Spain's exit tax and who it actually applies to

Key rules

• Thresholds: The exit tax applies if your shares are worth more than €4,000,000 in total, or more than €1,000,000 when you hold at least 25% of one company.
• What is covered: Only unrealised gains on shares and fund units are taxed, not property.
• Deferral: Deferral is mainly for moves to an EU/EEA country that exchanges tax information, and never for a tax haven.
• Outside the EU/EEA: The tax is normally due with your departure-year return unless you move for work to a qualifying country.

Does the exit tax apply to you?

The exit tax applies only if you own shares or fund units and you stop being a Spanish tax resident. Most people leaving Spain never pay it. It taxes gains you have not yet cashed in: the shares are treated as sold at market value on the day you leave.

It applies in one of two cases:

• Your shares are worth more than €4,000,000 in total. You must also have been Spanish tax resident in at least 10 of the 15 tax years before the year you leave. The year you leave does not count.
• You hold at least 25% of one company and that holding is worth more than €1,000,000. The 10-year requirement does not apply here.

What is taxed

Only the unrealised gain on shares or fund units is taxed. It is treated as savings income and taxed at the savings rates. Your flat, other property and other assets are not covered.

Can you defer it?

It depends on where you are going.

• EU/EEA country that exchanges tax information with Spain, and is not a tax haven: you can ask to defer the tax until you sell the shares.
• Outside the EU/EEA: there is normally no deferral. You pay with the return for the year you leave.
• Outside the EU/EEA for work reasons: deferral is possible if the country is not a tax haven and exchanges tax information.
• Tax haven: no deferral, whatever the reason.

The decision below helps you pick your route.

How to file and pay

You declare the gain in your Spanish income tax return, Modelo 100, for the year you lose residence. You file it electronically with the Agencia Tributaria. If you have already become non-resident, you can file a complementary return within the ordinary deadline, from April to June of the following year. You pay the tax, or request deferral, with that same return.

If you ask for deferral, you must tell the Agencia Tributaria your destination and every later change of address. You must also file an annual statement showing you still own the shares. The Agencia Tributaria can require guarantees, so ask which ones before the deferral is granted.

If you sell later

Selling the shares ends the deferral and the tax falls due. You pay within the deadline for the return for the year of the sale. Late-payment interest runs from the end of the original voluntary deadline. Transferring ownership, or ceasing to be resident in the EU/EEA, also triggers payment.

If you come back to Spain

If you regain Spanish tax residence within 10 years and still hold the shares, you can ask to have the tax you paid refunded with interest, or the deferral cancelled. This needs a request to the Agencia Tributaria, and conditions apply, so ask them before you rely on it.

The timeline, checklist and questions below cover the steps in more detail.

Choosing between options

Can you defer the exit tax, or do you pay it with your departure-year return?

• Defer until you sell: You are moving to an EU/EEA country that exchanges tax information and is not a tax haven. You request deferral with the departure-year return.

• Pay with the departure-year return: You are moving outside the EU/EEA for any other reason. No deferral is available.

• Pay with the departure-year return, no deferral: You are moving to a tax haven. No deferral is available whatever the reason.

First check you were Spanish tax resident in at least 10 of the 15 tax years before the year you leave, unless the single-company stake test applies. Then your destination decides: EU/EEA allows deferral, outside the EU/EEA only a work move to a non-haven country does, and a tax haven never does.

Timeline and deadlines

• Declare the gain in your Spanish income tax return (Modelo 100), filed electronically, for the year you lose residence: April to June of the year after you leave

• Pay the tax, or request deferral if you qualify, with that same return: when you file the return, within the same April to June window

• Pay the deferred tax if you sell the shares: within the deadline for the return of the year you sell

• Ask the tax agency to reclaim the tax or cancel the deferral if you return and still hold the shares: if you become Spanish tax resident again within 10 years

Checklist

• Ask the tax agency which guarantees it will require before the deferral is granted.

• Tell the tax agency your destination, and tell it again whenever your address changes.

• File the annual statement showing you still own the shares for as long as the tax is deferred.

• Keep the shares and ask the tax agency to reclaim the tax or cancel the deferral if you return to Spain within 10 years.

Frequently asked questions

What happens to my deferred exit tax if I sell the shares later?

If you sell the shares while the tax is deferred, the deferral ends and the tax becomes due. You pay it within the deadline for the tax return of the year you sell. Late-payment interest runs from the end of the original voluntary deadline. Handing over ownership, or ceasing to be resident in an EU country, also triggers payment.

Can I get the exit tax back if I return to Spain?

Yes, if you become Spanish tax resident again within 10 years and still hold the shares, you can reclaim the tax you paid with interest, or the deferral is cancelled. You must make a request to the tax agency, and the conditions on the original assets must be met.

Does the exit tax cover my flat or other property in Spain?

No, the exit tax covers only shares in companies and units in funds. It does not cover real estate or other assets. The gain it taxes is the unrealised gain, taxed at the savings rates.