A letter from Hacienda and what each type of notice means

Terms used

• Código Seguro de Verificación (CSV) — The Código Seguro de Verificación is a secure code printed on genuine tax agency documents, used to check the original online.
• Requerimiento de información o documentación — The requerimiento is a formal request from the tax agency for data or documents.
• Propuesta de liquidación — The propuesta de liquidación is the agency's draft result, which you can still contest.
• Liquidación provisional — The liquidación provisional is the formal assessment that ends a check and creates a debt or refund.
• Providencia de apremio — The providencia de apremio is the order that starts forced collection of an unpaid tax debt.
• Diligencia de embargo — The diligencia de embargo is the seizure of bank accounts, wages or other assets for an unpaid debt.
• Cl@ve — Cl@ve is the government digital identity system used to open electronic notices.

Key rules

• Deadline start: Count every deadline from the day after you were notified, and use the one printed on your notice.
• Most urgent: A payment order or a seizure notice needs action the same day you read it.
• Genuine notice: Check the CSV on the agency's online office, which you type in yourself, never through a link in a message.
• Phishing: The tax agency never asks for passwords, card numbers or payment through a link in an SMS, WhatsApp or email.

Start with the heading and the date

The heading of the notice tells you what it is and how urgent it is. Find the name, then the date you were notified. Deadlines count from the day after notification. The notice states its own deadline and your appeal rights, so trust those over any general figure here.

The types, from least to most urgent

Asking for something (low to medium urgency)

• Requerimiento de información o documentación: the agency wants data or documents for a check. In a routine check you usually get 10 working days to reply. Inspections often give at least 15 days.
• Requerimiento de subsanación: you must fix a defect in something you filed. The period is usually 10 working days.
• Comunicación de inicio: tells you a procedure has started (a check or an inspection). It is a warning, not a charge.

A chance to argue (act now)

• Trámite de audiencia: you may review the file and make arguments before any decision.
• Propuesta de liquidación: the draft result. You can still contest it. In a routine check you usually have 10 working days to make arguments. In an inspection it is 15 days.

A decision (money is due)

• Liquidación provisional: the formal assessment that ends a check. It creates a debt or a refund.
• Acta de inspección and acuerdo de liquidación: the inspection's proposed and final assessments.
• Resolución sancionadora or the notice opening a penalty procedure: a fine is being decided or imposed.

You have one month from the day after notification to appeal an assessment, by recurso de reposición or by a reclamación económico-administrativa. Payment comes sooner. If the notice arrived between the 1st and 15th of the month, you have until the 20th of that month. If it arrived between the 16th and the last day, you have until the 5th of the second following month.

Enforced collection (most urgent)

• Providencia de apremio: the debt was not paid on time and collection is now forced. Pay by the 20th if it was notified between the 1st and 15th. Pay by the 5th of the second following month if it was notified later. Otherwise the agency seizes assets. If you pay late, the surcharge is 5% before the payment order is notified, 10% within the period it gives, and 20% after that. You can object within one month, but only on limited grounds.
• Diligencia de embargo: the seizure itself, of bank accounts, wages or other assets. Check its payment date the same day.

The decision block below helps you choose between correcting, paying, pleading and appealing. The timeline below shows the deadlines in order.

Is it genuine?

Every genuine document from the tax agency carries a Código Seguro de Verificación (CSV). Type the agency's online address into your browser yourself. Enter the CSV in the document-verification option to see the original.

Electronic notices appear only in Mi Buzón / Notificaciones or in DEHú. You open them with Cl@ve or a digital certificate. A real alert by email or SMS only says a notice is waiting. It never contains the notice.

The agency does not ask for passwords or card numbers. It does not ask you to pay through a link in an SMS, WhatsApp or email. Ignore those messages, and never click the link. If you are unsure, go to the online office by typing the address, or call the agency's information line.

What to do next

Keep the notice exactly as you received it. Do not ignore it: an unopened electronic notice can still count as notified. The checklist below walks you through the first steps.

