Corrective invoices
When an issued invoice has to be rectified, with which reason code, how the correction is shown and within which deadline.
A corrective invoice (factura rectificativa) is a new invoice that corrects one already issued, which stays as it was. The law decides when one is due and which reason code it carries; these rules say what each case requires and what the API checks.
24 rules: 19 from the law, 3 AEAT criteria, 2 BeeL. rules. How to read a rule.
Wrong data on an issued invoice is fixed with a corrective
Issue a corrective invoice when an issued invoice lacks a required detail, charged the wrong tax, or its taxable base changes after the operation. The corrective is issued against the original, which must be ISSUED, SENT, PAID or RECTIFIED.
- Why
- The law makes the corrective mandatory in these cases, and it is the only way to change what an issued invoice says: the original and its record stay as they were.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
STANDARDSIMPLIFIEDStatusesISSUEDSENTPAIDRECTIFIEDOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice - Error codes
INVOICE_NOT_CORRECTIBLE_IN_CURRENT_STATUS422
Legal basisRD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.1 y 15.2
«Deberá expedirse una factura rectificativa en los casos en que la factura original no cumpla alguno de los requisitos que se establecen en los artículos 6 ó 7 [...] 2. Igualmente, será obligatoria la expedición de una factura rectificativa en los casos en que las cuotas impositivas repercutidas se hubiesen determinado incorrectamente o se hubieran producido las circunstancias que, según lo dispuesto en el artículo 80 de la Ley del Impuesto, dan lugar a la modificación de la base imponible.»Voiding an invoice for a sale that did happen because it was charged at 10 % instead of 21 %, and issuing a new one.
Issuing an R1 corrective against it: a PARTIAL one with the lines that settle the difference, or a TOTAL one followed by a new invoice at the right rate.
Pick the reason code: R1–R4 for standard invoices, R5 for simplified
Send the rectification_code that matches the cause: R1 for an error founded in law or art. 80 Uno, Dos and Seis LIVA, R2 for insolvency, R3 for bad debt, R4 for the rest. A simplified invoice is always corrected with R5, and R5 corrects nothing else.
- Why
- The code tells AEAT why the base or the tax changed. A standard invoice corrected with
R5, or a simplified one withR1–R4, is a record of the wrong type. - Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice - Error codes
RECTIFICATIVA_R5_ONLY_SIMPLIFICADA422,RECTIFICATIVA_R1R4_NOT_SIMPLIFICADA422
Legal basisOrden HAC/1177/2024, anexo, lista L2 · AEAT, Preguntas frecuentes SIF y VERI*FACTU, Procedimientos de facturación: Tipo de facturas
«R1 Factura Rectificativa (Error fundado en derecho y art. 80 Uno Dos y Seis LIVA). R2 Factura Rectificativa (art. 80.3). R3 Factura Rectificativa (art. 80.4). R4 Factura Rectificativa (Resto). R5 Factura Rectificativa en facturas simplificadas.»«La rectificación de una factura simplificada se registrará con la clave R5 cualquiera que sea el motivo de la misma.»Correcting a simplified invoice with R1: the API answers RECTIFICATIVA_R1R4_NOT_SIMPLIFICADA.
{ "rectification_type": "TOTAL", "rectification_code": "R1", "reason": "Ticket issued for the wrong table" }Correcting the same simplified invoice with R5.
{ "rectification_type": "TOTAL", "rectification_code": "R5", "reason": "Ticket issued for the wrong table" }A corrective shows the difference or the amounts after the correction
A corrective states the correction either as the difference, whatever its sign, or as the amounts after the correction together with the amount rectified. In the API, a PARTIAL corrective carries the difference as lines, and a TOTAL corrective takes no lines: it rectifies what is still invoiced on the original (COR-023), line by line.
- Why
- The corrective has to meet every requirement of an invoice and show what changed. A
PARTIALwithout lines states no correction, and aTOTALwith lines is refused. - Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice - Error codes
RECTIFICATIVA_PARCIAL_SIN_LINEAS422,RECTIFICATIVA_TOTAL_CON_LINEAS422
Legal basisRD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.5
«La factura rectificativa deberá cumplir los requisitos que se establecen en los artículos 6 ó 7, según proceda. Cuando lo que se expida sea una factura rectificativa, los datos a los que se refiere el artículo 6.1.f), g) y h) expresarán la rectificación efectuada. En particular, los datos que se regulan en los párrafos f) y h) del citado artículo 6.1 se podrán consignar, bien indicando directamente el importe de la rectificación, con independencia de su signo, bien tal y como queden tras la rectificación efectuada, señalando igualmente en este caso el importe de dicha rectificación.»A PARTIAL corrective with no lines: the API answers RECTIFICATIVA_PARCIAL_SIN_LINEAS.
{ "rectification_type": "PARTIAL", "rectification_code": "R1", "reason": "Discount agreed after delivery" }The same PARTIAL corrective with the difference as a negative line.
