Can You Claim Back the VAT on a Ticket? 2026 Guide

You can claim back the VAT on a ticket, but not on just any ticket. What people call a ticket is, for the Spanish tax authority, a simplified invoice. It only lets you deduct VAT if it carries the buyer's tax ID and address and the VAT amount shown separately, as Article 7.2 of Royal Decree 1619/2012 requires. And some expenses do not qualify even with a perfect invoice: Article 96 of Act 37/1992 excludes «en ninguna proporción» ("in no proportion") shows and client hospitality. A concert ticket that a company gives to a client does not give rise to deductible VAT, and the Court of Justice of the EU confirmed this on 12 March 2026.

For an organiser the question has two sides. One is what you sell: a company buying twenty tickets from you will want to know what it can deduct and what details it needs on its invoice. The other is what you buy: bars, hotels, catering, guest invitations. This guide covers both, with the text of the law in front of us.

Can you claim back the VAT on a ticket?

Yes, if the ticket meets the requirements of a "qualified" simplified invoice. The starting point is Article 97.Uno of the VAT Act: «Sólo podrán ejercitar el derecho a la deducción los empresarios o profesionales que estén en posesión del documento justificativo de su derecho» (“Only businesses or professionals who hold the document that supports their right may exercise the right to deduct”). That document is «la factura original expedida por quien realice la entrega o preste el servicio» (“the original invoice issued by whoever makes the supply or provides the service”), provided it meets «los requisitos que se establezcan reglamentariamente» (“the requirements set by regulation”).

Those requirements are in the Invoicing Regulation. Its Article 4.1 allows a simplified invoice «cuando su importe no exceda de 400 euros, Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido incluido» (“when its amount does not exceed 400 euros, Value Added Tax included”). And its Article 7.2 says what must be added, for the purposes of Article 97.Uno of the Act, «cuando el destinatario de la operación sea un empresario o profesional y así lo exija» (“when the recipient of the transaction is a business or professional and so requires”): the recipient's tax ID and address, and the VAT charged, shown separately.

The tax agency (AEAT) puts it the same way in its economic activities leaflet: when the recipient wants to deduct the tax, «deberá hacerse constar, además, el NIF y domicilio del destinatario y la cuota repercutida» (“the recipient's tax ID and address and the VAT charged must also be stated”). A bar receipt saying "VAT included" without your tax ID proves the expense. It does not prove the deduction.

What details must the ticket carry to reclaim the VAT?

Article 7.1 of Royal Decree 1619/2012 sets the minimum content of any simplified invoice, and 7.2 adds three details so that it counts as proof of deduction. The difference fits in a table.

The most commonly forgotten detail is the VAT amount. Article 97.Tres of the VAT Act settles it: «En ningún caso será admisible el derecho a deducir en cuantía superior a la cuota tributaria expresa y separadamente consignada» (“In no case will the right to deduct be admissible in an amount greater than the tax expressly and separately stated”). If the ticket does not show the VAT separately, the VAT you can deduct is zero.

Here is an example with a €60 concert ticket, taxed at 10% under Article 91.Uno.2.6.º of the VAT Act. The taxable base is 60 ÷ 1.10 = €54.55 and the VAT is €5.45. A qualified invoice must show that €5.45 on its own line, alongside the tax ID and address of the buying company.

Two more limits in the Invoicing Regulation. Its Article 2.2 requires an invoice «en todo caso» (“in any case”) when the recipient is a business or professional acting as such. And the €400 ceiling in Article 4.1 does not bend for tickets: a corporate purchase of €1,200 does not fit on a simplified invoice, qualified or not, and requires a full invoice.

Can a company reclaim the VAT on a concert or football ticket?

