Binding Reports (IMV) provide legal certainty to the applicant in the application of deductions and discounts for Research, Development and/or Technological Innovation (R&D&I).
- They require the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) to classify activities as Research, Development and/or Technological Innovation of projects or activities carried out within the framework of an annual project for corporate tax deduction purposes. They can also cover expenses or budgets.
- They require the Social Security system to entitle employers of researchers who meet the legally established requirements to receive a rebate on Social Security contributions made on behalf of the researchers.
Tax reports
Regulated by Articles 35 and 39 of the Corporate Income Tax Act and Royal Decree 1432/2003.
As a general rule, requesting a tax report is voluntary, but once issued, its content is binding. In fact, applicants can calculate and apply deductions even if a binding report is pending.
They can be ex-ante, i.e. a binding report is issued for the entire project before it starts, or ex-post, i.e. a binding is issued for each fiscal year of the project implemented. The deadlines for submitting and registering applications vary depending on the type of binding report requested.
Social Security reports
Regulated in Royal Decree 475/2014.
These reports are ex-post and voluntary, except where the entity has granted ten or more researchers a bonus over a three-month period or more in a single financial year, in which case the entity must submit a binding report to the General Treasury of the Social Security within a maximum period of six months from the end of the fiscal year in which the bonuses were applied.