{ "rectification_type": "PARTIAL", "rectification_code": "R1", "reason": "Discount agreed after delivery", "lines": [{ "description": "Discount", "quantity": -1, "unit_price": 50, "main_tax": { "type": "IVA", "percentage": 21 } }] }The corrective record says whether it substitutes or adds a difference
Every corrective record declares whether it rectifies by substitution (S) or by differences (I). BeeL. records every corrective by differences, whatever its rectification_type: a PARTIAL corrective carries the difference as its lines, and a TOTAL one carries the original's lines with the opposite sign, which is the difference that cancels it. A record by differences carries no rectified base or rectified tax.
- Why
- AEAT reads the corrective's amounts differently in each mode: by substitution the breakdown holds the amounts after the correction, by differences it holds the correction itself. Declaring a negated breakdown as a substitution would record twice the intended effect.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: BeeL. applies it.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEVeriFactu enabled.
Legal basisAEAT, Preguntas frecuentes SIF y VERI*FACTU, Procedimientos de facturación: ¿Cómo registra el emisor una factura rectificativa? · AEAT, Preguntas frecuentes SIF y VERI*FACTU, Procedimientos de facturación: ¿Cómo registra el emisor una factura rectificativa por diferencias “I”?
«Asimismo, se deberá identificar el tipo de factura rectificativa con las claves “S- sustitución” o “I- por diferencias”.»«Para ello se deberá informar en un solo registro de la factura rectificativa con la clave “I”. En este caso no se deben rellenar los campos adicionales “Base rectificada” y “Cuota rectificada”.»Building your own corrective record and leaving out whether it substitutes or adds a difference.
Choosing rectification_type on the request and letting BeeL. build the record by differences.
Explained inCorrective invoices (R1–R5) › The two axes
A corrective identifies the invoice it rectifies
A corrective states the number and the issue date of the invoice it rectifies. In the API a corrective is always created against its original, the {invoice_id} of the request, and each corrective rectifies one invoice; BeeL. prints the original's number and issue date on the corrective's PDF and, under VeriFactu, sends them in its billing record.
- Why
- Without an unambiguous reference to the original, neither the customer nor AEAT can tell what is being corrected.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: BeeL. applies it.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice
Legal basisRD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.4 · RD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 7.1.h)
«La rectificación se realizará mediante la emisión de una nueva factura en la que se haga constar los datos identificativos de la factura rectificada.»«En caso de facturas rectificativas, la referencia expresa e inequívoca de la factura rectificada y de las especificaciones que se modifican.»Issuing a standard invoice with negative amounts and the original's number written in the notes.
Creating the corrective on the original's own path, so it is linked to it.
POST /v1/companies/{company_id}/invoices/{invoice_id}/correctiveExplained inCorrective invoices (R1–R5)
Issue the corrective as soon as you know, within 4 years
Issue a corrective as soon as you learn of the cause, and never later than 4 years after the tax accrued or, for art. 80 LIVA causes, after the circumstance occurred. The API counts from the original's operation date (its operation_date, or its issue_date when it has none) unless you declare circumstance_date for an R1, R2, R3 or R5 corrective; the last day is the anniversary itself. Past it the corrective is refused with CORRECTIVE_OUT_OF_TIME. A refund from a payment integration is a circumstance of the day it is refunded.
- Why
- Past that deadline the tax charged can no longer be rectified, and a late corrective does not change it. Counting from the operation when no circumstance is declared is the stricter reading of the two the law allows.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice - Error codes
CORRECTIVE_OUT_OF_TIME422,CORRECTIVE_CIRCUMSTANCE_DATE_NOT_APPLICABLE422,CORRECTIVE_CIRCUMSTANCE_DATE_OUT_OF_RANGE422
Legal basisRD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.3 · AEAT, Preguntas frecuentes SIF y VERI*FACTU, Procedimientos de facturación: tipo de facturas, R4
«La expedición de la factura rectificativa deberá efectuarse tan pronto como el obligado a expedirla tenga constancia de las circunstancias que, conforme a los apartados anteriores, obligan a su expedición, siempre que no hubiesen transcurrido cuatro años a partir del momento en que se devengó el Impuesto o, en su caso, se produjeron las circunstancias a que se refiere el artículo 80 de la Ley del Impuesto.»«Cuando se haya producido una modificación de la base imponible del IVA por causas distintas a las previstas en el artículo 80 LIVA y no se deba a un error fundado de derecho deberá emitirse una factura rectificativa con serie específica cuya información se registrará con el tipo de factura R4.»Correcting in 2026, with R4, an invoice whose operation took place in 2021: the API answers CORRECTIVE_OUT_OF_TIME.
Correcting in 2026 an invoice of 2021 for a price change agreed in 2024, declaring when it was agreed.
{ "rectification_type": "PARTIAL", "rectification_code": "R1", "reason": "Price reduction agreed with the customer on 2024-06-01", "circumstance_date": "2024-06-01", "lines": [{ "description": "Price reduction", "quantity": -1, "unit_price": 100, "main_tax": { "type": "IVA", "percentage": 21 } }] }A wrong corrective is fixed against the original, not corrected itself
A corrective is never issued against another corrective. When a corrective is wrong, issue another corrective against the original invoice.
