The rules and grounds of Tax Form 202 established in Royal Decree 634/2015 of 10 July, approving the Regulations of Corporation Tax. The Tax Form 202 is used to make payments on account of the Corporation Tax in Spain for both natural and legal persons, whether they are residents or not, provided they have a permanent establishment in national territory.
All taxpayers of the Corporation Tax in Spain must submit the Tax Form 202 if their turnover exceeds 6 million euros. In any case, even if turnover has not reached said figure, all companies that have obtained a profit, must submit said tax return. The Tax Form 202 is submitted in three different periods of the year:
- First instalment: from 1 to 20 April
- Second instalment: from 1 to 20 October
- Third instalment: from 1 to 20 December
In the event that payment by direct debit is required, the tax form will need to be submitted before the 15th day of the aforementioned months. There are currently two methods of instalment payments:
- The general rule establishes under Article 40.2 of the Law on Corporation Tax in Spain: The calculation base is the total amount of the last submitted CIT return, from which the corresponding deductions relating to withholdings, allowances, double taxation and payments will have to be realised. On that figure, 18% is applied, giving the final sum that is to be paid. Relating the first instalment payment, the total amount of the CIT return submitted in the previous financial year is taken into account. However, for the second and third instalment, the total amount of the CIT return submitted during the current financial year will be taken into account.
- Compulsory Regimen for “large companies” established under Article 40.3 of Law on CIT: The payment is calculated on the tax base corresponding to the period of the 3rd, 9th and 11th months of the fiscal year. The first payment on account will be calculated on the profit corresponding to the first quarter. However, the second and third payment will have to consider the profit as of 30 September and November, respectively.
In practice, the first method (18%) is the one generally chosen by default, however, the second regime of payment instalments can be voluntarily chosen for Corporation Tax in Spain, if the company expects, that it will see significantly higher or significantly lower revenue during the calendar year. This method can only be submitted electronically and a digital certificate is required.
Víctor Sáez