No, if the ticket is to be enjoyed or given away. Article 96.Uno of Act 37/1992 says that «no podrán ser objeto de deducción, en ninguna proporción» (“may not be deducted, in no proportion”) the VAT incurred «incluso por autoconsumo» (“even for own use”) on a closed list of goods and services. Two items bear directly on tickets:

• 4.º «Los espectáculos y servicios de carácter recreativo» (“Shows and recreational services”).
• 5.º «Los bienes o servicios destinados a atenciones a clientes, asalariados o a terceras personas» (“Goods or services intended for hospitality towards clients, employees or third parties”).

The AEAT sets out the same list in its 2025 VAT practical manual, under the heading «Cuotas no deducibles por ley» (“VAT not deductible by law”), and includes «espectáculos o servicios de carácter recreativo» (“shows or recreational services”) and goods or services «destinados a atenciones a clientes, asalariados o a terceras personas» (“intended for hospitality towards clients, employees or third parties”).

The sum for a company buying 20 tickets at €60 for its clients: €1,200 paid, of which 1,200 − 1,200 ÷ 1.10 = €109.09 is VAT. That €109.09 cannot be deducted on the 303 return, even if the invoice is complete and correct. The exclusion does not depend on the paperwork, but on what the expense is for.

The law itself leaves two exits in item 5.º: «las muestras gratuitas y los objetos publicitarios de escaso valor» (“free samples and low-value promotional items”) are not client hospitality, and neither are goods bought to be supplied for consideration that are later used for hospitality. Neither turns a ticket given away into a deductible one.

What the CJEU said in Randstad (C-515/24)

The debate over whether Spain could keep this exclusion reached Luxembourg and was settled this year. According to the text of the judgment of 12 March 2026, delivered by the Seventh Chamber of the Court of Justice, Randstad España bought tickets for Real Madrid and FC Barcelona matches between 2009 and 2011, invitations to the Paddock Club at the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, and trips on the Clipper Stad Amsterdam, all to give to clients, and deducted the VAT.

The AEAT corrected this under Article 96.Uno. The Central Economic-Administrative Tribunal dismissed the claim on 22 November 2017 and the National High Court upheld the correction on 17 January 2022. By an order of 22 July 2024, the Supreme Court asked the CJEU whether the exclusion was compatible with Directive 2006/112/EC.

The answer is yes. Article 176 of the directive «no se opone a una normativa nacional que entra en vigor en la fecha de adhesión a la Unión Europea del Estado miembro de que se trate y que introduce una exclusión del derecho a deducir» (“does not preclude national legislation that enters into force on the date of accession to the European Union of the Member State concerned and that introduces an exclusion from the right to deduct”) the VAT incurred on goods and services «como entradas para espectáculos deportivos, destinados a atenciones a clientes, a asalariados o a terceros» (“such as tickets for sporting events, intended for hospitality towards clients, employees or third parties”). The court adds that excluding expenses of a recreational and entertainment nature «es conforme con la voluntad del legislador de la Unión» (“is consistent with the intention of the Union legislature”). The law firm Cuatrecasas summarises it in its note on the judgment: the measure is covered by the *standstill* clause.

Our reading, for anyone selling hospitality or boxes to companies: you cannot present a VIP package as "deductible". For your corporate client, the VAT on that purchase is a cost.

Does it count as an expense for Corporate Income Tax?

Yes, within a limit, and that is a different question. Article 15.e) of Act 27/2014, on Corporate Income Tax, declares donations and gifts non-deductible, but leaves out of that exclusion expenses for client or supplier hospitality, expenses incurred for staff in line with custom and practice, and sales promotion expenses. Client or supplier hospitality is deductible only up to 1% of the net turnover for the period.

In numbers: a company with €500,000 in annual turnover can deduct up to 500,000 × 1% = €5,000 of client hospitality for Corporate Income Tax. The €1,200 of tickets in the example fits within that limit.