- Why
- In BeeL. every corrective hangs from one original invoice, so the whole chain of corrections of an invoice stays readable from it.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice - Error codes
CORRECTIVE_NOT_RECTIFIABLE422
Calling the corrective operation with the id of a corrective: the API answers CORRECTIVE_NOT_RECTIFIABLE.
POST /v1/companies/{company_id}/invoices/{corrective_id}/correctiveCalling it with the id of the original invoice, with the lines that settle the difference.
POST /v1/companies/{company_id}/invoices/{original_invoice_id}/correctiveA bad-debt corrective (R3) needs the legal conditions first
Issue an R3 corrective only when the debt is uncollectable in the legal sense: 1 year since the tax accrued without payment (six months or one year for smaller businesses), the unpaid debt recorded in the VAT books, a court claim or notarial demand, and a recipient who is a business or a base above 50 €. Issue it within the following 6 months, send it to the customer and report it to AEAT; the cases the law excludes are in COR-016 and COR-019. The API checks the six months and the 50 € threshold (COR-020); the rest is yours to meet.
- Why
- Without these conditions the base cannot be reduced, and the tax the corrective gives back is still owed.
- Responsibility
- Responsibility: the issuing business.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVErectification_codeR3.
Legal basisLey 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Cuatro.A).1.ª, 3.ª y B) · Ley 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Cuatro.B) y 80.Cinco.2.ª · Ley 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Cuatro.A).2.ª · RD 1624/1992 (Reglamento del IVA), art. 24.2.a).2.º
«1.ª Que haya transcurrido un año desde el devengo del Impuesto repercutido sin que se haya obtenido el cobro de todo o parte del crédito derivado del mismo. [...] 3.ª Que el destinatario de la operación actúe en la condición de empresario o profesional, o, en otro caso, que la base imponible de aquella, Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido excluido, sea superior a 50 euros. 4.ª Que el sujeto pasivo haya instado su cobro mediante reclamación judicial al deudor o por medio de requerimiento notarial al mismo»«B) La modificación deberá realizarse en el plazo de los seis meses siguientes a la finalización del periodo de seis meses o un año a que se refiere la condición 1.ª anterior y comunicarse a la Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria en el plazo que se fije reglamentariamente. [...] Tampoco procederá la modificación de la base imponible cuando el destinatario de las operaciones no esté establecido en el territorio de aplicación del Impuesto, ni en Canarias, Ceuta o Melilla.»«2.ª Que esta circunstancia haya quedado reflejada en los Libros Registros exigidos para este Impuesto.»«El acreedor tendrá que comunicar por vía electrónica, a través del formulario disponible a tal efecto en la sede electrónica de la Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria, en el plazo de un mes contado desde la fecha de expedición de la factura rectificativa, la modificación de la base imponible practicada»Issuing an R3 corrective two months after the due date because the customer stopped answering.
Issuing it once the waiting period has passed and the debt has been claimed by notarial demand, and filing the communication with AEAT.
An insolvency corrective (R2) needs a declaration of insolvency
Issue an R2 corrective only when the customer has not paid the tax charged and, after it accrued, a court has declared the customer insolvent (auto de declaración de concurso). Issue it within the two months that follow the end of the period the insolvency order gives creditors to report their claims, send a copy to the insolvency administrator, and report it to AEAT; the cases the law excludes are in COR-016.
- Why
- The base can be reduced for insolvency only on that court decision and within that period; outside them the reduction has no legal footing.
- Responsibility
- Responsibility: the issuing business.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVErectification_codeR2.
Legal basisLey 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Tres · Ley 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Tres · RD 1624/1992 (Reglamento del IVA), art. 24.1 · RD 1624/1992 (Reglamento del IVA), art. 24.2.a).2.º
«La base imponible podrá reducirse cuando el destinatario de las operaciones sujetas al Impuesto no haya hecho efectivo el pago de las cuotas repercutidas y siempre que, con posterioridad al devengo de la operación, se dicte auto de declaración de concurso.»«La modificación, en su caso, no podrá efectuarse después de transcurrido el plazo de dos meses contados a partir del fin del plazo máximo fijado en el número 5.º del apartado 1 del artículo 21 de la Ley 22/2003, de 9 de julio, Concursal.»«En los supuestos del apartado tres del artículo 80 de la Ley del Impuesto, deberá expedirse y remitirse asimismo una copia de dicha factura a la administración concursal y en el mismo plazo.»«El acreedor tendrá que comunicar por vía electrónica, a través del formulario disponible a tal efecto en la sede electrónica de la Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria, en el plazo de un mes contado desde la fecha de expedición de la factura rectificativa, la modificación de la base imponible practicada»Issuing an R2 corrective because the customer announced it is winding down.
Issuing it after the court's declaration of insolvency, keeping a copy of the court order.
A provisional price is rectified once the final one is known
When the price was not known when the tax accrued and you invoiced a provisional amount, issue an R1 corrective once the final amount is known.
