There are 2 things certain in life: Death and Taxes. Spain is no different. Both Spanish Nationals and Expats residing in Spain are subject to income (and potentially other taxes too). But the first question you should ask yourself is: Am I a resident for tax purposes in Spain? The answer is “Yes” if you’ve spent at least 183 days in a calendar year in Spanish territory, or if you have “economic interests” in Spain. That can be defined as a owning or performing a business activity for example.
If you are a Tax Resident in Spain, you will have to declare and be liable for taxes under any of the below circumstances:
Income taxes in Spain follow the same progressive structure that is adopted in many countries around the world. The way it works is the more you earn, the higher the tax bracket you’ll fall under. This applies to both Spanish Nationals and Expats, however, there is a scheme for Expats to pay a reduced tax rate, known as the Beckham’s Law.
As of 2024, the Income Tax brackets are as follows:
A common misconception is that all of your salary will be subject to the Tax bracket you fall under. I.e. If I earn €50,000, I will pay 37% in Tax. This is incorrect, as you would pay 19% in your first €12,450, 24% from €12,451 to 20,200, and so on. To better estimate your Income Tax burden, check out our Tax calculator.
In Spain, there is a special regime under which Expats are eligible for a “discounted” Income tax rate of flat 24%. There are some caveats to this, and it really only makes sense applying if as an Expat you earn more than €40,000 per year. Try our Beckham’s Law Calculator to see how much Tax you could save by applying to this scheme.
Once you become a resident in Spain, you will first need to get your NIE (or TIE if you’re from outside the EU). If your employer doesn’t register you for tax, you’ll need to submit Model 030 to register to pay taxes to the Agencia Tributaria in Spain. If you need help with the submission of this document, talk to a member of the Matutto Team - we can help 😊
Everyone living in Spain needs to fill in a Tax Declaration Form in their first year of being Tax residents in Spain. In the following years, you’re only liable to submit your declaration if you earn more than €8,000 in a year across all sources of income combined, or more than €1,600 from investments or capital gains.
The Spanish Tax Year runs between January 1st and December 31st every year, and residents must submit their Tax returns between April 11 and June 30 of the year following the latest tax year. So for example for 2023, you must submit your tax returns by 30th of June 2024.
To make a Spanish Income Tax Declaration, you will need to fill and submit the Modelo 100 Form. If you already have your Cl@ve credentials, you will be able to access your account in the Agencia Tributaria and do the submission online.
Your actual Tax liability will depend on a number of factors such as your start date of employment in Spain, your income bracket, your capital gains situation (i.e. if you own assets over a certain amount), and others. Therefore the below calculator should serve as an estimation only.
Depending on where you’re from, if you become a Tax resident in Spain you may be subject to Double Taxation (in your home country and in Spain). Luckily, Spain has signed treaties with most countries to prevent this form happening. You can find an up to date list of countries in the official Agencia Tributaria Website here.
Spain’s imposed wealth tax means you may be liable to pay up to 3.5% tax of your assets if they’re valued at more than €10 Million. This depends on the asset class, region in Spain where you reside and additional circumstances, so if this is your case, we recommend you to seek advisory services from a specialized law firm.
If you earn income from capital gains (i.e. profits from the sale of property of other types of investments such as shares), you will also be liable to pay taxes. Similarly to income tax, there is a bracket system under which the higher the profit you make from capital gains, the higher your liability. Here is the most up to date table:
First €6,000: 19%
€6,000–€50,000: 21%
€50,000–€200,000: 23%
More than €200,000: 26%