The most widespread confusion in the trade
Plenty of people assume alcoholic drinks always go at 21 %. They do not. What sets the rate is not what you sell but how you sell it: if there is a hospitality service involved, the reduced rate applies to the whole thing.
Law 37/1992 puts hospitality and restaurant services at the reduced 10 % rate, and the Tax Agency's published position confirms that a drink served at the table is part of that service. The beer you pull at the bar goes at 10 %.
So when does the 21 % apply?
When the service disappears and only the sale of the product is left. The classic case is a sealed bottle the customer takes home: there you are not providing a hospitality service, you are making a retail sale of alcohol.
The line is the service, not the packaging and not the place. A takeaway meal you prepared is still a restaurant service; a bottle of wine from your cellar that somebody buys to take away is not.
Wine by the glass, or uncorked at the table β 10 % Set lunch menu, eaten on the premises β 10 % Set lunch menu, prepared by you to take away β 10 % Sealed bottle the customer takes home β 21 % Pack of beers from your fridge, not consumed β 21 % What changes the rate is the service, not the drink.
Why getting it right matters
Charging 21 % where 10 % applies is not a harmless error in either direction. If you over-charge, you are charging the customer and declaring it to the tax authority: the money does not stay in your pocket, but your menu is dearer than the place next door for no reason.
And if you under-charge where the standard rate applies, the difference will be claimed back from you with a surcharge. Which is why it is worth checking how the POS is configured: that is where the error gets automated and repeated across thousands of receipts.
What your receipt should look like
Whatever the rate, the receipt has to let you identify the net amount and the tax. If two rates coexist on the same bill β because somebody takes a sealed bottle home as well as eating β the breakdown has to be by rate.
It is exactly what your accountant will look at when reconciling the quarter, and what makes a VAT discrepancy show up in March rather than in an inspection.
- Net amount and tax identifiable on the receipt.
- Breakdown by rate when more than one is on the same bill.
- The same criterion on the menu, in the POS and on the invoice.
- Sequential numbering with no gaps, which is a separate obligation.
Edge cases worth asking about
Some situations are not settled by the general rule and are worth putting to your accountant before configuring anything. None of them is unusual.
- Catering and events, depending on how they are contracted.
- Vending machines inside the venue.
- Selling shop product β preserves, oil, wine β alongside table service.
- Tickets to a show with a drink included.
- Accommodation with breakfast or half board.
Frequently asked questions
How does this compare with UK VAT?
It does not map across. Spain has no zero-rated food and no eat-in versus takeaway split of the kind the UK uses: what matters here is whether a hospitality service is involved. A takeaway meal you cooked stays at 10 %, and a sealed bottle sold over the counter goes to 21 % even though the customer is standing in your bar.
Does the beer I serve at the bar go at 10 % or 21 %?
At 10 %. Serving it is a hospitality service, and the reduced rate applies to the service as a whole, drink included. The 21 % would appear if you sold the sealed bottle to take away.
And takeaway food?
If it is food you prepared, it is still a restaurant service and goes at 10 %, whether it is eaten in or out. What changes the rate is whether there is a service, not where it is consumed.
Can I have two VAT rates on the same receipt?
Yes, and it happens more than you would think: somebody eats in your venue and takes a sealed bottle with them. In that case the receipt has to break out each rate separately.
Is this tax advice?
No. It is the general rule with the legislation cited, and there are edge cases β catering, vending, events β that depend on how they are contracted. For your specific case, your accountant.
What about VAT on tips?
A voluntary tip from customer to waiter is not consideration for your service, so it is not part of your taxable base. If you collect and distribute it yourself, worth checking with your accountant.
What if I have got the rate wrong on hundreds of receipts?
It gets regularised with your accountant, and the sooner the better. What matters is fixing the POS configuration first: otherwise every day that passes adds receipts to the problem.