- Why
- The provisional amount is only an estimate; the tax due is the one on the final price.
- Responsibility
- Responsibility: the issuing business.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVErectification_codeR1.
Legal basisLey 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Seis
«Si el importe de la contraprestación no resultara conocido en el momento del devengo del impuesto, el sujeto pasivo deberá fijarlo provisionalmente aplicando criterios fundados, sin perjuicio de su rectificación cuando dicho importe fuera conocido.»Invoicing the balance of a job at a final price as a new standard invoice with no link to the provisional one.
Issuing an R1 PARTIAL corrective against the provisional invoice for the difference.
Discounts and rebates granted after the sale go on a corrective
A discount, bonus or volume rebate granted after the operation reduces the base through a corrective invoice (R1), not through a negative standard invoice.
- Why
- The reduction changes the taxable base of an invoice already issued, which only a corrective can do; a negative standard invoice is not a corrective.
- Responsibility
- Responsibility: the issuing business.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVErectification_codeR1.
Legal basisLey 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Uno.2.º · AEAT, Aclaraciones a dudas de los desarrolladores (v1.3), 19. Rappels y rectificación
«Los descuentos y bonificaciones otorgados con posterioridad al momento en que la operación se haya realizado siempre que sean debidamente justificados.»«Los rappels se documentan en facturas rectificativas.»Issuing a new standard invoice with a negative line for the rebate.
Issuing a partial corrective against the invoice the rebate applies to.
{ "rectification_type": "PARTIAL", "rectification_code": "R1", "reason": "Volume rebate for Q3", "lines": [{ "description": "Volume rebate Q3", "quantity": -1, "unit_price": 120, "main_tax": { "type": "IVA", "percentage": 21 } }] }Returns can be netted only on a later supply to the same customer
Document returned goods or packaging with a corrective. The law lets you net them on the invoice of a later supply instead only when it goes to the same customer and every operation carries the same VAT rate. The API accepts negative lines on a standard or simplified invoice for that netting, and for discounts not included in the unit price (art. 6.1.f), as long as the invoice total is not negative: a negative result is a correction and goes on a corrective (CNT-019).
- Why
- Outside that exception, a return changes the base of the invoice it came from and needs a corrective against it. An ordinary invoice with a negative total would be a credit note without the link to the invoice it corrects.
- Responsibility
- Responsibility: the issuing business. The API also answers the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
STANDARDCORRECTIVE - Error codes
NEGATIVE_TOTAL_REQUIRES_RECTIFICATIVE422
Legal basisRD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.2, párrafo segundo · RD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 6.1.f)
«cuando la modificación de la base imponible sea consecuencia de la devolución de mercancías o de envases y embalajes que se realicen con ocasión de un posterior suministro que tenga el mismo destinatario [...] no será necesaria la expedición de una factura rectificativa, sino que se podrá practicar la rectificación en la factura que se expida por dicho suministro [...] La rectificación se podrá realizar de este modo siempre que el tipo impositivo aplicable a todas las operaciones sea el mismo, con independencia de que su resultado sea positivo o negativo.»«incluyendo el precio unitario sin Impuesto de dichas operaciones, así como cualquier descuento o rebaja que no esté incluido en dicho precio unitario.»Deducting returned crates from the next invoice to a different customer.
A later supply of 500 € to the same customer at 21 % with a line of −60 € for returned crates at 21 %: total 440 € plus VAT. Or an R1 PARTIAL corrective against the invoice the crates were delivered with.
A corrective is only for the causes the law lists
Do not issue a corrective for anything but a missing requirement, wrongly charged tax or an art. 80 LIVA change. An invoice issued for an operation that never took place is voided and, if needed, replaced by a new invoice; that replacement is never a corrective. Neither is an invoice issued in exchange for earlier simplified invoices, nor one that replaces an invoice only to remove a withholding (COR-024).
- Why
- Only those causes make an invoice a corrective; a corrective issued for anything else misreports what happened. An invoice for a sale that never took place does not fail a requirement: it should not exist, so it is voided.
- Responsibility
- Responsibility: the issuing business.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVE
Legal basisRD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.1 y 15.2 · RD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.6
«Deberá expedirse una factura rectificativa en los casos en que la factura original no cumpla alguno de los requisitos que se establecen en los artículos 6 ó 7 [...] 2. Igualmente, será obligatoria la expedición de una factura rectificativa en los casos en que las cuotas impositivas repercutidas se hubiesen determinado incorrectamente o se hubieran producido las circunstancias que, según lo dispuesto en el artículo 80 de la Ley del Impuesto, dan lugar a la modificación de la base imponible.»«Únicamente tendrán la consideración de facturas rectificativas las que se expidan por alguna de las causas previstas en los apartados 1 y 2. No obstante, las facturas que se expidan en sustitución o canje de facturas simplificadas expedidas con anterioridad no tendrán la condición de rectificativas, siempre que las facturas simplificadas expedidas en su día cumpliesen los requisitos establecidos en el artículo 7.1.»Issuing a corrective to cancel an invoice for a sale that never happened.
