Tax planning
International personal tax in Spain
Once you are tax resident in Spain, you are taxed here on your worldwide income. The treaty with each country decides who taxes what, and a deduction stops you paying twice. Your accounts and assets abroad may also have to be reported.
Everything you earn, wherever you earn it
Property
A home abroad that you rent out
The rent is usually taxed there and in Spain. The treaty and the Spanish deduction decide how much you finally pay in each place.
Pension or salary
Paid from another country
Depending on the treaty, some pensions are taxed only where you live and others where they are paid. It changes by country and by type of pension.
Investments
A bank or broker abroad
Interest, dividends and gains go on your Spanish return. The accounts and securities may also need to be reported on an information return.
Crypto
Coins on a foreign platform
Gains go on your income tax return. Balances held by a foreign custodian have their own information return.
How Spain stops you paying twice
The deduction is the lower of two amounts: the tax you actually paid abroad, or the Spanish tax on that same income at your average effective rate.
If you claim this deduction, you must file a Spanish income tax return whatever your income.
Example: 10,000 € of rent from a flat abroad. Assume your Spanish average effective rate is 30 %, so Spanish tax on that rent would be 3,000 €.
The other country taxes less
Total: 3,000 €
You deduct the 2,000 € paid abroad and pay the remaining 1,000 € in Spain.
The other country taxes more
Total: 4,000 €
The deduction stops at 3,000 €, the Spanish tax. You pay nothing more in Spain, but Spain does not refund the extra 1,000 €.
- Paid abroad
- Paid in Spain
- Spanish tax on that income: 3,000 €
Hypothetical and simplified. The real calculation uses the taxable base taxed abroad and your own average effective rate.
What you report is not what you pay
Form 720
- Bank accounts
- Securities, insurance and annuities
- Real estate
Three independent categories. The Tax Agency guidance applies a 50,000 € limit to decide whether you must report.
Form 721
Virtual currencies held abroad through an entity that keeps your private keys. They do not go on form 720.
Wallets where you control the keys are not included.
How we work on your case
What you get
- A written map of your income and assets by country, with how each one is taxed and where.
- A list of the Spanish returns and information returns that may apply to you, with their periods.
- Recommendations on what to do before and after the move, and the reasons for each one.
- Preparation and filing of the returns we agree on, if you engage us for it.
What you bring
- Your previous country's tax return for the last year.
- Year-end statements from foreign banks, brokers and pension providers.
- Title deeds or a list of properties you own abroad.
- Certificates of tax withheld or paid abroad.
- If relevant, statements from exchanges or custodians of virtual currencies.
Plan before your first year as a resident
Residence is assessed by calendar year, so decisions taken months before you arrive can shape your first Spanish return. Already living here? Review your foreign income before the tax campaign.
Questions about international tax
Do I pay tax twice if my income is taxed abroad?
Not necessarily. The treaty with that country, or the Spanish deduction for international double taxation where there is no treaty, is designed to avoid it. How much relief you get depends on the type of income and the tax actually paid abroad.
Does Spain have a tax treaty with my country?
Spain has signed treaties with many countries. The Ministry of Finance publishes the full list. If there is no treaty, Spanish domestic rules still provide a deduction.
Do I need to declare foreign bank accounts?
Foreign accounts may need to be reported on form 720, depending on their value. That is separate from declaring the interest they earn, which goes in your income tax return.
What happens with crypto held on a foreign exchange?
Gains are taxed in your income tax return. Holdings kept by a foreign custodian may also need to be reported on form 721. Wallets where you control the keys are not included in that form.
Can you advise on the tax in my previous country too?
We advise on Spanish tax and on how it interacts with the treaty. Where you need advice on the other country's domestic rules, we tell you so and coordinate with your adviser there.
Map your income abroad before your first Spanish return
Tell us which countries you earn or hold assets in. A partner will tell you what Spain taxes, what you report and what to do first.
Talk to a partner