first the total including taxes, then what part of that total returns to your pocket and when. Anyone who does not give you both figures is not giving you a price.
Does this way of working fit your needs? Tell us what budget you have in front of you in a first 30-minute call at no cost.
Frequently asked questions
Can a freelancer ask for the price to be provided with VAT already included?
They can ask, and many studios will do so. We provide both figures together: the total with VAT, which is what leaves your account, and the taxable base, which is what you will compare with other quotes and what you need for your accounting.
Is it legal to advertise "from €590" without stating it is plus VAT?
Not when dealing with a consumer: Art. 60 of RDL 1/2007 requires reporting the total price with taxes included before contracting. Between entrepreneurs, the criteria are looser, but the omission remains a bad sign.
Can I deduct the VAT of a website that I use for a personal project?
No, if it is not related to a business or professional activity. You must be able to prove that connection; the domain name does not prove it.
What if my activity is VAT-exempt?
Then the 21% is a pure cost for you, just like for a private individual, and you need the final number from the start. Ours come with VAT included: brand, showcase, or corporate website, from €3,000; website with interactive experiences and automation, from €4,500; complete branding with proprietary CRM, AI, and sales funnels, nurturing and automation, from €9,000. Tiers advertised below €3,000 are market, not an Aura offer.
How long does it take for that VAT to come back?
It is offset in the self-assessment of the quarter in which you bear the tax, provided you have sufficient output VAT. If you do not have it, it carries over to subsequent quarters: it is not lost money, but it is not immediate either.
Keep reading
- How much does a website cost in Spain in 2026: breakdown by line items, with VAT and 3-year cost
- How to audit a website quote: 14 signs that you are being sold smoke
- Why an agency asks for €1,200 and another for €12,000 for the same website
- Total cost of a website over 36 months: the number almost no one gives you
Transparency note. Some of our own data in this guide is still being measured on real projects, with a single method. We will publish it with its sample size and date range once the sample is large enough; until then, every figure you see carries its source and date of consultation.
Sources
- https://www.iberley.es/legislacion/articulo-90-ley-impuesto-sobre-valor-anadido-iva — text of Art. 90 Law 37/1992: general rate of 21%, in force since 09-01-2012 by RDL 20/2012. Basis of the article's central data.
- https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1992-28740 — consolidated text of Law 37/1992 in the BOE, regulatory reference cited in the article (arts. 20, 84.One.2º, 90).
- https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/iva/que-iva-soportado-puedo-deducir/que-puedo-deducir.html — AEAT: requirements for deducting input VAT, necessity of connection to the activity and the requirement to prove it "by any means of proof". Supports the actual cost table and FAQ 3.
- https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2012-14696 — RD 1619/2012, Invoicing Regulations: art. 4 (€400 limit VAT included for simplified invoice) and art. 7.2 (NIF, recipient address, and output VAT listed separately). Supports the checklist.
- https://www.iberley.es/legislacion/articulo-60-ley-defensa-consumidores-usuarios — RDL 1/2007 art. 60: obligation to inform of the total price with taxes included before contracting with a consumer. Supports FAQ 2.
- https://www.infoautonomos.com/fiscalidad/retenciones-irpf-profesionales-autonomos/ — IRPF withholding: 15% general for professional activities (sections 2 and 3 of the IAE), 7% for the year of registration and the following two, does not apply to invoices to private individuals. Supports the withholding section.
- https://guiafiscal.es/iva/igic-canarias-2026/ — general rate of IGIC in the Canary Islands at 7% in 2026 and how peninsular invoicing to a Canary Island client works. Contrasted with the following source.
- https://ayudatpymes.com/gestron/tipos-igic-canarias/ — second independent confirmation of the general IGIC rate at 7%.
- https://www.garrigues.com/es_ES/noticia/retrasa-entrada-vigor-verifactu — RDL 15/2025, BOE of 12-03-2025: postponement of Verifactu to 01-01-2027 (corporations) and 07-01-2027 (freelancers). Supports the notice block and the contradiction noted with guides that still list 2026.
- https://nerade.com/diseno-web/ — real and verified example of a Spanish pricing page that labels "€590 Plus VAT"; used as a concrete example, not as market data.
- https://www.iberley.es/legislacion/articulo-84-ley-impuesto-sobre-valor-anadido-iva — art. 84.One.2º Law 37/1992: reverse charge when the provider is not established in the territory where the tax applies. Supports the paragraph regarding Cosmolabs OÜ.
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