The CJEU dismantled the opposing argument in paragraph 39 of judgment C-515/24. Randstad argued that those expenses were deductible for income tax, and the court replied that this «carece de relevancia» (“is irrelevant”). Income taxes are not harmonised in the EU and pursue a different objective: they tax income, whereas VAT «grava el gasto vinculado a un bien de consumo» (“taxes expenditure linked to a consumer good”). That an expense counts for Corporate Income Tax does not open the door to VAT.

What VAT can the organiser reclaim on their own costs?

This is the part that moves the most money for a promoter. Article 95.Uno of the VAT Act only allows you to deduct what is assigned «directa y exclusivamente» (“directly and exclusively”) to the activity. Article 96 excludes certain expenses, and its section Dos rescues those who buy them to resell. Crossing the two with the usual costs of an event gives the table below. It is our reading of the legal text, not a position published by the AEAT:

The bar is the clearest case. Item 3.º excludes «los alimentos, las bebidas y el tabaco» (“food, drinks and tobacco”), but section Dos.2.º exempts «los bienes destinados exclusivamente a ser objeto de entrega o cesión de uso a título oneroso» (“goods intended exclusively to be supplied or made available for consideration”) by businesses «dedicados con habitualidad» (“habitually engaged”) in those transactions. The beer you buy to sell at the bar with a POS system is deductible. The beer that ends up in the dressing room without being charged for is not, on the text.

The artist's hotel depends on another tax. Item 6.º excludes «los servicios de desplazamiento o viajes, hostelería y restauración, salvo que el importe de los mismos tuviera la consideración de gasto fiscalmente deducible» (“travel services, hospitality and catering, unless their amount is treated as a tax-deductible expense”) for personal income tax or Corporate Income Tax. If the expense belongs to the production and is documented, the VAT is deductible.

The rider is the grey area. It is arguable that dressing-room food forms part of what you pay the artist to perform, but the law does not say so. Before deducting that VAT, have your adviser review it.

What if I sell tickets to trade fairs or conferences?

The nature of the expense changes for your client. Trade fairs have their own rate: Article 91.Uno.2.9.º of the VAT Act applies 10% to «las exposiciones y ferias de carácter comercial» (“exhibitions and fairs of a commercial nature”). The list of exclusions in Article 96 mentions neither fairs nor conferences. It only speaks of shows, recreational services and hospitality.

From this comes our own reading, which is not a position published by the AEAT or by the Directorate-General for Taxes: the pass that a company buys so that its sales rep can visit an industry fair is an expense assigned to the activity, not a show, and its VAT is deductible if the invoice meets Article 7.2. If the same company buys that pass to give to a client, it becomes client hospitality again and falls under item 5.º.

For anyone organising conferences and professional fairs, the consequence is practical. A good share of your buyers are companies that will deduct, and an invoice with their details is not an extra: it is what they need to do so. In our guide to ticketing for corporate events we look at how to set up sales to companies.

How long do you have to reclaim the VAT or correct an incomplete ticket?

Four years. Article 99.Tres of the VAT Act allows you to deduct in the return for the period in which the VAT was incurred «o en las de los sucesivos, siempre que no hubiera transcurrido el plazo de cuatro años, contados a partir del nacimiento del mencionado derecho» (“or in those of later periods, provided that the four-year period, counted from the moment the right arose, has not elapsed”). Article 99.Cuatro specifies that the VAT is treated as incurred when the business «reciba la correspondiente factura» (“receives the relevant invoice”). And Article 100 shuts the door: the right «caduca» (“lapses”) if not exercised within those periods.

If the ticket arrived without your tax ID or without the VAT shown separately, there is a fix. Article 97.Dos establishes that documents that do not meet the requirements «no justificarán el derecho a la deducción, salvo que se produzca la correspondiente rectificación de los mismos» (“will not support the right to deduct, unless they are duly corrected”). You then deduct in the period in which you receive the corrected document or in later ones, within the deadline in Article 100.

