IRPF withholding on an influencer's invoice is a tax prepayment that your client sends directly to the Spanish tax agency on your behalf, and it sits at 15% as the general rate or 7% if you've just registered as self-employed. This withholding only applies when you invoice a Spanish company, agency or professional; individuals and foreign brands are never withheld from.
What exactly is IRPF withholding?
When you issue an invoice with withholding, your client doesn't pay you the full amount: they deduct that percentage and pay it directly to the tax agency on your behalf, through the quarterly Modelo 111. You get that money back later, since it's deducted from what you owe in your annual income tax return (Modelo 100). It isn't an extra tax — it's IRPF you've already paid in advance.
When should you apply withholding on your invoices?
- Invoices to a Spanish company (brand, agency): yes, withholding is mandatory.
- Invoices to another Spanish self-employed professional: yes.
- Invoices to an individual (not acting as a business): no.
- Invoices to a foreign brand or platform: no withholding, though you still must declare that income.
15% or 7%: how to know which one applies to you
The general rate is 15% on the taxable base (before VAT). If it's your year of registration as self-employed or one of the two following years, you can apply the reduced 7% rate, as long as you hadn't previously carried out that professional activity. To use it, you must notify each client in writing before issuing the invoice; without that notice, the correct rate is 15%.
The IAE business code decides whether withholding applies
A binding ruling from Spain's Directorate-General for Taxation in late 2025 (V2428-25) confirmed that influencers providing advertising services to brands must register under code 869 of the IAE's Second Section, which classifies them as professionals for tax purposes and obliges their clients to withhold. If your main activity is producing your own audiovisual content (code 961.1) or photography (973.1), classified under the Third Section, withholding usually isn't mandatory. Registering under the wrong code can force you to retroactively fix withholding with your clients, so it's worth double-checking your registered code before invoicing brand campaigns.
To go deeper into the tax fundamentals of your activity, check out the basics of tax rules for content creators.
How to reflect it on each invoice
Example with a €1,000 collaboration: 21% VAT adds €210, 15% withholding subtracts €150, and the total to collect is €1,060. If you're juggling several brands and campaigns at once, calculating this by hand invoice by invoice is easy to get wrong. With Influx you can prepare your invoices for your accountant with VAT and IRPF withholding already estimated, and each brand's profile in your client list stores their tax details so you don't have to re-enter them every time.
What happens to that withholding in your quarterly filing
If 70% or more of your invoices in a quarter carry IRPF withholding, you may be exempt from filing the quarterly Modelo 130 that period, since the tax agency considers enough tax has already been prepaid. It's worth checking this percentage every quarter, as it can change depending on which brands you worked with.
Frequently asked questions
Is IRPF withheld if I invoice a foreign brand? No. Invoices to clients outside Spain carry no withholding, although that income must still be declared in your IRPF return.
Can I choose not to apply the 7% rate even if I qualify? Yes, the reduced rate is optional. You can keep the 15% rate if you'd rather prepay more tax and face fewer surprises in your annual return.
What if my client doesn't withhold when they should? The obligation to withhold falls on the payer, but you should still reflect the correct withholding on your invoice; if the client doesn't comply, you can request a correction and, if it persists, report it to the tax agency.
Does IRPF withholding affect the invoice's VAT? No. They're independent concepts: VAT is added to the taxable base and IRPF withholding is subtracted, both always calculated on the base before VAT.