What they are, when to issue them and what legal requirements they must meet under RD 1619/2012.
When you make a mistake on an invoice, the temptation is to delete it and create a new one. But Spanish regulations do not allow that. If an invoice has already been issued and contains errors — or if the circumstances of the operation change after issuance —, the only legal way to correct it is through a factura rectificativa. It is a document with its own requirements, regulated in article 15 of RD 1619/2012, and not issuing one when required can result in penalties.
Article 15 of RD 1619/2012 defines three situations in which issuing a factura rectificativa is mandatory, not optional.
The first is when the original invoice does not meet the content requirements of articles 6 or 7 — for example, the recipient's NIF is missing, the description is incorrect, or the wrong VAT rate has been applied. The second is when VAT amounts were determined incorrectly — a calculation error, for example. And the third is when circumstances under article 80 of the Ley del IVA arise that modify the base imponible — return of goods, retroactive discounts, insolvency proceedings of the debtor or bad debts.
There is a practical exception — if the customer returns goods but you make an equivalent sale on the next invoice, you can offset without needing to issue a factura rectificativa, as long as the VAT rate is the same. But outside this case, the factura rectificativa is the only legal path.
A factura rectificativa is not simply an invoice with negative amounts. Article 15.5 of RD 1619/2012 requires that it meets all the requirements of a standard invoice (those in article 6) and also includes several additional elements that identify it as a rectifying document.
First, it must expressly indicate its status as a rectifying document — it is not enough for it to have negative amounts, it must clearly state that it is a factura rectificativa. Second, it must be issued in an independent numbering series, exclusive to facturas rectificativas. It cannot share a series with ordinary invoices.
It must also identify the invoice or invoices it rectifies, including their number and date. If it rectifies multiple invoices at once, it must list all of them. In addition, it must describe the reason for the rectification, indicate the method used (by differences or by substitution) and show the rectified amounts according to the chosen method.
The regulations establish two methods for expressing the rectification, and you must choose one when issuing the factura rectificativa.
The "by differences" method (code I) is the most common. The factura rectificativa shows only the adjustment amount, which can be positive or negative. For example, if an invoice for 1,000 euros should have been for 800, the factura rectificativa shows -200 euros. It is simple and straightforward, ideal for specific corrections such as a pricing error or the application of a discount.
The "by substitution" method (code S) is more comprehensive. The factura rectificativa shows the corrected final amounts — what the invoice should say — in addition to the rectification amount. It is used when the original invoice data needs to be completely replaced, for example when there are multiple errors or when you want to leave a clear record of the correct state of the operation.
The regulations classify facturas rectificativas into five types based on the cause. This classification is important because it determines the tax treatment of the rectification and is a mandatory field in the Verifactu record.
Type R1 is the most common and covers everyday situations — return of goods, retroactive volume discounts, price changes after the operation, cancellation of operations and errors grounded in law. Its legal basis is in articles 80.Uno, 80.Dos and 80.Seis of the Ley del IVA.
Type R2 applies when the debtor has been declared in insolvency proceedings (concurso de acreedores) (Art. 80.Tres LIVA). R3 is for bad debts (créditos incobrables), and requires that more than one year has passed since the accrual, that the debt is recorded in the accounts and that payment has been claimed from the debtor (Art. 80.Cuatro LIVA).
Type R4 is a catch-all for other causes — modifications to the base imponible outside article 80, or corrections to non-monetary data such as an incorrect address, an error in the description or a wrong NIF. And R5 is used exclusively when rectifying a factura simplificada (type F2), regardless of the underlying cause.
CokuApp generates facturas rectificativas with all the legal requirements, including an independent series and a reference to the original invoice.