Registering with the tax office (Hacienda)
You will know what to register, which address Hacienda uses and in what order to do your first-year tax tasks.
Moving to Spain puts you in front of the tax office, known as Hacienda, sooner than most people expect. This Topic covers the first steps: registering in the tax census, setting the address Hacienda uses for you, keeping your details current, and following the order of your first-year tax tasks.
Pick the article that fits your situation
Registering in the tax census (censo) as a new resident
Explains what the tax census is, when you are entered in it without doing anything, and when you must file a form yourself. Written for newcomers who have, or are about to get, a Spanish tax number.
Your tax address (domicilio fiscal) and which address Hacienda uses
Explains what Spain's tax address is, how it differs from your padrón registration, and which address to use if you rent, move often or stay only briefly. For newcomers who are becoming tax residents in Spain.
Moving house or region and which community taxes you
Explains which region's income tax scale applies after you move house or region, how a move part-way through the year is treated, how the Basque Country and Navarra differ, and what to update. For residents moving within Spain.
Keeping your Hacienda details current after life changes
Explains which life changes you must tell the Spanish tax office about, where to report them, and how to change the bank account for refunds and direct debits. For anyone who has moved, married, had a child or changed bank.
Spanish tax deadlines and notices across the calendar year
A month-by-month view of the tax dates and notices a new resident in Spain meets in a year: the Renta campaign, the foreign-asset and wealth-tax returns, and the quarterly filings if you are self-employed.
About this topic
When you finish, you will know what to register, which address Hacienda uses and in what order to handle your first-year tax tasks.
Your NIE is your tax number as a foreigner; the Spanish ID numbers explain how to get it, and Cl@ve, the digital ID lets you file online.
If you qualify for the Beckham special regime for new arrivals, other rules apply to you: see becoming a Spanish tax resident.
Registering with the tax office (Hacienda): the whole process, step by step
- Get your NIE: First, before any tax step; it is your tax number and already identifies you to the tax office, so you do not register separately, as the census article explains
- Register in the padrón at your town hall: When you move into your home, because the tax steps and the bank ask for it
- Set your Spanish tax address once you live here: File modelo 030; it counts as an address change, so within three months of moving in. The self-employed and companies use modelo 036 or 037 within one month instead. The same deadlines apply to every later change, the change counts from the date you moved, and the padrón does not update Hacienda for you: your tax address
- Get Cl@ve or a digital certificate: Before your first online filing; how to register for Cl@ve
- If you are self-employed, register your activity on modelo 036 or 037: Before you start trading, matched with your Social Security registration; the autónomo route
- File your returns: The Renta, modelo 720 and, if you are self-employed, the quarterly returns, on the dates in the deadlines calendar
Documents you may need
- Your NIE, or your DNI if you are Spanish, and your passport — the census article
- Cl@ve or an electronic certificate, for filing online — Cl@ve
- The census form for your case: modelo 030 for an individual, modelo 036 or 037 for a business — moving house or region
- The receipt from your filing — moving house or region
Explore places
Where you live changes the details. See how Spanish regions and cities compare on rent, jobs, weather, safety and healthcare.
What to read next
More in Tax residency and filing
Becoming a Spanish tax resident
You will know whether and from when Spain taxes you as a resident, and how to keep the evidence to back your position.
Special regime for new arrivals (Beckham law)
You will know whether you qualify, how to opt in on time and whether it beats ordinary taxation for you.
Dual residency and tax treaties
You will know which country is your tax home under a treaty, how to claim relief and what to do if both still tax you.
Also in Money and taxes
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