Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 of 22 March 2021 (DAC7) amends Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation and establishes for the first time a systematic reporting obligation on digital platforms covering users' income. Transposed into Spanish law through Additional Provision 23 of the General Tax Law (Ley General Tributaria), introduced by Law 13/2023 of 24 May, DAC7 has been fully in force since January 2023 and the first complete reporting cycle closed in January 2024.
What DAC7 Is and Why It Matters
Prior to DAC7, income earned through digital platforms — Airbnb rentals, sales on Vinted or Wallapop, freelance services on Fiverr — was practically undetectable by tax authorities because platforms had no obligation to report users’ earnings to the tax administration. This information gap facilitated the digital shadow economy.
DAC7 closes that gap: platforms now act as reporting intermediaries, with the same obligations as banks have for current accounts or employers for wages.
Platforms and Activities Subject to Reporting
Reportable Activities
DAC7 covers four categories of activities intermediated by digital platforms:
- Rental of real property (residential or commercial): Airbnb, Booking, Holidu and similar platforms intermediating the rental of dwellings, apartments, commercial premises and garages.
- Personal services: freelance and micro-service platforms (Fiverr, Upwork, TaskRabbit) intermediating between individual providers and clients.
- Sale of goods (new or second-hand): marketplaces (Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Etsy, Vinted, Wallapop, Milanuncios) when acting as intermediaries between sellers and buyers.
- Rental of means of transport: platforms for private car sharing (Turo, Drivy), bicycles, scooters or other vehicles between private individuals.
Excluded from the DAC7 scope: platforms that only process payments (PayPal acting purely as a payment gateway without intermediating the activity), B2B platforms where all sellers are verified large companies, and donation platforms without consideration.
Obligated Entities
“Digital platforms” are defined as any software (application, website, application programming interface) that enables sellers to connect with buyers or customers to carry out a reportable activity, and that charges a fee for that intermediation.
The obligation applies to both EU-established platforms and non-EU platforms that intermediate activities carried out in the EU. For example, a US platform managing real estate rentals in Spain is subject to DAC7 and must register in an EU Member State to fulfil its reporting obligations. If a non-EU platform does not register voluntarily, the Member State can exclude it from the market.
Information to be Collected and Reported
Seller Data the Platform Must Collect
For each seller (natural person or entity) carrying out reportable activities, the platform must collect:
- Full name (or company name).
- Primary address.
- Tax identification number (TIN) in the Member State of residence, or — for natural persons — date and place of birth.
- VAT number if registered.
- For legal entities: commercial register number and LEI (Legal Entity Identifier) code if available.
- Bank or payment account number where income is credited.
The platform must verify that the TIN provided by the seller is correct and valid. Verification can be carried out by consulting the VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) for VAT numbers, or the public registers of the relevant Member State.
Economic Data Reported
For each active seller in the tax year, the platform reports:
- Total remuneration received by the seller (net of platform commissions), broken down by quarter.
- Number of reportable activities carried out (number of rentals, services provided or sales).
- For property rental: the property identifier (address, cadastral reference) and number of rental days per property.
- Commissions, fees and other amounts withheld by the platform from the seller’s earnings.
De Minimis Thresholds: Non-Reportable Sellers
DAC7 provides that sellers of goods (not services or rentals) need not be reported if they simultaneously meet both conditions:
- Fewer than 30 sales transactions in the tax year, AND
- Total earnings below €2,000 in the tax year.
This threshold does not apply to property rental or personal services: any amount of rental or service income must be reported, with no minimum threshold.
Reporting Deadline and Mechanism in Spain: Modelo 040
Spain implements the DAC7 report through Modelo 040, approved by Order HAC/1271/2023 of 25 October. The form must be submitted electronically through the AEAT’s online portal between 1 and 31 January of the year following the reference tax year:
- Modelo 040 for 2023 data had to be submitted between 1 and 31 January 2024.
- Modelo 040 for 2024 data was due between 1 and 31 January 2025.
The deadline is non-extendable. Late submission (outside the window) carries penalties under Article 198 of the General Tax Law: €200 per declaration submitted late without prior request, and up to €20 per data item (minimum €300, maximum €20,000) if the late submission follows an AEAT notice.
Automatic Exchange with Other Member States
Following receipt of Modelo 040, the AEAT automatically transmits the data to the tax authorities of the Member States where sellers are resident, within two months of the close of the submission window (by 31 March). This transmission follows the OECD standard XMLschema protocol and the Common Transmission System (CTS) operated by the European Commission.
Consequences for Platform Users: What Changes for Individuals
The most immediate impact of DAC7 falls on individual sellers and service providers who previously did not declare (or under-declared) their platform income. The AEAT will cross-reference data received via Modelo 040 against personal income tax returns (IRPF):
- Airbnb rental income not declared in the IRPF will generate supplementary assessment notices. The declarable income is gross earnings less deductible expenses proportionally attributable to actual rental days (under Article 23 of the Personal Income Tax Law, LIRPF).
- Regular sales on Vinted or Wallapop that exceed the economic activity threshold (when constituting a regular and organised buying and selling activity) must be declared as business income, not as a capital gain, with corresponding VAT obligations if applicable thresholds are exceeded.
- Income from personal services on freelance platforms always constitutes business income subject to IRPF.
At BMC, our specialist tax team can advise on DAC7 compliance for platform operators and on the tax treatment of platform income for individuals. Learn about our tax compliance services.
