When your account is seized (embargo) in Spain

Terms used

• Embargo — The embargo is an official order freezing and taking money or goods to pay a debt.
• Apremio — The apremio is the compulsory collection procedure the tax agency or social security starts when a debt is not paid on time.
• SMI — The SMI is the Spanish minimum wage, set every year by the Government.
• Ingreso Mínimo Vital — The Ingreso Mínimo Vital is a state minimum-income benefit for people with very low resources.
• Tercería de dominio — A tercería de dominio is a claim by a third party who owns the seized goods or money.

Key rules

• Private creditors: A private creditor cannot seize your account without going to court first.
• Protected income: Wages, pensions and similar income up to the minimum wage (SMI) cannot be seized, and above it only a rising share can be taken.
• Court deadline: In a court enforcement you have 10 working days from notice of the enforcement order to file opposition.
• Tax agency deadline: Against a tax agency seizure you have 1 month to file a reposición appeal or an economic-administrative claim.
• Excess seizure: If too much protected money was taken, ask the court or the tax office to lift the excess.

Who can seize your account

Only a court or a public body can freeze your account. A private creditor, such as a landlord, a shop or a lender, cannot do it alone. They must go to court first.

• Courts order a seizure in a court enforcement (ejecución). This follows a judgment, or a payment claim (monitorio) you did not oppose.
• The tax agency and the social security office can seize your account by administrative order (embargo), with no court. They first send a notice of the debt and give you a period to pay. If you do not pay, they start the apremio, which is the compulsory collection procedure.
• Town halls and regional governments can do the same for their own taxes, fines and other public debts.

What is protected

Your wages, pensions and similar income are protected up to the minimum wage (SMI). Above it, only a rising share can be taken. The scale is:

• 30% of the excess up to one more SMI
• 50% for the next band
• 60% for the third
• 75% for the fourth
• 90% for the fifth
• 100% above that

Extra pay (pagas extras) is added to the monthly pay for this calculation. If you have several incomes, they are added together. For dependants, the court may apply the scale to a lower amount. The same limits generally apply to tax agency seizures. The SMI is set every year, so look up the current figure.

Benefits

Pensions and unemployment benefit (prestación por desempleo) follow the same scale. Some payments cannot be seized at all, such as the Ingreso Mínimo Vital and certain social-assistance payments (ayudas). Benefits linked to dependants or disability are generally protected too. Some benefits can be seized for specific debts, such as maintenance payments (alimentos). There the judge can set the amount without the scale. Check each type of payment on its own.

Money already in the account

Savings in the account can be seized. When a wage or pension is paid into a frozen account, the bank must leave the protected part free. This applies to the amount credited that month. Balances that built up over time and do not look like wages are generally seizable. Banks apply this differently in practice. Be ready to show where the money came from, for example with payslips or a benefit statement. If too much was taken, ask the court or the tax office to lift the excess.

How and when to respond

Read the notice first. Find out who ordered the seizure, because the route and deadline depend on it. The deadlines are short, and the timeline below shows the steps.

Court enforcement

• You have 10 working days from notice of the enforcement order to file opposition.
• To challenge one seizure, such as an excess or an unseizable amount, apply to the court that ordered it.
• A reposición appeal against a court ruling must be filed within 5 working days.
• If the seized money or goods belong to someone else, that person can file a tercería de dominio.

Tax agency seizure

• You can oppose the apremio only on limited grounds: payment, prescription, or no notice of the debt or of the apremio order. Do this within 15 days of the notice of the order.
• You have 1 month to file a recurso de reposición. Alternatively, you have 1 month to file an economic-administrative claim (reclamación económico-administrativa) with the regional tax tribunal.

Deadlines are strict and differ by procedure. Get legal advice as soon as you receive a notice. Your town hall or bar association can tell you whether you qualify for free legal aid.

If the seizure leaves you unable to pay rent, see the question below about rent money.

Timeline and deadlines

• Read the notice and identify who ordered the seizure: as soon as you receive it

• File a recurso de reposición or an economic-administrative claim against a tax agency seizure: within 1 month of the notice

• Ask the court or tax office to lift an excess seizure of protected income: as soon as you see protected money frozen

What if my account is seized and I need rent money?

Ask for the protected part to be released, in writing

The fastest route is a written request to release the unseizable part, sent to the bank and to whoever ordered the freeze. Wages and benefits credited in the month are protected, and the bank should keep that part free. Other savings are not protected. If the bank has frozen protected money, you have to ask for it to be freed.

Do this in order

1. Call or visit your bank first. Ask exactly what is frozen and whether the protected part of your wage, pension or unemployment benefit can be released now. Banks can sometimes do this themselves.
2. Send a written request to the bank and to the body that ordered the seizure. That is the court, or the collection unit of the tax office for tax debts.
3. Attach proof of where the money came from. Use payslips, a pension or unemployment benefit certificate, and your rental contract if rent is involved.
4. File it in the right place. For a court seizure, use the court's electronic system, or file in person through a lawyer and a procurador where one is required. For a tax seizure, go to the tax office's collection unit.

Expect anything from a few days to several weeks. Banks apply the rules differently, so keep copies of everything you send.

If the money is rent you hold for someone else

If you collect rent on behalf of an owner, that money is not yours. Add proof that it is rent for a third party, such as the rental contract and the payment records. The owner can also reclaim it through a third-party claim.

If you need to pay your own rent meanwhile

Tell your landlord now that your account is frozen and when you expect access to the money. A short written message with a date is better than silence. The frozen amount is usually only the debt plus a margin for interest and costs, so check whether you have another account or cash that the seizure does not cover.

Do not wait on the deadlines

Paying the debt releases the money. If you think the debt or the seizure is wrong, deadlines are strict and differ by procedure. In a court enforcement you have 10 working days from notice of the enforcement order to file opposition. Tax seizures have their own, different deadlines. See a lawyer straight away and bring every notice you have received.

Frequently asked questions

Can a private creditor seize my bank account directly?

No, a private creditor cannot seize your account on its own and needs a court order first. Only courts, the tax agency, the Seguridad Social, town halls and regional governments can order a seizure. The last four act by administrative order for their own debts, without going to court.

Is my salary protected once it is paid into a frozen account?

Yes, the protection for wages and benefits continues once they are credited, but only up to the unseizable amount. The bank must keep that part free, and the amount credited in the month is treated this way. Savings built up over time that do not look like wages can generally be seized, so you may need to prove where the money came from.

Are unemployment benefit and the Ingreso Mínimo Vital protected from seizure?

Yes, but the protection differs by benefit. The Ingreso Mínimo Vital is fully unseizable, while pensions and unemployment benefit (prestación por desempleo) are protected up to the minimum wage, with a rising share seizable above it. Maintenance payments (alimentos) are an exception, where the judge can set the amount without that scale.

How long do I have to challenge a tax agency seizure?

You have 1 month to file a recurso de reposición, or 1 month to file an economic-administrative claim with the regional tax tribunal. Opposing the apremio itself, on grounds such as payment or lack of notice, must be raised within 15 days of the notice of the order. Ask for legal advice at once, because these deadlines are strict.