Tax in Spain

Who is the tax authority in Spain?

The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) — also called Agencia Tributaria — is the principal national tax authority, established under Article 103 of Law 31/1990 and operational since 1992. AEAT administers IRPF (personal income tax), IS (corporate tax), IVA (VAT), excise duties, customs, the wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio), and the Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes.

Spain's tax administration is partially decentralised. The seventeen Comunidades Autónomas hold legislative competence over their share of the IRPF base plus full competence over Inheritance and Gift Tax (ISD) and, in most cases, the wealth tax. The País Vasco (Basque Country) and Navarra operate fully separate Foral systems administered by the Diputaciones Forales and the Hacienda Foral de Navarra.

Credentialed Spanish tax professionals are Asesores Fiscales registered with the Asociación Española de Asesores Fiscales (AEDAF) and Economistas registered with the Consejo General de Economistas. The taxpayer-facing portal is sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es.

What is the Spanish tax year and when are returns due?

Spain's tax year for individuals is the calendar year (1 January – 31 December). The annual IRPF return — Modelo 100 — is filed during the Renta campaign, which opens in early April and closes on 30 June following the tax year.

Filers receive a pre-populated draft (borrador) generated by AEAT from third-party data; most filers confirm or amend the borrador online through the Renta WEB tool. Tax owed may be paid in full at filing or split into two instalments — 60 percent at filing and 40 percent in early November.

Companies file IS Modelo 200 by 25 July for a calendar-year company (within the six-month-and-25-day window after fiscal year-end). IVA returns (Modelo 303) are filed quarterly for most businesses and monthly for large filers.

How is Spanish tax residency determined?

Under Article 9 of Law 35/2006 (the Ley del IRPF), an individual is a Spanish tax resident if any of three tests is met. The primary test is physical presence in Spain for more than 183 days in the calendar year — sporadic absences count as Spanish-resident days unless the filer proves tax residency elsewhere. The second test is having the principal centre of economic interests in Spain. The third is a rebuttable presumption triggered when a spouse-not-legally-separated and dependent minor children are habitually resident in Spain.

Residents are taxed on worldwide income; non-residents pay tax only on Spanish-source income under the Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes (IRNR). Treaty tie-breakers apply where two states both claim residency.

Spain offers the régimen de impatriados — commonly called the Beckham Law under Article 93 of the Ley del IRPF — which lets qualifying inbound workers, self-employed entrepreneurs, and remote workers elect flat-rate taxation at 24 percent on Spanish-source income up to EUR 600,000 (47 percent above) for up to six tax years. The 2023 reform widened eligibility to entrepreneurs and digital nomads. Residents must also file Modelo 720 to declare foreign assets above EUR 50,000 per category; the CJEU ruling in C-788/19 (2022) restructured the previously disproportionate penalty regime.

What are the Spanish personal income tax rates?

Spanish IRPF is split into a state portion and an autonomous-community (CC.AA.) portion, each applying its own progressive bracket structure to the same taxable base. The base general (employment, business, rental income) and the base del ahorro (savings base — interest, dividends, capital gains) are taxed under separate schedules.

State general-base rates for 2025 are: 9.5% up to EUR 12,450 / 12% up to EUR 20,200 / 15% up to EUR 35,200 / 18.5% up to EUR 60,000 / 22.5% up to EUR 300,000 / 24.5% above. Each comunidad autónoma adds its own equivalent structure, so combined state-plus-CC.AA. top rates range from approximately 45% in Madrid to over 54% in Catalonia and Valencia. Foral systems in Basque Country and Navarre run fully separate and typically lower brackets.

The savings base is taxed at combined state-plus-CC.AA. rates of 19% up to EUR 6,000 / 21% up to EUR 50,000 / 23% up to EUR 200,000 / 27% up to EUR 300,000 / 28% above. The personal minimum (mínimo personal y familiar) is approximately EUR 5,550, with additional allowances for age, dependants, and disability.

How does Spanish corporate tax work?