Voiding that invoice, because it should never have been issued.
RelatedCOR-001COR-024SIM-007VOI-001
Explained inCancel vs amend
A corrective keeps the operation date of the original
The operation date of a corrective is the date the original supply or service took place. BeeL. sets it from the original invoice: its operation_date, or its issue_date when the original declared no other operation date. Every corrective carries it, whoever asks for it.
- Why
- The corrective adjusts the tax of that operation, so AEAT expects it dated like the operation, not like the day it was issued. An original without
operation_datedocuments an operation of its issue date; leaving the corrective without one would date it on the day of the corrective instead. - Responsibility
- Checked by the API: BeeL. applies it.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice
Legal basisAEAT, Preguntas frecuentes SIF y VERI*FACTU, Procedimientos de facturación: R1 · AEAT, Preguntas frecuentes SIF y VERI*FACTU, Procedimientos de facturación: fecha de operación de una rectificativa · RD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 6.1.i
«Se incluirá como fecha de operación la fecha en que se realizó la entrega o prestó el servicio, indicada en la factura inicial. En el caso de rectificar varias facturas con una única factura rectificativa se indicará la fecha más reciente.»«¿Qué fecha de operación debe hacerse constar en una factura rectificativa? La fecha de realización de la operación correspondiente a la factura original que se está rectificando.»«i) La fecha en que se hayan efectuado las operaciones que se documentan o en la que, en su caso, se haya recibido el pago anticipado, siempre que se trate de una fecha distinta a la de expedición de la factura.»Recording the corrective of a March delivery as an operation of the day the corrective was issued.
An invoice issued on 7 May for a service done that day, without operation_date, is corrected in October: the corrective carries 7 May as its operation date.
Do not raise the VAT charged to a consumer through a corrective
Do not issue a corrective that increases the VAT charged to a recipient who is not a business, unless it follows an art. 80 LIVA cause or a legal rise of the tax rate.
- Why
- The law does not let the issuer pass its own tax error on to a consumer after the sale.
- Responsibility
- Responsibility: the issuing business.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVERecipient who is not a business.
Legal basisLey 37/1992 del IVA, art. 89.Tres.1.º
«Cuando la rectificación no esté motivada por las causas previstas en el artículo 80 de esta Ley, implique un aumento de las cuotas repercutidas y los destinatarios de las operaciones no actúen como empresarios o profesionales, salvo en supuestos de elevación legal de los tipos impositivos»Charging a consumer, through an R5 corrective, the VAT you forgot to add to a ticket.
Absorbing the error, or correcting it only if the rise comes from a legal change of the rate.
Some unpaid debts never allow an R2 or R3 corrective
Do not reduce the base for insolvency (R2) or bad debt (R3) for the part of a debt secured by a real guarantee, guaranteed by a credit institution or covered by credit or surety insurance, or for debts between related parties. Debts owed or guaranteed by public entities are excluded from R2, and an R3 is not issued for operations accrued before the customer was declared insolvent. A recipient not established in Spain is covered by COR-019.
- Why
- The law excludes these debts from the reduction of the base; a corrective issued for them gives back a tax that is still owed.
- Responsibility
- Responsibility: the issuing business.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVErectification_codeR2orR3.
Legal basisLey 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Cinco.1.ª · Ley 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Cinco.2.ª y 3.ª
«1.ª No procederá la modificación de la base imponible en los casos siguientes: a) Créditos que disfruten de garantía real, en la parte garantizada. b) Créditos afianzados por entidades de crédito o sociedades de garantía recíproca o cubiertos por un contrato de seguro de crédito o de caución, en la parte afianzada o asegurada. c) Créditos entre personas o entidades vinculadas definidas en el artículo 79, apartado cinco, de esta Ley. d) Créditos adeudados o afianzados por Entes públicos.»«2.ª Tampoco procederá la modificación de la base imponible cuando el destinatario de las operaciones no esté establecido en el territorio de aplicación del Impuesto, ni en Canarias, Ceuta o Melilla. [...] 3.ª Tampoco procederá la modificación de la base imponible de acuerdo con el apartado cuatro del artículo 80 de esta Ley con posterioridad al auto de declaración de concurso para los créditos correspondientes a cuotas repercutidas por operaciones cuyo devengo se produzca con anterioridad a dicho auto.»Issuing an R3 corrective for an unpaid invoice to a subsidiary of the same group.
Leaving the invoice to the related company as it is and pursuing the debt, without reducing the base.
A corrective keeps the recipient, except to correct the recipient's data
A corrective goes to the recipient of the invoice it rectifies, with the data recorded on that invoice, and takes no recipient. The exception is correcting that recipient's own data when the invoice recorded them wrong (name, tax ID or address of the right recipient): send recipient with the corrected data, rectification_type PARTIAL, rectification_code R4 and no lines. That corrective carries the corrected recipient, leaves the amounts unchanged (its lines negate what is still invoiced and repeat it, so each rate nets to zero) and leaves the original RECTIFIED. When the original went to a registered customer, the corrected recipient must be that same customer (CORRECTIVE_RECIPIENT_IS_ANOTHER_PERSON otherwise), and data identical to the recorded ones are refused with CORRECTIVE_RECIPIENT_UNCHANGED. Any other recipient is refused with CORRECTIVE_RECIPIENT_NOT_ACCEPTED. If the invoice was issued to another person altogether, correct it in full with a TOTAL corrective and issue a new invoice to the right customer.