The AEAT's 2025 VAT practical manual says it in one sentence: a document that does not meet all the requirements «no acreditará el derecho a la deducción, salvo que se rectifique» (“will not establish the right to deduct, unless it is corrected”). Article 4.1 of the Invoicing Regulation allows that corrective invoice to be, in turn, simplified.

For the organiser, this translates into requests. A company that bought tickets three months ago may write asking for an invoice with its details, and you must be able to issue it.

Do e-invoicing, VeriFactu or the territory change anything?

Yes, on three fronts. The first is mandatory e-invoicing between businesses. Royal Decree 238/2026 of 25 March, in force since 20 April 2026, exempts in its Article 4.1 transactions documented with a simplified invoice, «a menos que se trate de facturas simplificadas cualificadas a las que se refiere el artículo 7.2» (“unless they are the qualified simplified invoices referred to in Article 7.2”). The ticket you sell with a company's tax ID and address falls inside. The deadline is not yet running: the obligation will be enforceable 12 months after the implementing ministerial order for those with a transaction volume above €8 million, and 24 months after for everyone else.

The second is VeriFactu, which also covers simplified invoices. The deadlines and the announced postponement are in our guide to VeriFactu and event invoicing.

The third is the territory. Article 2 of the VAT Act refers to the Concierto and Convenio regimes of the Basque Country and Navarre. Article 3 places the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla outside the scope of the tax. If your event is in Tenerife or Melilla, this guide does not apply to you: VAT does not apply there.

What to do if you sell tickets to companies

Seven checks. All of them can be done this week.

Ask for a tax ID and address at checkout when a company is buying. Article 7.2 requires them to be included when the business recipient «así lo exija» (“so requires”). If your purchase flow does not let them be entered, the qualified invoice never gets made.

Separate the VAT on the invoice. Base, rate and VAT on separate lines. Without separate VAT, Article 97.Tres leaves the deduction at zero.

Issue a full invoice above €400. Corporate purchases of several tickets easily exceed that ceiling, and Article 4.1 does not allow a simplified invoice.

Do not sell a VIP package as "deductible". Article 96.Uno.4.º and 5.º and judgment C-515/24 say the opposite if it is to give away or to enjoy. Promising otherwise means giving your client false information.

Classify your own costs with the table in this article before each 303 return. Bars, hotels, catering, invitations. Each line goes to a different item of Article 96.

Ask for production receipts in the company's name. Hotel, restaurant, bar purchases: with tax ID, address and VAT amount. What is not requested at the time has to be corrected later.

Have a process for invoices requested after the fact. Requests can come in for four years. Align that process with your refund policy, because a refund also requires a correction.

The promoter's other tax obligations (VAT rates, withholding on artists, form 036) are covered in the guide to the taxation of ticket sales and in the one on VAT and tax registration for selling tickets.

Sources

• Ley 37/1992, del Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido: artículos 2, 3, 91, 95, 96, 97, 99 y 100 (texto consolidado, BOE)
• Real Decreto 1619/2012, Reglamento de facturación: artículos 2, 4 y 7 (texto consolidado, BOE)
• Ley 27/2014, del Impuesto sobre Sociedades: artículo 15.e) (texto consolidado, BOE)
• Real Decreto 238/2026, de 25 de marzo, factura electrónica entre empresarios y profesionales: artículo 4.1 (BOE)
• AEAT, Manual práctico de IVA 2025: cuotas no deducibles por ley
• AEAT, Manual práctico de IVA 2025: justificantes necesarios para efectuar la deducción
• AEAT, folleto de actividades económicas: facturas simplificadas (actualizado el 26 de marzo de 2026)
• Tribunal de Justicia de la UE, sentencia de 12 de marzo de 2026, asunto C-515/24, Randstad España (texto íntegro reproducido de CURIA, PDF)
• Directiva 2006/112/CE del Consejo, relativa al sistema común del IVA: artículos 168 y 176 (EUR-Lex)
• Cuatrecasas: el TJUE avala la limitación española a la deducción del IVA de atenciones a clientes