Margen
A nine-thousand-euro quote to redo a bathroom almost always carries 21 % VAT: one thousand eight hundred and ninety euros of tax. On a good share of those jobs Spanish law allows 10 %, and the gap is nine hundred and ninety euros.
The reduced rate is in article 91 of the VAT Act and requires three conditions at once:
1. The person hiring is a private individual — or a residents’ association — and the property is for private use, not commercial premises or a flat run as a business.
2. Construction or the last full refurbishment finished at least two years before the work begins.
3. The materials supplied by whoever does the work do not exceed 40 % of the taxable base. Eighty metres of tile bought by the builder can break the condition; the same tile bought by you does not.
It is not a discount you apply for: it is applied by whoever issues the invoice. So if the quote says 21 %, what you have to ask for is a split between labour and materials before you sign anything.
The tax office keeps 21 % for new-build work and for renovations in homes less than two years old.