Filing your Spanish tax return (Renta)

It is for anyone thinking about moving to Spain, planning the move or already living there. By the end you will know whether you must file, when, what to gather, and how to complete and correct your first return.

Start with "Who has to file the Spanish income tax return (Renta)". It tells you whether you are obliged to file and when filing helps even if you are not. Then follow the order of the topic: the season dates and payment, your first return, foreign salary and foreign tax paid, checking your draft, choosing a gestor or filing yourself, and fixing a return you filed late or wrongly.

Logging in to the tax portal, foreign asset reporting, how each type of income is taxed and self-employed quarterly taxes are covered elsewhere.

Key rules

• Filing limit: You must file if your employment income is over 22,000 euros a year from a single payer, or over 15,876 euros if a second and later payers paid more than 1,500 euros in total.
• Campaign end: The Renta campaign runs from early April to 30 June, and filing with direct debit usually closes a few days earlier, around 25 June.
• Two instalments: You can pay a balance in two parts: 60% when you file, by 30 June, and 40% by 5 November, if you choose this when filing on time.
• Correction window: You have four years after the end of the filing period to correct a return or reclaim an overpayment.
• Residence: More than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year makes you tax resident.

Filing your Spanish tax return (Renta): the whole process, step by step

• Work out whether you count as a Spanish tax resident and whether you must file: Before the campaign starts, once the calendar year has ended

• If you arrived mid-year, remember your first return covers the whole calendar year, including income from before you arrived: Before you start your first return

• Decide whether to file yourself or use a gestor or tax adviser: Before the campaign opens in early April

• Open Renta WEB and check the draft with its pre-filled tax data, adding foreign income and tax paid abroad: From early April, when online filing opens

• Submit online and save the receipt with its verification code: From early April to 30 June

• File by phone with an appointment if you prefer: From early May to the end of June

• File in person at a tax office with an appointment: From early June to 30 June

• If you pay by direct debit, file earlier than the general deadline: Usually around 25 June

• Pay any balance, in two parts if you chose that when filing on time: 60% by 30 June and 40% by 5 November: By 30 June, and by 5 November for the second part

• Wait for any refund: The tax agency has six months from the end of the filing period to pay, or from your filing date if you filed later, and owes interest after that

• If you spot a mistake that cost you money, ask for a rectification; if you underpaid or left out income, file a complementary return after the deadline: Within four years after the end of the filing period

• If you never filed, file voluntarily before the tax agency contacts you to pay a lower surcharge: As soon as you notice, before any notice arrives

• If you receive a notice, read which procedure it opens and reply through the online office, in person with an appointment, or by registered post: Usually within 10 working days, sometimes 15

Documents you may need

Identity and residence

• Your DNI or NIE — Checking your Renta draft (borrador) before you submit

Income and work

• Proof of the foreign tax you paid on each foreign income — Filing your first Spanish tax return as a new resident
• Your own records of foreign income — Checking your Renta draft (borrador) before you submit
• References from the adviser's other clients — Choosing a gestor or tax adviser (asesor fiscal) or filing yourself

Payments and receipts

• The Modelo 100 payment slip — The Renta season dates, payment and refunds

Guarantees

• Proof of the adviser's professional liability insurance — Choosing a gestor or tax adviser (asesor fiscal) or filing yourself

Other documents

• Proof for any figure you change — Checking your Renta draft (borrador) before you submit
• Authorisation for your adviser to file — Choosing a gestor or tax adviser (asesor fiscal) or filing yourself
• A written engagement letter from the adviser — Choosing a gestor or tax adviser (asesor fiscal) or filing yourself
• A written fee quote from the adviser — Choosing a gestor or tax adviser (asesor fiscal) or filing yourself
• Statements for foreign bank accounts and assets — Checking your Renta draft (borrador) before you submit

Filing your Spanish tax return (Renta): questions that cross several articles

Does arriving in Spain mid-year mean I only file for part of the year?

No, if you become a Spanish tax resident you are taxed as a resident for the whole calendar year, so your first return covers income from 1 January, including income earned before you arrived. A tax treaty can change this if you were also resident elsewhere. Read "Filing your first Spanish tax return as a new resident" next.

Does my foreign income count towards the limits that oblige me to file?

Yes, income from abroad counts towards the filing limits once converted into euros, because Spanish residents are taxed on worldwide income. For example, employment income over 22,000 euros from a single payer obliges you to file. Read "Who has to file the Spanish income tax return (Renta)" and "Putting foreign salary and foreign tax paid on your Spanish return".

Will I pay tax twice on income already taxed abroad?

Usually not, because you can deduct foreign tax actually paid on that income, up to the Spanish tax that corresponds to it. Keep proof of the foreign tax, as the tax agency may ask for it. Read "Putting foreign salary and foreign tax paid on your Spanish return" and "Checking your Renta draft (borrador) before you submit".

What happens if I miss the 30 June deadline?

You can still file voluntarily before the tax agency contacts you, but you pay a surcharge that grows with each month of delay, plus interest after 12 months. If the agency contacts you first, a penalty can follow. Read "The Renta season dates, payment and refunds" and "Fixing a Renta you filed late or wrongly (complementaria)".