Spanish Taxes: Residency, Rates and Filings
Declaración de la renta (IRPF) e IRNR
What happens after you get a residence permit or move to Spain: who pays tax on what income, how not to get tangled in tax residency rules, and what to declare if you already hold assets abroad. Each topic has its own page.
Residency and rates
- Spain Tax Resident or Non-Resident: Who Pays More - the three tests for Spanish tax residency, resident vs non-resident rates, a side-by-side comparison.
- How Tax Residency Is Determined - what data Hacienda actually cross-checks, how to rebut the family presumption, the treaty tie-breaker, and why US citizens keep filing with the IRS anyway.
- Regional IRPF Rates - the state versus regional scale, a 45%-to-54% spread across autonomous communities, investment income, and regional deductions.
- Beckham Law - the flat 24% rate instead of the progressive scale, eligibility, the freelancer trap, and wealth tax relief. Step-by-step Modelo 149 application guide.
- Article 7.p Exemption - up to €60,100 a year exempt for work genuinely performed abroad for a foreign entity, conditions and documentation.
Working for yourself
- Autónomo Taxes - registration on Modelo 036 and in RETA, contributions based on real income, Modelo 130 and 303, IVA by client type, VeriFactu from 2027.
Foreign assets and wealth
- Modelo 720 and Wealth Tax - what to declare and when, penalties after the EU Court ruling, wealth tax and the tax on large fortunes. Edge cases people get wrong - in Modelo 720 and 721: Getting the Filing Right.
- 2026 Bank Reporting - monthly bank filings, automatic exchange on crypto-assets (DAC8), the Modelo 721 declaration.
- Foreign Companies and Effective Management - why a company in a zero-tax jurisdiction does not shield you from Spanish tax if it is run from Spain, and the transparencia fiscal internacional (CFC-style) regime.
Non-resident property
- Non-Resident Tax (IRNR): Rental Income and Property Sales - rental tax rates, imputed income on a property kept for personal use, Modelo 210 deadlines, the 3% withholding and capital gains tax on a sale.
Hacienda risk and compliance
- Hacienda’s Electronic Notifications - what happens if a letter is never opened, and why it can block a residency renewal or a mortgage through the estar al corriente de pagos certificate.
The AEAT 2026 Tax Control Plan (Resolución of March 11, 2026, BOE-A-2026-5843) lists among its audit priorities use of the Beckham regime without meeting its requirements, simulated tax residence abroad, neobank accounts used to hide income and assets abroad, controlled companies used for personal expenses (foreign company), tourist and seasonal lettings, platform data under DAC7 (Modelo 238), and a mismatch between lifestyle and declared income.
Planning the move
- Pre-Move Tax Checklist for Spain - what to check and do before the move, in the first months, and once residency kicks in, plus a filing calendar for the first year.