u00cdndice

1. The tax map of a sale: which taxes apply

2. General VAT or REBU: the decision that determines everything else

3. Personal Income Tax (IRPF) if you are self-employed: forms, deadlines, and brackets

4. Corporate Tax if you operate as an SL: rate, forms, and deductions

5. The books that the tax office can request from you at any time

6. Quarterly and annual tax calendar for a car dealership

7. Deductible expenses that are frequently overlooked

8. Most common tax errors and their consequences

9. Frequently asked questions

The tax map of a sale: which taxes apply

A used car dealership has to simultaneously manage several taxes with different logics. Understanding what they are and how they relate to each other is the starting point for declaring correctly and not paying more than necessary.

VAT (or REBU) is the most operational tax: it is settled quarterly and affects each buy and sell transaction. Personal Income Tax (IRPF) or Corporate Tax is the tax on the business profit, and its calculation depends on the legal form under which you operate. The IAE (Economic Activities Tax) applies when business turnover exceeds one million euros, so for most independent dealerships it does not end up being relevant. The IVTM (Motor Vehicle Tax) is paid by the owner of each vehicle and, while the cars are in the stock of the dealership in its name, this responsibility falls on the business.

The interaction between these taxes has a clear logic: VAT or REBU determines how individual transactions are taxed, and IRPF or Corporate Tax determines how the overall profit of the business is taxed at the end of the financial year. They are not alternatives: both are declared, although on different bases.

General VAT or REBU: the decision that determines everything else

The VAT scheme you apply in each sales transaction depends on how you acquired the vehicle, not on a global business choice. Each car has its own scheme according to its origin.

If you bought the car from a private individual (without VAT on the purchase), you can sell it under the Special Scheme for Second-Hand Goods (REBU). In this case, the VAT is not broken down on the invoice and you only pay tax on the margin: the difference between the selling price and the purchase price, divided by 1.21 to obtain the taxable base.

If you bought the car from a renting company, a fleet, or another dealership under the general scheme (with VAT itemised on the purchase invoice), you must sell it under the general scheme: VAT at 21% on the total sale price, itemised on the invoice. In return, you can deduct the VAT you incurred on the purchase.

Within the same quarter you can have transactions of both types: some cars under REBU and others under the general scheme. What you cannot do is choose the most convenient scheme for each car regardless of its origin. To understand the details of the REBU calculation with numerical examples, you can consult the complete REBU guide for dealerships.

Form 303 is the quarterly VAT declaration where both types of transactions are declared. REBU transactions go in boxes 11 and 12. Transactions under the general scheme go in boxes 1 and 3. The balance between the output VAT and the input VAT is what is paid or offset.

Personal Income Tax (IRPF) if you are self-employed: forms, deadlines, and brackets

If you operate as self-employed (autu00f3nomo), the net profit of your activity as a dealership is taxed in the IRPF as income from economic activities. The net profit is the difference between the income from the activity and the deductible expenses of the period.

Form 130 (quarterly instalment payments). It is filed in the first 20 days of April, July, October, and January. The amount is 20% of the accumulated net income of the year less the instalment payments already made in previous quarters. If in a quarter the accumulated net income is negative, no payment is due.

Form 100 (annual tax return). It is filed between April and June of the year following the tax year. This is where the final tax for the year is adjusted, taking into account the instalment payments already made using Form 130.

IRPF brackets for 2026 (general income):

Regional rates vary slightly depending on the autonomous community of residence.

The self-employed contribution (cuota de autu00f3nomo) to Social Security (the contribution system based on real income since 2023) is deductible as an expense in the annual tax return.

To see all the procedures and decisions on legal forms when opening a dealership, you can check the guide on how to open a car dealership.

Corporate Tax if you operate as an SL: rate, forms, and deductions

If you operate through a Limited Company (Sociedad Limitada), the company's profit is taxed under Corporate Tax. The general rate is 25% on the taxable base (accounting profit with the corresponding tax adjustments). For businesses with a turnover of less than one million euros in the previous tax period, the rate is 23%.

Form 202 (instalment payments). It is filed in April, October, and December. The amount is equivalent to a percentage of the result of the last closed financial year or the result of the current period, depending on the chosen method.

Form 200 (annual Corporate Tax return). It is filed within 25 calendar days following the six months after the close of the financial year. For financial years ending on 31 December, the deadline is until 25 July of the following year.

Unlike Personal Income Tax (IRPF), Corporate Tax allows offsetting negative taxable bases from previous financial years against the profit of future years, with no time limit (subject to some annual percentage limits). This can be relevant for dealerships that started with losses in their early years.

The salary of the partner-administrator is deductible in the SL if it is correctly documented and in line with market rates, but it has implications for Social Security contributions that should be reviewed with the tax advisor.