- Why
- An invoice with the recipient's data wrong does not meet the invoice requirements, and the law fixes that with a corrective; voiding it and issuing another leaves the defective invoice standing. Changing the person, instead, is not a correction of data: the operation with the first person did not happen, so that invoice is credited and the right one is issued.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice - Error codes
CORRECTIVE_RECIPIENT_NOT_ACCEPTED422,CORRECTIVE_RECIPIENT_IS_ANOTHER_PERSON422,CORRECTIVE_RECIPIENT_UNCHANGED422
Legal basisRD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.1 · RD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 6.1.c) y e) · AEAT, Preguntas frecuentes SIF y VERI*FACTU, Procedimientos de facturación: tipo de facturas, R4
«1. Deberá expedirse una factura rectificativa en los casos en que la factura original no cumpla alguno de los requisitos que se establecen en los artículos 6 ó 7, sin perjuicio de lo establecido en el apartado 6 de este artículo.»«c) Nombre y apellidos, razón o denominación social completa, tanto del obligado a expedir factura como del destinatario de las operaciones. [...] e) Domicilio, tanto del obligado a expedir factura como del destinatario de las operaciones.»«"R4": Factura Rectificativa (Resto). Se indicará tipo de factura R4 en estas situaciones: [...] Cuando se haya consignado erróneamente algún dato no monetario de la factura»Voiding an invoice whose customer's tax ID was mistyped and issuing it again: the defective invoice stays on file uncorrected.
Correcting the mistyped tax ID with an R4 corrective that carries the corrected recipient.
{ "rectification_type": "PARTIAL", "rectification_code": "R4", "reason": "The customer's tax ID was mistyped", "recipient": { "customer_id": "8f1e…" } }RelatedCOR-005COR-001REC-009VOI-002
Explained inCorrective invoices (R1–R5)
A corrective can always correct what the original declared
A corrective is judged against the treatment its original already had, not against the rules that BeeL. applies to new invoices. A regime key, exemption reason, withholding rate or surcharge rate that a new invoice can no longer use is accepted in the corrective only if the original carried it on one of its lines; the corrective is then registered as the original was. Anything the original did not carry is judged as on a new invoice. The checks AEAT itself makes on the record still apply, and a corrective, like any invoice, needs at least one NORMAL line.
- Why
- The law makes the corrective mandatory whenever the original was wrong or its amounts change, so refusing it would leave the original with no way to be corrected. What a new invoice may no longer use is exactly what a corrective has to reverse.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: BeeL. applies it.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice
Legal basisRD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.1 · RD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.2
«Deberá expedirse una factura rectificativa en los casos en que la factura original no cumpla alguno de los requisitos que se establecen en los artículos 6 ó 7, sin perjuicio de lo establecido en el apartado 6 de este artículo.»«Igualmente, será obligatoria la expedición de una factura rectificativa en los casos en que las cuotas impositivas repercutidas se hubiesen determinado incorrectamente o se hubieran producido las circunstancias que, según lo dispuesto en el artículo 80 de la Ley del Impuesto, dan lugar a la modificación de la base imponible.»A partial corrective of an invoice issued under regime key 01 without withholding adds a line under key 03 with a 15 % withholding: it is judged as a new invoice and rejected.
The full corrective of an old invoice carries the same regime key, exemption reason and withholding rate, negated, and is registered with the same breakdown the original had.
Insolvency and bad-debt correctives need a recipient established in Spain
Do not issue an R2 (insolvency) or R3 (bad debt) corrective when the recipient is not established in Spain, the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla. The exception is an insolvency declared by a court of another EU member state under Regulation (EU) 2015/848, which may reduce the base as an insolvency: an R2 accepts a recipient of another member state, an R3 does not. The API reads where the recipient is established from its address, or from the country of its identifier when there is no address (a Spanish NIF is Spain), and refuses the corrective with CORRECTIVE_RECIPIENT_NOT_ESTABLISHED when that is elsewhere or unknown.
