Simplified vs standard (F1 vs F2)

When to issue a factura simplificada (F2), when you must use a factura ordinaria (F1), and what BeeL. enforces at the API boundary.

The simplified invoice (F2) is the "ticket" of the Spanish tax system: less data, fewer obligations, but capped in amount and use case. This page is the decision aid plus the exact rules BeeL. applies before the registro reaches AEAT.

The decision in one table

Situation	Recommended type	Why
Total ≤ 3 000 € AND you don't need to identify the customer	F2 (`type: SIMPLIFIED`)	Quickest path, no NIF required
Total > 3 000 €	F1 (`type: STANDARD`)	F2 is illegal above the threshold
Customer is a company / autónomo / business buyer	F1	They will need the NIF on the invoice for their own deduction
Customer is a foreign B2B or B2C in the EU	F1	Required for VIES, OSS, or exempt operations — see International customers
Customer explicitly requests an identified invoice	F1	You must comply, regardless of amount
You're going to apply IRPF withholding	F1	Withholding requires identifying the payer; F2 doesn't carry it

What BeeL. enforces

On the F2 path

total (IVA included) must be ≤ 3 000 € — request rejected above the threshold
Up to 400 € IVA-included the recipient can be an empty object {} (no nif/alternative_id required). Between 400 € and 3 000 €, AEAT requires identifying the customer, so the recipient must carry nif or alternative_id. Above 3 000 €, F2 is not allowed at all — use F1
IRPF lines are not allowed on F2 — SIMPLIFICADA_FORBIDS_IRPF; see Why no IRPF on F2. The rate is not silently coerced to 0: send no irpf_rate at all, or irpf_rate: 0
Recargo de equivalencia is not allowed either — SIMPLIFICADA_FORBIDS_SURCHARGE: a retailer in that regime must receive an identified F1
Reverse charge is not allowed — SIMPLIFICADA_FORBIDS_ISP: an anonymous recipient cannot self-assess
Intra-EU operations and the OSS regime are not allowed — SIMPLIFICADA_FORBIDS_CROSS_BORDER
Apart from those, line semantics work as on F1: IVA rates, regime keys, exemption reasons, etc.

On the F1 path

recipient.nif or recipient.alternative_id is required — request rejected if both are missing
For Spanish NIFs (DNI / NIE / CIF), the name must match the AEAT census — BeeL. pre-validates via the NIF Validation API and rejects mismatches before submission
For foreign customers, use alternative_id instead of nif

3 000 € is IVA-included. A line at 2 600 € + 21 % IVA = 3 146 € totals over the threshold → must be F1.

Edge cases the law handles

Operations where F2 is never allowed, regardless of amount

The Real Decreto 1619/2012 forbids F2 in a handful of operations. Some of them BeeL. rejects for you at the API boundary, from the line data:

Intra-EU sales of goods and the OSS regime → SIMPLIFICADA_FORBIDS_CROSS_BORDER
Operations under inversión del sujeto pasivo → SIMPLIFICADA_FORBIDS_ISP
Lines carrying recargo de equivalencia → SIMPLIFICADA_FORBIDS_SURCHARGE
Lines carrying IRPF withholding → SIMPLIFICADA_FORBIDS_IRPF

The rest depend on facts BeeL. cannot see, so you must explicitly choose STANDARD yourself:

Distance sales of goods
Operations not located in Spain that need a Spanish invoice
Any operation where the customer is required by law to receive an F1

For those last ones AEAT will not reject the registro (the format is valid), but the invoice is non-compliant. Treat F2 as "consumer-facing under 3 000 € only".

Why no IRPF on F2

IRPF withholding requires the buyer to identify themselves and report the withheld amount in their own filings. Simplified invoices don't carry the buyer's NIF, so IRPF cannot be applied. If your customer is a business that must withhold from your invoice, issue an F1 even if the total is below 3 000 €.

Upgrading an F2 to F1 (the canje case)

Sometimes a customer asks for an identified invoice after you already issued a ticket. The clean two-step path:

Cancel the F2 with an R5 corrective

curl -X POST "https://app.beel.es/api/v1/companies/{company_id}/invoices/{f2_invoice_id}/corrective" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer beel_sk_live_xxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "rectification_type": "TOTAL",
    "rectification_code": "R5",
    "reason": "Customer requested an identified invoice replacing the original simplified ticket."
  }'

Issue a fresh F1 (POST /v1/companies/{company_id}/invoices with type: STANDARD) with the customer's NIF and full data.

The running total stays consistent (F2 + R5 cancellation + F1 = F1 net). See Corrective invoices for the worked example.

Canonical request shapes

F2 (no recipient)

{
  "type": "SIMPLIFIED",
  "recipient": {},
  "lines": [
    {
      "description": "Computer repair service",
      "quantity": 1,
      "unit": "service",
      "unit_price": 300,
      "discount_percentage": 0,
      "main_tax": { "type": "IVA", "percentage": 21, "regime_key": "01" }
    }
  ],
  "payment_info": { "method": "CASH" }
}

F1 (Spanish customer identified)

{
  "type": "STANDARD",
  "recipient": {
    "legal_name": "Comercial Martínez SL",
    "nif": "B87654321",
    "address": {
      "street": "Avenida de la Constitución",
      "number": "45",
      "postal_code": "41001",
      "city": "Sevilla",
      "province": "Sevilla",
      "country": "España"
    }
  },
  "lines": [
    {
      "description": "Business strategic consulting",
      "quantity": 8,
      "unit": "hours",
      "unit_price": 125,
      "discount_percentage": 0,
      "main_tax": { "type": "IVA", "percentage": 21, "regime_key": "01" }
    }
  ],
  "payment_info": { "method": "BANK_TRANSFER", "iban": "ES9121000418450200051332", "payment_term_days": 30 }
}

Invoice types — the full F1/F2/R catalogue
Tax classification — IVA rate, exempt operations, ISP
International customers — when F2 is never appropriate
createInvoice API reference — full request schema

Simplified vs standard (F1 vs F2)

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