The books that HTML the tax office can request from you at any time

The obligation to keep registry books varies according to the legal form, but in a used car dealership there are some that are practically universal.

Issued invoices registry book. Obligatory for both self-employed and companies. It records all invoices issued in the period with their number, date, recipient, taxable base, and VAT amount.

Received invoices registry book. It records purchase invoices: supplier, date, taxable base, deductible input VAT.

REBU registry book. Obligatory if you apply the special scheme. It must be kept separate from the general VAT registry and record, for each transaction, the vehicle details, the purchase price, the selling price, and the margin obtained. This is the document that the Tax Agency checks when verifying if the REBU has been applied correctly. To see which mistakes in this book can cost the most money, you can read the article on mistakes when applying the REBU in car dealerships.

Daily ledger and inventory book (SL). Companies are obliged to maintain complete accounting according to the General Accounting Plan. This includes the daily ledger, the inventory and annual accounts book, and the minutes book.

Quarterly and annual tax calendar for a car dealership

To understand in detail what goes into each withholding tax form, you can review the guide on when it is mandatory to apply withholding tax on vehicle sales.

Deductible expenses that are frequently overlooked

Correct declarations do not just consist of paying what is due: they also consist of not paying more than necessary by deducting all justified expenses.

The most common expenses in a dealership that are deducted without issue are premises rent, utilities, bookkeeping, management software subscriptions, advertising on portals, and repairs of stock vehicles.

Those that are most often missed or incorrectly deducted are self-employed contributions (deductible in Personal Income Tax as an activity expense), vehicle stock insurance, professional training expenses, travel expenses for purchases or auctions, and the cost of digital certificates or electronic signatures.

The VAT on operational business expenses is deductible even if the business operates mostly under REBU: the REBU limits the deduction of input VAT on vehicle purchases, not the VAT on general expenses. To see the full details of what expenses are deductible and which ones have limitations, you can consult the guide on deductible expenses for second-hand car dealerships.

Most common tax errors and their consequences

Applying REBU to cars bought with deductible VAT. If you bought a car from a renting company and deducted the VAT, in the resale you must apply the general scheme. Using REBU in that case is an incorrect application of the scheme that the Tax Agency can detect by cross-referencing the registry book with the purchase invoices. Penalty of between 50% and 150% of the unpaid tax amount.

Calculating the REBU margin by multiplying directly by 21% instead of dividing by 1.21. VAT is already included in the sale price. The taxable base is the margin divided by 1.21, not the margin multiplied by 0.21. This error leads to paying more VAT than necessary.

Not provisioning quarterly VAT. The VAT collected from customers is not a business income: it is a debt to the Tax Agency. If a portion of the income is not reserved monthly for the quarterly payment, the due date of each Form 303 creates cash flow stress that can easily be avoided.

Filing forms late. The surcharge for voluntary presentation after the deadline is 1% per month, with a maximum of 15% if filed before the Tax Agency issues a notification. If the Tax Agency notifies first, penalties are significantly higher.

Not filing Form 347. It is an informative declaration (with no associated payment) that many forget precisely for that reason. The penalty for omission is 20 euros per undeclared record, with a minimum of 300 euros.

More than 750 dealerships already use Dealcar to manage their daily operations

Dealcar keeps the REBU registry book updated with each transaction, generates invoices in the correct format according to the scheme, and allows tracking output VAT in real time to plan quarterly payments without surprises. With centralised documentation, preparing quarterly declarations with your bookkeeper is a matter of minutes.

If you want to see how it works, you can schedule a free demo at dealcar.io.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change from self-employed to SL at any time?

Yes, although it involves setting up the company, transferring the activity, and managing the professional and fiscal implications of the change. The decision usually makes sense when net profit exceeds 40,000-50.000 euros annually, as the Corporate Tax rate (23-25%) becomes more favourable than the higher brackets of IRPF. It is advisable to do so with tax advice.

Do I have to file Form 303 even if I have had no transactions in the quarter?

If you are registered in the tax registry of businesses and have not filed for a business suspension, yes: you must file Form 303 even if it is with a zero balance. Failing to file it can result in administrative penalties.

Is REBU chosen once or decided on a transaction-by-transaction basis?

It is decided on a transaction-by-transaction basis according to the origin of each vehicle. It is not a global business choice. In the same quarter you can have cars under REBU and cars under the general scheme, and both are declared in the same Form 303 in the corresponding boxes.

Can I deduct the VAT on repairs for a car I am going to sell under REBU?

Yes. The VAT on repairs and preparation costs of the vehicle is deductible as an operational business expense, regardless of whether the vehicle is sold under REBU or under the general scheme. What you cannot deduct is the VAT from the purchase of the vehicle itself when that VAT did not exist (purchase from a private individual).