- Why
- The law does not allow the base to be reduced for these debts, so the VAT the corrective gives back is still owed.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoicerectification_codeR2orR3. - Error codes
CORRECTIVE_RECIPIENT_NOT_ESTABLISHED422
Legal basisLey 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Cinco.2.ª
«Cinco. En relación con los supuestos de modificación de la base imponible comprendidos en los apartados tres y cuatro anteriores, se aplicarán las siguientes reglas: [...] 2.ª Tampoco procederá la modificación de la base imponible cuando el destinatario de las operaciones no esté establecido en el territorio de aplicación del Impuesto, ni en Canarias, Ceuta o Melilla. Quedan excluidos de lo dispuesto en el párrafo anterior los supuestos de créditos incobrables como consecuencia de un proceso de insolvencia declarado por un órgano jurisdiccional de otro Estado miembro cuando se trate de procedimientos de insolvencia a los que resulte de aplicación el Reglamento (UE) 2015/848 del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, de 20 de mayo de 2015, sobre procedimientos de insolvencia, que podrán dar lugar, en su caso, a la modificación de la base imponible del sujeto pasivo en los términos previstos en el artículo 80.tres de esta ley.»An R3 corrective for an unpaid invoice to a customer based in France: the API answers CORRECTIVE_RECIPIENT_NOT_ESTABLISHED.
An R2 corrective for a French customer declared insolvent by a French court, once the conditions of article 80.Tres are met.
Explained inCorrective invoices (R1–R5)
A bad-debt corrective waits six months and needs a business recipient under 50 €
Do not issue an R3 corrective before six months have passed since the tax accrued: the API counts them from the original's operation date and refuses an earlier one with CORRECTIVE_BAD_DEBT_TOO_EARLY, giving the first possible day. Six months is the period only for a business whose turnover the year before did not exceed 6,010,121.04 €; otherwise it is one year, and applying it is the issuer's responsibility. When the base of the operation is 50 € or less, the recipient must have acted as a business or professional: declare it with recipient_is_business, or the corrective is refused with CORRECTIVE_BAD_DEBT_BASE_TOO_LOW.
- Why
- Before the waiting period, or for a consumer's debt of 50 € or less, the debt is not uncollectable in the legal sense and the base cannot be reduced.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoicerectification_codeR3. - Error codes
CORRECTIVE_BAD_DEBT_TOO_EARLY422,CORRECTIVE_BAD_DEBT_BASE_TOO_LOW422
Legal basisLey 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Cuatro.A).1.ª · Ley 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Cuatro.A).3.ª
«1.ª Que haya transcurrido un año desde el devengo del Impuesto repercutido sin que se haya obtenido el cobro de todo o parte del crédito derivado del mismo. [...] Cuando el titular del derecho de crédito cuya base imponible se pretende reducir sea un empresario o profesional cuyo volumen de operaciones, calculado conforme a lo dispuesto en el artículo 121 de esta Ley, no hubiese excedido durante el año natural inmediato anterior de 6.010.121,04 euros, el plazo a que se refiere esta condición 1.ª podrá ser, de seis meses o un año.»«3.ª Que el destinatario de la operación actúe en la condición de empresario o profesional, o, en otro caso, que la base imponible de aquella, Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido excluido, sea superior a 50 euros.»An R3 corrective in March for a service invoiced in January: the API answers CORRECTIVE_BAD_DEBT_TOO_EARLY with the first day it is possible.
An R3 corrective for an unpaid 40 € service to a self-employed customer, declaring that the customer acted as a business.
{ "rectification_type": "TOTAL", "rectification_code": "R3", "reason": "Unpaid for more than six months; notarial demand sent on 2026-05-04", "recipient_is_business": true }An identical corrective a moment after another is taken as a double submission
A corrective identical to another live one of the same invoice (same type, reason code, reason, taxable base and amount payable, disbursements included) created less than two minutes earlier is refused with CORRECTIVE_RECENT_DUPLICATE: it is a double click or a retry. After that window an identical corrective is issued, since two refunds of the same amount are two correctives. To retry a request safely at any time, send an Idempotency-Key. Correctives that come from a payment integration carry their own identity and are not checked this way.
- Why
- A double submission would issue a second fiscal document for the same correction. Blocking identical correctives for a whole day, instead, refused legitimate repeated refunds.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice - Error codes
CORRECTIVE_RECENT_DUPLICATE422
Retrying a corrective after a timeout without an Idempotency-Key, a few seconds later: the API answers CORRECTIVE_RECENT_DUPLICATE with the number of the one already issued.
Retrying with the same Idempotency-Key: the API returns the corrective already issued instead of a new one.
POST /v1/companies/{company_id}/invoices/{invoice_id}/correctiveIdempotency-Key: 5f0c2d1e-refund-0042An invoice whose record AEAT rejected is fixed before it is corrected
When AEAT rejected the record of the original invoice and it has not been resubmitted, fix it and resubmit it first; a corrective against it is refused with CORRECTIVE_ORIGINAL_RECORD_REJECTED. An original whose record is still being processed, or that was issued outside VeriFactu, can be corrected.
