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VAT practical manual 2021.

Exemptions relating to educational activities

following are exempt from this type of activities:

  • The education of children and young people, the care and custody of children, including the care of children in educational centres during inter-class time during the school canteen or in classrooms in daycare service outside school hours, school, university and postgraduate teaching, language teaching and professional training and retraining, carried out by public law entities or private entities authorised to carry out said activities.

    The exemption shall extend to the provision of services and delivery of goods directly related to the services listed in the previous paragraph, carried out with own or external means by the same teaching or educational companies that provide the aforementioned services.

    called “distance learning courses” will be subject to tax and not exempt, in which the transaction consists primarily of the delivery of goods (books, booklets, videos, etc.) accompanied, as an accessory, by the obligation assumed by the publishing company to answer queries from purchasers of the course.

    ## This exemption does not include certain services, such as those relating to the practice of sport provided by companies other than educational centres (except Parents' Associations), accommodation and food provided by senior or junior colleges and student residences, those relating to driving licences for class A, B and C land vehicles and those relating to the titles, licences or permits required to drive sports or recreational vessels or aircraft. The exemption also does not include deliveries of goods made for a fee.

    school canteen services are exempt when provided directly by teaching or educational centers to their students, not extending this exemption to other cases, such as school catering companies. (Query from DGT V0231-16).

    According to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the educational services referred to in article 20.One.9 are exempt from the tax regardless of whether or not they have administrative authorization, and the General Directorate of Taxes has ruled on this matter in its binding consultation of 16-2-06.

  • Private classes provided by individuals on subjects included in the educational system's curricula.

    provided on a private basis will not be considered as those classes for which it is necessary to register for the business or artistic activity rates of the Tax on Economic Activities.

    If the taxpayer carries out the activity directly and personally, it will be considered professional. If such activity is carried out in an organization (academy, study center, etc.) it will be considered a business activity.