The Tax Agency has opened the voluntary period for paying the national and provincial fees of the Economic Activities Tax for 2026. Taxpayers who are obliged to pay can do so until 20 November, but sole traders are exempt.
The State Agency for Tax Administration (AEAT) has established the schedule for the payment of the Economic Activities Tax (IAE) for 2026. According to a resolution from the Collection Department dated 10 June and published in the BOE on 26 June, the voluntary period for paying the national and provincial fees began on 16 September and will extend until 20 November, both days included. This information has been reported by Business Insider.
The deadline exclusively affects the fees whose collection management corresponds to the State Tax Administration. Municipal fees, on the other hand, follow a different schedule that depends on the administration responsible for their collection and is notified individually to each taxpayer.
The IAE is a direct tax of a real nature that taxes the exercise of business, professional, or artistic activities within national territory. However, not all taxpayers are obliged to pay it. The Regulatory Law of Local Finances establishes several exemptions that exclude a significant portion of sole traders and small businesses from the obligation to pay.
The most relevant exemption is that which affects individuals. The regulation expressly states that sole traders who carry out their activity as individuals are exempt from the IAE, regardless of whether their turnover exceeds one million euros and whether they are residents in Spain or not.
For legal entities, the situation is different. Taxpayers of the Corporation Tax, civil societies, and certain entities are exempt when their net turnover is less than one million euros. Exceeding this threshold may imply the loss of the exemption and the obligation to pay, unless another legal provision applies.
The calculation of turnover takes into account the entirety of the economic activities of the taxpayer. When an entity belongs to a group of companies with the legally prescribed control circumstances, the turnover refers to the entire group of entities, regardless of whether there is an obligation to consolidate accounts.
Moreover, those who start an economic activity in Spanish territory are exempt during the first two tax periods in which they carry it out. The legislation clarifies that a new start is not considered when the same activity was previously carried out under another ownership, as occurs in certain processes of merger, division, or contribution of branches of activity.
The tax distinguishes between national and provincial fees. The national fee allows the activity to be carried out throughout Spanish territory, while the provincial fee allows it to be carried out within the corresponding province. When the tariffs of an activity allow the option between different types of fees, the taxpayer can choose the one that is appropriate according to the rules of the tax.
Regarding payment, national and provincial fees are paid through credit institutions collaborating in the collection via the payment document that the Administration sends to the taxpayer. If the receipt does not arrive or is lost, the obligation to pay within the deadline does not disappear: it is necessary to request a duplicate at the corresponding Delegation or Administration.
"The payment deadline for these fees is determined based on their corresponding notification and is indicated on the receipt," explains the Tax Agency regarding municipal fees.
Therefore, a company with a municipal fee should not assume that it has until 20 November just because that is the published date for national and provincial fees. The schedule for municipal fees depends on each municipality and is communicated on the receipt itself.
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