Guide updated 11 July 2026
Modelo 130, step by step
If you are self-employed under direct estimation, every quarter you advance part of the year's income tax to the tax authority. The calculation is simple once you understand one thing: everything is CUMULATIVE from 1 January.
Who files it and who does not
It is filed by self-employed people under direct estimation, normal or simplified. You do not have to file it if, in the previous year, at least 70% of the income from your professional activity had withholding (usual when you invoice companies with 15% or 7%). Those under módulos file the 131, not the 130.
How it is calculated
Income for the year up to the end of the quarter, minus deductible expenses for the same period: that is the net income. 20% of that income is what would be due to advance in the year to date. From that you subtract the 130 payments you have already made this year and the withholdings applied to you. If the result is negative, it is still filed, with a zero result or to be offset in the following quarters; it is not refunded until the income tax return.
An example
Third quarter. Income from January to September: €30,000. Expenses: €8,000. Net income: €22,000; 20%, €4,400. You already paid €1,200 in the first quarter and €1,500 in the second, and €600 was withheld from you. To pay: 4,400 − 1,200 − 1,500 − 600 = €1,100.
Expenses that are not on an invoice
The self-employed contribution, depreciation and, under simplified direct estimation, the percentage for hard-to-justify expenses (with its annual cap) are deductible expenses even though they do not arrive on an invoice. If you only add up invoices, the net income comes out higher than it really is and you advance too much.
Deadlines
First quarter: 1 to 20 April. Second: 1 to 20 July. Third: 1 to 20 October. Fourth: 1 to 30 January of the following year. If you pay by direct debit, the deadline to file ends a few days earlier.
What you can do here
«Close the quarter» reads your issued and received invoices with fixed rules, separates them by your NIF and gives you the draft of the 303 and the 130, with boxes for what is not on an invoice and for what has already been paid. It is a draft to review: the return is signed by whoever files it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 130 the same as the income tax return?
No: it is an advance. In the June return the real tax for the year is calculated and the four 130 payments are subtracted.
If I have not invoiced anything in a quarter, do I have to file?
Yes, if you are obliged: it is filed even if the result is zero.
Is there any reduction if I earn little?
Yes: if your net income in the previous year did not exceed €12,000, you can subtract a small fixed amount per quarter, greater the lower the income was. It goes in its own box on the form.