Revised on 19 October 2026. If you find an error, write to me.
Selling work online to private individuals differs from concluding a sale in the studio. Where the seller acts as a business or professional and the buyer is a consumer, distance selling regulations apply: pre-contractual information, contract confirmation, delivery and, with exceptions, the right of withdrawal. For sales to private individuals in other European Union countries, the place of VAT taxation may also change.
This guide provides general orientation. Your tax-registration, tax and social security position depends on how your activity is carried out and is not settled by a single sale or an isolated figure. For invoicing, see How to invoice the sale of artwork in Spain: VAT and withholding.
1. When consumer rules apply
The withdrawal regime protects contracts concluded at a distance between a consumer and a trader. If an individual sells a piece from their collection to another person on a purely private basis, the analysis differs.
Anyone offering work in an organised, habitual or professional manner must review their legal status and obligations regarding electronic commerce, consumer protection, taxation and invoicing. The platform does not always assume these obligations on behalf of the seller.
2. The fourteen-day period
As a general rule, the consumer may withdraw within fourteen calendar days without providing a reason. In a sale of goods, the period starts when the consumer or a third party indicated by them acquires physical possession, subject to the specific provisions for multiple or periodic deliveries.
Withdrawal is not a default guarantee: it allows the contract to be ended within the period even if the work has been delivered correctly. It must be distinguished from lack of conformity, transport damage and breach of contract.
There is no general exception for ‘works of art’. A completed work offered in an online store may be subject to the right of withdrawal.
3. Exceptions that may affect art
Work made to specifications or clearly personalised
Article 103.c excludes goods made according to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised. This may include a commissioned portrait, a piece adapted to measurements provided by the client, or a work created with decisive personal elements.
It is not enough to call a transaction a ‘commission’. A standard work selected from a catalogue, a signature, an incidental dedication or a choice between predetermined options does not in itself demonstrate that the exception applies. Retain the specifications and the client's acceptance.
Public auction
Article 103.k excludes contracts concluded by public auction. A platform that uses bidding or an exclusively online sale should not automatically be treated as a public auction in the legal sense without checking how it is organised and whether it meets the definition.
Digital content without a physical medium
For a digital download, Article 103.m requires specific conditions to lose the right of withdrawal: commencement of performance, express consent, acknowledgement of the loss of the right, and contractual confirmation in legal terms. A pre-ticked box or a phrase hidden in the general terms and conditions does not replace these requirements.
A file delivered on a physical medium and a download do not necessarily receive the same treatment.
4. Information before purchasing
Before the consumer is bound, the store must clearly display, among other applicable information:
- Identity and contact details of the seller.
- Main characteristics of the work.
- Total price, taxes and additional charges.
- Payment, delivery and complaints procedure.
- Date or period of delivery.
- Existence, conditions, period and procedure for withdrawal.
- Model withdrawal form where applicable.
- Cost of return if the consumer is to bear it.
- Exception or loss of the right, where applicable.
- Guarantees and the legal guarantee of conformity.
- Duration and termination of the contract for continuous services.
If the consumer is not correctly informed of the right of withdrawal, Article 105 may extend the period to twelve months after the initial period expires. If the information is provided during that period, the new period runs from the moment the consumer receives it.
5. Return and refund
The consumer must communicate their decision within the period and return the goods within the following fourteen days, unless the trader offers to collect them. As a rule, the consumer bears the direct cost of return if they were informed of this.
The seller must reimburse payments received, including standard delivery costs, within fourteen days of the communication. The seller may withhold reimbursement until the goods are received or proof of return is provided, unless the seller has offered to collect them.
The consumer is liable for any loss in value caused by handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods. Document the condition and packaging, but do not impose an automatic penalty incompatible with the right of withdrawal.
For fragile works, define packaging, carrier, insurance, damage reporting and photographs of dispatch and return. These conditions cannot undermine the legal right.
6. VAT on B2C sales within the European Union
Intra-Community distance sales of goods to consumers are, as a rule, taxed in the State of destination. There is a common threshold of 10,000 euros, excluding VAT, for certain electronic services and distance sales, applicable under conditions, including that the seller is established in a single Member State.
If the requirements are met and the threshold is not exceeded in either the current or the previous year, taxation in the country of origin may be maintained. From the transaction that exceeds the threshold, the VAT of the country of destination applies. It is also possible to opt for taxation in the destination country before exceeding it, subject to the time-limited commitment set by the rules.
The threshold is one combined figure for all destination countries, not 10,000 euros per country. Sales to companies with a VAT identification number, exports outside the Union, imports, and certain sales facilitated by platforms follow other rules.
7. One-Stop Shop
The Union One-Stop Shop lets you declare in Spain the VAT due in other Member States on eligible transactions, without registering separately in each of them.
- Form 035: registration, modification, or deregistration in the scheme.
- Model 369: VAT declaration corresponding to the One-Stop Shop.
The OSS simplifies the declaration, but does not unify rates. One must apply the rate of the country of consumption and keep the required records. That a supply by the artist is taxed in Spain at a reduced rate does not show that another country applies the same rate to the same work.
8. Platforms and marketplaces
Before publishing work, save a dated copy of the conditions and review:
- Commission, subscription, advertising, and payment costs.
- Who appears as the seller to the buyer.
- Who invoices and who collects taxes.
- Who manages withdrawals, returns, and damages.
- Method of calculating discounts and final price.
- Settlement period and reserves.
- Transport, insurance, customs, and international returns.
- Exclusivity and withdrawal of work.
- Licence over photographs, texts and data.
- Handling of complaints and jurisdiction.
- Account closure and record keeping.
I have not included commission percentages because, for this review, I have not found comparable, current official terms from the main platforms. Fees vary by plan, country, channel and service. If figures are added, the guide should be updated with each platform's dated terms.
Selling the physical medium does not in itself transfer exploitation rights. See Selling a painting is not selling its rights.
9. A file for each sale
Keep:
- Work record and photographs.
- Accepted conditions and version of the sales page.
- Order, invoice, and proof of payment.
- Withdrawal information and form.
- Commission specifications, if personalisation is invoked.
- Proof of shipment, delivery, insurance, and incidents.
- Notice of return and condition on return.
- Buyer's country, VAT treatment, and OSS declaration if applicable.
- Platform settlement and commissions.
Do not store personal data for longer than necessary or in unprotected locations.
Checklist
- I have identified whether I am selling as a professional to a consumer.
- I give information before purchase about price, delivery and withdrawal.
- I do not apply an exception simply because the operation is called a commission or auction.
- I have a procedure for returns, refunds, and damages.
- I keep track of the combined 10,000-euro threshold for the current and previous year.
- I know which VAT applies in the destination and whether I will use OSS.
- I have read and saved the platform's conditions.
- I distinguish the sale of the work from the assignment of rights.
About the open conversation
Taxation and consumer obligations depend on the parties, the channel, the work, and the country of destination. This guide does not replace legal or tax advice. If you spot a regulatory change or an official platform term that should be added, you can write to me.