- Why
- A rejected record never reaches AEAT's books. A corrective states the difference from the original, so issued first it would be recorded on its own, as a correction of an invoice AEAT does not have.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoiceVeriFactu enabled for the original invoice. - Error codes
CORRECTIVE_ORIGINAL_RECORD_REJECTED422
Legal basisAEAT, Aclaraciones a dudas de los desarrolladores (v1.3), 17. Aclaraciones, caso 2.a) · AEAT, Aclaraciones a dudas de los desarrolladores (v1.3), 17. Aclaraciones, caso 2.b)
«En el probable caso de que el RF generado de la “factura errónea” fuera rechazado por la AEAT (lo que podría servir para que el usuario se percatara del error cometido), ese RF rechazado no figuraría jamás en los sistemas de la AEAT (aunque constaría un rechazo).»«Si el RF generado de la “factura errónea” fuera rechazado por la AEAT (lo que podría servir para que el usuario se percatara del error cometido), habría que [...] corregir la factura original y generar un RF de alta de subsanación, sin registro previo en la AEAT (ya que el RF “original” fue rechazado y no existe en la AEAT).»Issuing a corrective for an invoice whose record AEAT rejected for a wrong recipient NIF: the API answers CORRECTIVE_ORIGINAL_RECORD_REJECTED.
Fixing the recipient's data, resubmitting the original's record and, once AEAT accepts it, issuing the corrective if one is still due.
Explained inHandling AEAT rejections
A corrective never rectifies more than was invoiced
A corrective rectifies what is still invoiced: the original invoice plus the correctives already issued against it, voided ones excluded. A TOTAL corrective rectifies that remaining balance, negating every line of the original and of its live correctives, and is refused with CORRECTIVE_NOTHING_LEFT_TO_RECTIFY when previous correctives already left nothing. A PARTIAL corrective may raise any amount, but may not take the taxable base of any rate (tax, rate and equivalence surcharge) below zero: that is refused with CORRECTIVE_EXCEEDS_INVOICED_AMOUNT, which names the rate and how much of it is left. Disbursements (SUPLIDO lines) are capped by their own amount.
- Why
- The taxable base of an operation changes by the amount that corresponds to what changed. After a partial credit of 300 on an invoice of 1,000, what is left invoiced is 700; a corrective that negated the 1,000 again would give back 1,300 and a tax that was never charged.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice - Error codes
CORRECTIVE_EXCEEDS_INVOICED_AMOUNT422,CORRECTIVE_NOTHING_LEFT_TO_RECTIFY422
Legal basisLey 37/1992 del IVA, art. 80.Dos · RD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.5
«Dos. Cuando por resolución firme, judicial o administrativa o con arreglo a Derecho o a los usos de comercio queden sin efecto total o parcialmente las operaciones gravadas o se altere el precio después del momento en que la operación se haya efectuado, la base imponible se modificará en la cuantía correspondiente.»«Cuando lo que se expida sea una factura rectificativa, los datos a los que se refiere el artículo 6.1.f), g) y h) expresarán la rectificación efectuada.»Rectifying an invoice of 1,000 that already has a −300 PARTIAL corrective with a PARTIAL of −800 at the same rate: it would take the base to −100, and the API answers CORRECTIVE_EXCEEDS_INVOICED_AMOUNT.
Issuing a TOTAL corrective on that invoice: it negates the 1,000 and the −300, rectifies 700 and leaves the invoice at zero.
{ "rectification_type": "TOTAL", "rectification_code": "R1", "reason": "Order cancelled by agreement with the customer" }Explained inCorrective invoices (R1–R5)
A corrective does not change only the withholding
A PARTIAL corrective whose lines negate operations of the invoice and repeat them unchanged (same description, amount and rate) except for the income tax withholding is refused with CORRECTIVE_WITHHOLDING_ONLY. The withholding is not one of the details an invoice must contain, nor a VAT amount, so correcting it alone is not a cause for a corrective. When an invoice carried a withholding it should not have, void it and issue a new invoice without it. Moving part of the price between a line with withholding and one without it corrects the operations themselves and is accepted.
- Why
- Only an invoice that fails a legal requirement, charges the wrong VAT or needs an art. 80 LIVA change is a corrective. A document issued for any other reason and filed as a corrective misreports what happened, and its billing record carries no amount at all, because the record has no withholding.
- Responsibility
- Checked by the API: a request that breaks it is rejected with the error codes listed.
- Applies to
- Types
CORRECTIVEOperationscreateCompanyCorrectiveInvoice - Error codes
CORRECTIVE_WITHHOLDING_ONLY422
Legal basisRD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.1 y 15.2 · RD 1619/2012 (Reglamento de facturación), art. 15.6
«Deberá expedirse una factura rectificativa en los casos en que la factura original no cumpla alguno de los requisitos que se establecen en los artículos 6 ó 7 [...] 2. Igualmente, será obligatoria la expedición de una factura rectificativa en los casos en que las cuotas impositivas repercutidas se hubiesen determinado incorrectamente o se hubieran producido las circunstancias que, según lo dispuesto en el artículo 80 de la Ley del Impuesto, dan lugar a la modificación de la base imponible.»«Únicamente tendrán la consideración de facturas rectificativas las que se expidan por alguna de las causas previstas en los apartados 1 y 2.»A PARTIAL corrective that negates a line of 1,000 at 21% with 15% withholding and adds it again with no withholding: the API answers CORRECTIVE_WITHHOLDING_ONLY.
Voiding the invoice, confirming it was issued in error, and issuing a new one without the withholding.
Explained inCancel vs amend