Correct, pay, plead or appeal: which route fits your case?

Should you correct, pay, plead or appeal?

• Correct your return yourself: Hacienda has not sent you any formal request about that tax and period, and you owe extra tax. File a corrected or late return before it starts a check. You then pay only a surcharge, with no penalty. Read the article on penalties, surcharges and interest on late or wrong filings.

• Answer the notice: Hacienda has already sent a formal request or opened proceedings on that tax and period. Filing a correction now can still bring a penalty, so reply within the deadline. Read the article on responding to a Hacienda requirement and meeting the deadline.

• Pay and accept the assessment: You agree you owe the amount after a check has started. Paying on time can cut the penalty. If you cannot pay in one go, you can ask for a delay or instalments when money is only temporarily short. Read the article on what to do if you cannot pay a tax bill.

• Appeal the decision: A final decision is wrong and you disagree with it. You have one month from the day after notification to start. Read the article on how to appeal a Hacienda decision.

No formal request yet: correct. Request received: answer it. Agree with a final amount: pay. Disagree with a final decision: appeal.

Timeline and deadlines

• Reply to a request for information or documents in a routine check: 10 working days from the day after notification; in an inspection the period is usually at least 15 days

• Pay a formal assessment (liquidación) notified between the 1st and 15th of the month: until the 20th of that month, or the next working day

• Pay after a payment order (providencia de apremio) to avoid seizure: by the 20th if notified between the 1st and 15th, or by the 5th of the second following month if notified later; after that, accounts, wages or assets can be seized

Documents you need

• The notice itself, as a paper letter or the electronic notice, kept exactly as you received it. Its heading names the type of notice and the stage of the procedure.

• The Código Seguro de Verificación (CSV), the secure verification code printed on every genuine tax agency document. You enter it on the tax agency's online office to see the original.

• Cl@ve or a digital certificate, to open electronic notices in the Mi Buzón / Notificaciones service of the tax agency's online office or in DEHú, the state electronic notice mailbox.

Checklist

• Read the heading of the notice and match its name to a type, such as a request for documents, a draft assessment, a formal assessment or a payment order (providencia de apremio).

• Write down the date you were notified and the deadline the notice gives, then count from the day after notification.

• Find the stage and the appeal rights stated on the notice, and note whether it is a draft you can still argue against or a final decision.

• Treat a payment order or a seizure notice (diligencia de embargo) as urgent and check its payment date straight away.

• Find the Código Seguro de Verificación (CSV) on the document and enter it in the document-verification option of the tax agency's online office to see the original.

• Type the address of the tax agency's online office into your browser yourself, rather than following a link in a message.

• Open electronic notices only through Mi Buzón / Notificaciones or DEHú, using Cl@ve or a certificate.

• Ignore any SMS, WhatsApp or email asking for passwords, card numbers or a payment through a link. A real alert only says a notice is waiting and never contains the notice.

• Call the tax agency's information line if you still doubt that the letter is genuine.

Quick answers on tax letters and audits

How can I check a Hacienda letter is genuine?

Check the Código Seguro de Verificación (CSV) printed on the letter in the document-verification option of the Agencia Tributaria's online office. Type the address yourself rather than using a link. Hacienda never asks for passwords, card numbers or payments through links in SMS, WhatsApp or email.

What happens if I never open an electronic notice?

The notice counts as delivered if you do not open it within 10 natural days, and the deadlines start the day after those days end. The alert email or SMS only says a notice is waiting. Check your Hacienda electronic mailbox, because you must use it if you are a company or have been included in the compulsory system.

Do I need a lawyer to answer a Hacienda notice?

No, you do not need a lawyer to answer a notice yourself at the administrative stage. You can also appoint a representative. A tax adviser is worth it for inspections, penalties, large amounts, foreign income or a short deadline. If a case reaches court, a lawyer and procurador are often required.