Verifactu is the tax agency’s regulation for invoicing software: every invoice has to come from a system that records it in an unalterable chain and prints a QR code on it. The legal dates are 1 January 2027 for companies and 1 July 2027 for the self-employed, but Hacienda announced on 5 October 2026 that it will postpone them to October 2028. That is not in the BOE yet. If you do not use invoicing software, it does not apply to you.
A spreadsheet is outside it as well, unless a macro generates your VAT or income tax books.
Update, 6 October 2026: the postponement is only an announcement. Read what it means.
In: anyone who issues invoices with software. That includes simplified invoices, and a till or POS system that prints invoice-type receipts.
Out:
The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla are not excluded. The tax agency’s own FAQ says taxpayers domiciled there fall within the scope.
VERI*FACTU mode. Your software sends each invoice record to the tax agency in real time, as you issue the invoice.
Non-VERI*FACTU mode. Your software keeps the same records locally. It still has to sign them, chain them and keep them available for an inspection.
Both need the integrity controls in the software and the QR on the invoice. Some vendors run only one mode: Quipu, for example, runs exclusively in VERI*FACTU mode.
Every full and simplified invoice issued with a compliant system carries a QR code. Where the rules require it, it also carries a legend saying the invoice can be verified on the tax agency’s website.
Behind that is the part you do not see: a record for each invoice, chained to the previous one, with a timestamp and a signature, and an event log that captures creation, voids, exports and edit attempts.
What the rules ban is “dual use”: software that lets you delete an invoice without a trace, edit it later without leaving a mark, or run a parallel numbering series.
Legally in force today: 1 January 2027 for taxpayers who file Corporate Income Tax, and 1 July 2027 for everyone else, including the self-employed. Both come from Royal Decree-law 15/2025.
Announced: on 5 October 2026 Hacienda announced a postponement of the pending obligations to October 2028, with the technical requirements kept in substantially equivalent terms. It is not in the BOE yet, so the 2027 dates still apply on paper.
Software vendors have had to offer adapted systems since the end of July 2025.
The whole story, with every rule that has moved the date, is in Verifactu postponed.
Article 201 bis of the Ley General Tributaria sets two penalties, both serious:
The second falls on the vendor. The first falls on you. More in Verifactu penalties.
The tax agency published its own free invoicing application on 13 October 2025, inside its electronic office. It has no invoice limit, but it cannot issue simplified invoices, since every invoice needs a named recipient, and you cannot export your records to continue in another system.
Other tools offer compliant free plans. They are compared in free billing software, and the Verifactu angle is in Verifactu free.
There is no official list of approved software. Compliance works through the vendor’s responsible declaration, so “approved by the tax agency” on a marketing page proves nothing. Ask for the document.
Three checks before you commit: that the vendor publishes the declaration, which of the two modes the tool runs, and whether you can export your data. The longer version is in does my billing software need to be Verifactu-compliant.
They are separate obligations and they get mixed up constantly.
Verifactu governs how an invoice is generated and recorded. Electronic invoicing between businesses governs the format in which it is sent.
The second one has its own countdown. The order that regulates the public invoicing solution, Orden HAC/1028/2026, came into force on 6 October 2026. It starts a period of 12 months for businesses with turnover above €8 million and 24 months for everyone else.
If you invoice other businesses, you will need both. The comparison is in the difference between Verifactu and electronic invoicing, and the dates in is electronic invoicing mandatory.
Treating the postponement as law. Until the BOE publishes it, the 2027 dates are the legal ones.
Assuming a spreadsheet is always out. It is, until a macro generates your tax books.
Thinking the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla are excluded. They are not.
Mixing up Verifactu and e-invoicing. Different rules, different dates.
Trusting a badge. Ask for the responsible declaration.
What it is: a regulation for invoicing software, with unalterable records and a QR code on every invoice.
Who: anyone issuing invoices with software, except SII taxpayers and the Basque Country and Navarre under their own systems.
When: 1 January 2027 for companies and 1 July 2027 for the self-employed in law, with October 2028 announced.
Penalty: €50,000 a year for holding non-compliant software.
What to do: keep adapting, get your vendor’s declaration, and watch the BOE.
A tax agency regulation that requires invoicing software to keep an unalterable chain of invoice records and to print a QR code on every invoice.
In law, 1 January 2027 for companies and 1 July 2027 for the self-employed. Hacienda has announced a postponement to October 2028 that is not in the BOE yet.
Yes, if they issue invoices with software. Those who do not use invoicing software are outside it.
Yes. The tax agency’s FAQ says taxpayers domiciled in the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla fall within the scope.
If you only enter data, issue, print and store invoices, a spreadsheet is outside the regulation. If a macro generates your tax books, it is not.
Yes. The tax agency’s own application has no invoice limit, but it cannot issue simplified invoices and does not let you export.
€50,000 a year for holding a system that should be certified and is not, and €150,000 a year for producing or selling non-compliant systems.
Related: Verifactu postponed / Verifactu for autónomos / Verifactu penalties
