- Moving
- Housing
- Working
- Money
- Family
- Healthcare
- Transport
- Lifestyle

Understand Spanish property taxes, VAT, capital gains tax, car tax, wealth tax and inheritance tax. Find out who has to pay and how to pay...
The tax year as it
affects income tax and other taxes runs from 1 January to 31 December in Spain.
The Spanish
government has extensive information on taxes on its Agencia Tributaria website. While
most of the site is in Spanish, some information relating to non-residents is
in English.
As Spain is divided
into 17 autonomous communities, taxes, liability and amounts may vary from one
Community to another. The following information is designed to give a rough
overview of taxes in Spain.
Residents of Spain
are obliged to declare any overseas assets, including bank accounts and
property. These must be declared using Form (Modelo)
720.
- To complete Modelo 720
Value-added Tax (VAT)
Value-added tax (Impuesto sobre el Valor
Añadido - IVA) has three levels in Spain.
From 1 July 2019
the levels are:
- IVA general: Charged on
non-essential products and services at 21 percent
- IVA reducido: Charged on
products and services such as tickets, glasses, hairdressers, funeral
services and dentists at 10
- IVA
superreducido: Charged on essential items such as bread, milk,
cheese, eggs, fruit, vegetables and cereals at 4 percent
IVA is not payable
in the Canary Islands. However, a reduced local tax called the Canaries General
Indirect Tax (Impuesto
General Indirecto de Carnarias, IGIC) may be applicable for
services and purchases.
As only
residents are obliged to pay IVA on goods, IVA rebates for purchases for
personal use valued at over €90.16 are available for those visiting Spain.
Currently, this can be arranged by asking till or checkout assistants for
the rebate form upon making a purchase, and presenting the form to customs
officials at Spanish airports
For information
on how to claim an IVA rebate (PDF in
English)
Gift Tax
This tax is levied
on the increase in wealth associated with a gift from a living donor, taking into
account variables such as the Community, the amount and the existing wealth of
the beneficiary.
The beneficiary is
liable for the tax payment within 30 days of the transfer date.
Spain has one of
the highest ratios of bank branches per capita in Europe; however, not all of
these will offer an English-language service.
Asset Reporting Requirements
Information for British residents of Spain can be found on the UK Embassy website.