Relevant issues
Find out about informative tax returns, their design, filing forms and how to amend them after filing
Informative declarations are one of the ways of obtaining information that consist of the mass supply of information with tax implications to the Administration on a regular basis and using standardised channels.
They can be differentiated as follows:
Summaries of tax withheld and account deposits.These are declarations based on a withholding or account deposit previously made and which are reported, and must be filed when the withholding or account deposit has been made.
Information returns.These declarations are not related to a previous withholding or account deposit, and must be filed when the transactions to be reported have been carried out.
Mixed information returns.These returns contain elements of the two previous types of declarations, e.g. form 187 or 190.
The current design of most standardised information returns forms consists of different registers:
- Type 1 register for the identification of the declarant and summary of data.
- Type 2 register intended to incorporate each of the data of those declared.There shall be as many type 2 records as there are declared records.
In addition to the above design, a more modern, flexible and less constrained design than the current Type 1 and Type 2 registry design is starting to be implemented in some recent reporting models.This is the XML computer message format implemented in forms such as 231, 289 and 290.
Ways of filing informative tax returns
| Taxpaying person or entity | Total no. of registries | Form of filing(3) |
|---|---|---|
| Natural Persons (except attached to the DCGC/UGGE (1)) |
Any type (2) | * Electronically, online using the signature system using an access code (Cl@ve PIN system) (4) *Electronically, online with an advanced electronic signature or identification system and authentication, in both cases using a recognised electronic certificate. |
Other taxpayers
|
Any type (2) | *Electronically, online with an advanced electronic signature or identification system and authentication, in both cases using a recognised electronic certificate. |
(1 ) Persons or entities registered in the Large Taxpayers Central Office or one of the Large companies management unions of the AEAT special delegations.
(2) Bear in mind that, after the 2018 financial year, there is no longer the ability to file informative tax returns using a format that is directly readable with a computer (modification through Order HFP/231/2018, of 6 March)
(3) In 2019, the possibility of displaying Forms 190, 347 and 390 by SMS message is done away with.
(4)Only natural persons who are not obliged to use an electronic certificate can use the Cl@ve PIN system, for informative tax return forms 038, 179, 180, 182, 187, 188, 190, 193, 198, 231, 233, 234, 235, 236, 282, 296, 345, 347, 349, 390 and 720.
The filing of the returns of the different informative forms can be done in two ways:
- Submission using the web form
Information returns that are often used by a large number of taxpayers usually have a web form available to assist with the completion of the return and the filing of the form.
- Filing by online (TGVI Online)
Filing via uploading a file in a form that is validated online by the system.This form of filing can be used to present any information file regardless of its size, although its use is compulsory from 40,000 records onwards.
Filing by online TGVI file
Filing by means of a TGVI Online file is carried out as follows:
The taxpayer accesses the URL of TGVI-Online, where they select the file to be sent, and the file upload-validation process begins.
During the sending, the taxpayer is shown a progress bar of both the transmission and the number of records admitted/rejected.
As the new service sends the file, the detail records will be validated and the accepted/rejected records will be displayed and updated in the taxpayer’s browser.When the whole file has been sent, the final result of admissions/refusals is displayed, but it should be noted that the declaration is not yet considered submitted.
The options after the upload/validation of the file are as follows:
- “Submit correct records”
Type-1 records would be automatically updated to be consistent with the correct records.
A submission confirmation is generated for only the correct records submitted.
To avoid duplicate records being generated, the file needs to contain a unique identification number for that fiscal year-form-taxpayer.
- “Download incorrect records”
A complementary tax return type file in record design format with the total number of incorrect records would be downloaded and would have its own identification number (the proof of origin would be the original tax return).
- “Download error messages”
In this case, you get a text file, which contains a detail of the error for each incorrect detail record (type 2).
The file will show the wrong detail record, then “;“ as a separator and finally the error in the register (it consists of a code and an error).
Once a return has been filed by means of a web form, the "consolidated" return will be subsequently acted upon, making the addition, modification or deletion of records directly, without the need to explicitly indicate the will to supplement or replace a previous return.
Therefore, once a return has been filed, if an authorised filer subsequently accesses the form, the "consolidated" return will be displayed on the form with the updated information filed, on which he/she can proceed to make the necessary changes (add records, modify records or delete records).The corresponding information contains the date of the last update of each record in the declaration.
Modifications of returns by means of online TGVI file
The system established by using online TGVIs (the one relating to the online TGVI form is different) is as follows:
ORIGINAL RETURN.
There can only be one original return.The rest would be complementary or substitutive.
SUBSEQUENT MODIFICATIONS.
The following must be differentiated between:
Add records:A “C” shall be entered if the filing of this return is intended to include payments which should have been included in another return of the same financial year filed earlier but which were completely omitted from the return.
A number of supplementary returns may therefore be submitted.
In the process of uploading and validating the file through the online TGVI , records rejected as erroneous must be presented as complementary (i.e., a new original is not required), and it must necessarily include the Receipt Number of the return to which it complements.
Change records:the submission of a return for the purpose of modifying the content of data declared in another return of the same financial year submitted previously shall be made by submitting a return replacing the return containing the records to be modified.
Replacement return:An “S” shall be entered if the purpose of the filing is to cancel and completely replace a previous filing of the same financial year.A replacement return can only override one previous return.
Prior to the presentation of the substitute return, it is essential that the taxpayer cancels the tax return it replaces.The Receipt Number of the return being replacing has to be filled in, which has to exist and has to be removed by substitution (or replaced).
As many substitutive returns may be filed as the taxpayer considers, provided that the substituted ones are successively withdrawn.