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Special system for used goods, objects of art, antiques and collector items

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How the REBU works

The REBU - the special regime for used goods, objects of art, antiques and collectors' items - is characterised by a special method for determining the gross tax base, in order to calculate the VAT accrued in each self-assessment. There are two systems:

  • Determination of the Gross Tax Base for each transaction:

    In this system, the taxable reseller can apply:

    1. The special regime to their supplies, which entails the following:

      • VAT will be borne in transfers, applying the tax rate corresponding to the good supplied to the gross tax base determined through a special procedure.

        the gross tax base is the profit margin obtained from each transaction, not including VAT:

        Profit margin = Sales price (VAT included) - Purchase price, (VAT included)  

        BI = Profit margin x 100 ÷ (100 + applicable tax rate)

      • Input VAT on acquisitions of resold goods is not deductible, notwithstanding the deduction of other charges borne in exercising the activity (telephone, leases, etc.).

    2. The general regime of the tax (without needing to expressly notify the Tax Administration, the taxable reseller can choose not to apply the special regime to their supplies), which entails the following:

      • VAT must be charged on the full consideration.

      • Any fees that may have been borne on acquiring the resold goods can be deducted, however the deduction cannot be applied until the corresponding supplies are chargeable.

  • Determination of the overall Gross Tax Base:

    This is applied to certain goods when the taxpayer has chosen to file the declaration to start an activity, or in the month of December in the year before it is set to take effect, and until the time it is waived, which cannot occur until the end of the next calendar year.

    It can only be applied to the following goods:

    • Stamps, state-issued paper, notes and coins of philatelic or numismatic interest.

    • Records, magnetic tapes and other audio or image supports.

    • Books, magazines and other publications.

    • Goods authorised by the Tax Agency's Department of Tax Administration, upon the request of the interested party. The Administration can revoke this authorisation if the circumstances that give rise to it are not present. 

    The gross tax base consists in the overall profit margin for each settlement period, less the VAT charge corresponding to this margin:

    • Overall profit margin = Sales price (VAT included), of deliveries of goods in the settlement period - Price of purchase, (VAT included), of the goods acquired in that same period.
    • BI = Global profit margin x 100 ÷ (100 + applicable tax rate)

    If this margin is negative, the gross tax base will be zero, and the margin will be added to the purchase amount of the following period. 

    Taxpayers who choose this modality must carry out an annual inventory regularisation.

    When the taxpayer has chosen to determine the gross tax base using the overall profit margin, they must use this procedure to determine the gross tax base of all supplies of goods corresponding with said regime, without being able to apply the general regime of the tax with respect to these supplies.