The equivalence surcharge in WooCommerce is one of those requirements that does not appear in any international plugin and that, if you sell to retailers in Spain, you cannot ignore. It is a mandatory regime for certain merchants: when you sell to them, you must charge them VAT and also an extra percentage. This is how it works and how to configure it without breaking the prices of the rest of the catalog.
What it is and who it applies to
The equivalence surcharge is a special VAT regime for individual retail merchants who sell without transforming the goods. The retailer does not file VAT returns: instead, their supplier charges the normal VAT plus a surcharge, and that settles it.
The consequence for you as a supplier is direct: if your customer is under equivalence surcharge, you have to apply it. It is not optional and does not depend on them asking for it. And if you do not apply it, they can claim the difference from you.
This mainly affects B2B or mixed stores: wholesalers, distributors, and any store that sells both to private customers and to small businesses.
The surcharge percentages
The surcharge is linked to the VAT rate of each product:
| VAT rate | Equivalence surcharge | Total charged |
|---|---|---|
| 21% (standard) | 5.2% | 26.2% |
| 10% (reduced) | 1.4% | 11.4% |
| 4% (super-reduced) | 0.5% | 4.5% |
There is also a specific surcharge for tobacco. The percentages are set by Spanish regulations and it is advisable to confirm them with your advisor each fiscal year.
How to configure it in WooCommerce
WooCommerce does not have the concept of a «customer under equivalence surcharge». It has tax classes and country-based rates, and that is where the solution fits.
The manual approach
Create additional tax rates of 26.2%, 11.4% and 4.5% and assign them manually to customers who are under the regime. It works, but it breaks as soon as you have more than a few customers: you have to remember each one and update it when they change regime.
The customer-profile approach
Mark the customer as subject to surcharge in their profile and have the store apply the corresponding rate automatically on each order, including renewals if you sell subscriptions. That is what EHERO Woo VAT does: the regime travels with the customer, not with the order.
The problem with prices including VAT
This is where most setups break. If your store shows prices including VAT, the same product has to cost one thing for a private customer and another for a retailer under surcharge. If you let WooCommerce recalculate based on the displayed price, the amounts shift and the catalog shows different prices depending on who is looking.
The clean way is to work with a base price without taxes and let the tax be calculated at the end, in the cart, according to the customer profile. If your store is mixed, consider showing prices without VAT to identified B2B customers and with VAT to everyone else.
How it should appear on the invoice
The surcharge must appear itemized and separate from VAT: taxable base, VAT amount, surcharge amount, and total. It is not acceptable to include it within VAT or present it as a generic charge.
If you issue invoices from an ERP, that breakdown has to come through correctly from the store. With a connector like EHERO Woo Holded or any of the ERP connectors, the data travels with the order instead of being reconstructed.
The formal invoice requirements are in the invoicing regulations; your advisor will tell you which fields your specific case requires.
How to know if your customer is under surcharge
There is no automatic way to know from the tax ID: the regime does not travel in the number. Usually the customer tells you when they open an account, and the prudent thing is to ask for it in writing during registration.
It is advisable to store it in the customer profile, not in the order, because it is a condition of the merchant and remains in place while they stay under the regime. If you note it order by order, sooner or later one will slip through.
The details of who is required — individual retail merchants or entities taxed by income attribution that sell without transforming the goods — are in the Spanish Tax Agency’s special equivalence surcharge regime page.
The three most expensive mistakes
Not applying it. If your customer was under surcharge and you did not charge it, the uncharged amount can be claimed from you. It is the most expensive and the most common mistake in stores that start selling to businesses without changing anything in their setup.
Applying it to the wrong customer. A limited company is not subject to surcharge. If you charge it, you are overcharging them and will have to issue a corrective invoice.
Including it within VAT. Adding 21% and 5.2% in a single 26.2% line gives the same total but does not comply with the breakdown required on the invoice, and it complicates your customer’s accounting.
Mixed stores: the most common scenario
Most stores that sell to businesses also sell to private customers. That means three profiles coexist in the same catalog: the private customer with normal VAT, the company without surcharge, and the retailer with surcharge.
With prices including VAT, those three profiles see different prices for the same product. The setup that causes the fewest problems is to set the price without taxes and calculate at the end according to the profile, showing the full breakdown in the cart so the customer understands what they are paying for.
The surcharge, applied only and itemized
EHERO Woo VAT marks the regime in the customer profile and applies the corresponding surcharge on each order, with the separate breakdown required by the invoice.