Spain's corporate income tax — IS (Impuesto sobre Sociedades) — has a standard rate of 25 percent on taxable profits, in force since 2016. From 2025, micro-companies with turnover under EUR 1 million pay 23 percent on the first EUR 50,000 of taxable income and 25 percent above; small companies (turnover under EUR 10 million) face a multi-year reduction trajectory toward 20 percent by 2029.

Spain implemented the OECD Pillar Two global minimum tax through Law 7/2024, with the Income Inclusion Rule and Domestic Top-up Tax applying for fiscal years beginning on or after 31 December 2023 for groups with consolidated revenue above EUR 750 million. Banks and financial entities face a 30 percent rate on IS. The participation-exemption regime under Article 21 of the Ley IS and the CFC rules under Article 100 both apply.

How does IVA and indirect tax work?

IVA (Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido) is Spain's VAT, operating within the EU VAT Directive framework. The standard rate is 21 percent. There is no minimum-turnover registration threshold — IVA registration is generally required from the start of taxable activity.

Cross-border digital and remote services to Spanish consumers fall under the EU OSS/IOSS framework. Electronic B2B invoicing has been mandated under the post-Crea y Crece Law framework, with phased rollout from 2025. The Recargo de Equivalencia is a simplified VAT regime for small retail traders.

How is crypto taxed in Spain?

AEAT treats cryptoassets as financial assets. Capital gains on disposal — sale for fiat, exchange between different cryptoassets, or use to purchase goods or services — fall into the base del ahorro and are taxed at the savings-base schedule (19–28%). Disposals between different cryptoassets are taxable events, computed on the fair market value of the asset received against the cost basis of the asset disposed of.

Mining and staking rewards are taxable as economic-activity income or capital-yield income depending on characterisation, at fair market value on receipt. Employment compensation in crypto is taxable as employment income at fair market value on receipt. The Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio and the Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes both apply to crypto holdings above the relevant wealth thresholds.

What is Spain's tax treaty network?

Spain maintains approximately 95 comprehensive Double Taxation Conventions in force, one of the largest treaty networks in the EU. Most treaties follow the OECD Model with Spain-specific reservations — Spain generally applies the exemption-with-progression method for income from treaty partners and the credit method for non-treaty cases.

Spain signed and ratified the OECD Multilateral Instrument; MLI modifications including the Principal Purpose Test apply to many covered DTCs from 2022 onward. EU intra-group flows benefit from the Parent-Subsidiary Directive and the Interest-Royalties Directive. Foreign tax credit relief is claimed under Articles 80 and 91 of the Ley del IRPF for individuals and Article 31 of the Ley IS for corporations.

Where does Spain sit in the EU civil-law cohort?

Spain anchors the EU civil-law major-economy cohort alongside Germany, France, and Italy — each a large eurozone state with progressive personal income tax, a standard corporate rate near 25–30 percent, and full EU VAT Directive integration.

What are the common pitfalls for foreigners in Spain?

Recurring problems affect incoming workers, investors, and remote workers who do not obtain credentialed asesor fiscal guidance before or shortly after arrival.

When should you talk to a Spanish asesor fiscal?

Some situations are routine enough to handle through the AEAT Renta WEB portal using the pre-populated borrador. Others carry enough complexity, regional variation, or cross-border exposure that professional input is worth the cost.

• You are relocating to Spain and want to evaluate whether the Beckham Law regime applies to your situation
• Your income crosses the 47-percent combined band or you earn in both the general base and savings base
• You hold foreign assets above EUR 50,000 in any category (Modelo 720) or crypto on non-Spanish platforms (Modelo 721)
• You operate a business or company structure in Spain and need to navigate the IS rate trajectory or Pillar Two rules
• You are deciding which comunidad autónoma to establish habitual residence in given the wealth-tax and IRPF rate differences
• You received an AEAT notification of assessment, inspection, or back-tax query
• You have cross-border income from a treaty partner and need to determine the correct relief mechanism
• You are in the Basque Country or Navarre and need a Foral specialist rather than a mainland practitioner

Verified Spain practitioners are listed in the directory below.

This page contains general information. It is not personal guidance for your specific situation. Tax rules change and vary across autonomous communities. Always check current figures on the AEAT website or with a licensed asesor fiscal before filing.