If you cannot pay a tax bill, payment plans and enforcement

Terms used

• Aplazamiento — The aplazamiento is a deferral: the tax office lets you pay the whole debt later than the due date.
• Fraccionamiento — The fraccionamiento is a payment plan that splits a tax debt into instalments.
• Cl@ve — Cl@ve is the government's online ID system, used to sign and file procedures electronically.
• Aval — An aval is a bank guarantee: your bank promises to pay the debt if you do not.
• Periodo ejecutivo — The periodo ejecutivo is the enforcement period, which starts the day after the voluntary payment deadline passes.
• Providencia de apremio — The providencia de apremio is the payment order that formally starts collection and adds a surcharge.
• Diligencia de embargo — The diligencia de embargo is the seizure order against your assets.

Key rules

• Guarantee: A payment plan request for a total debt of up to €50,000 needs no guarantee.
• Surcharge: Paying late costs 5%, 10% or 20% depending on when you pay after the voluntary period.
• Timing: Apply for deferral during the voluntary period to avoid enforcement surcharges and stop enforcement while the request is decided.
• Minimum debt: Debts under €30 cannot be deferred.

Can you defer or split a tax debt?

Yes, if your cash problem is temporary. You can ask to delay the whole payment (aplazamiento) or pay in instalments (fraccionamiento). You can ask during the voluntary payment period or after enforcement has started.

Some debts cannot be deferred:

• Debts under €30.
• Taxes a company has withheld from others, such as withholdings on salaries. VAT that was collected is also excluded in certain cases.
• Cases where a criminal offence is suspected.

If you have no means to pay at all, deferral is not the route. Ask the collection office how your case is handled.

How to apply

Apply online, in the tax agency's electronic office, with a digital certificate or Cl@ve. Use the deferral request form and give the details of the debt. The documents list below shows what to prepare.

File during the voluntary payment period if you can. Then no enforcement action starts until your request is decided, and no enforcement surcharge arises.

Not every debt goes to the same office. For regional taxes, ask the regional tax agency. For local taxes, ask your town hall's collection office. Each has its own procedure.

Do you need a guarantee?

A request for a total debt of up to €50,000 needs no guarantee. Count every debt in the request, including other debts already deferred. Above that, you need a bank guarantee (aval) or a surety insurance certificate. If neither is possible, you must show that you cannot get one and that your assets are enough to cover the debt. Other guarantees, such as a mortgage or pledge, are accepted only in that case.

What deferral costs

Deferred debt carries late-payment interest. The rate is set each year, so ask the tax office for the current rate before you commit.

What happens if you do not pay

1. The voluntary period ends and the enforcement period (periodo ejecutivo) starts the next day.
2. The authority sends a payment order (providencia de apremio). From then on a surcharge applies.
3. If you pay after the voluntary period, the surcharge is 5% before the payment order is notified, 10% within the period it gives, and 20% after that. After that, interest is charged as well.
4. If the debt stays unpaid, a seizure order (diligencia de embargo) targets your assets.

The payment order gives you a deadline. Read it as soon as it arrives and pay inside it.

What can be seized

Hacienda goes for the easiest and least harmful assets first: bank accounts, money owed to you, salary and pension, then securities, property and other assets.

• Salary up to the minimum wage (SMI) cannot be seized. Above it, rising percentages apply, from 30% of the next band up to 90% at the top. So Hacienda cannot take your whole salary.
• Account balances are also protected up to the SMI.
• Your main home is not exempt in tax enforcement, but it is seized only after other assets.

The checklist and FAQ below cover the steps and common questions.

Timeline and deadlines

• The voluntary payment period ends and the enforcement period starts: the day after the voluntary deadline ends

• Pay within the period the payment order gives you; the surcharge is 10%: generally by the 20th of the month, or by the 5th of the next month, depending on when it was notified

• Pay after that period; the surcharge is 20% plus interest: after the period in the payment order ends

• Hacienda issues a seizure order (diligencia de embargo) on your assets: once the payment order period has passed without payment

Documents you need

• A digital certificate or Cl@ve (the government's online ID), issued by the authorities, to sign and file the request in the tax agency's electronic office.

• The deferral request form, filled in with the details of the debt you want to defer.

• A bank guarantee (aval) from your bank, or a surety insurance certificate from an insurer. You need one when the total debt in the request is above €50,000.

• Another guarantee, such as a mortgage or a pledge, only when a bank guarantee or surety insurance is impossible to get. Above €50,000 you must also show that your assets are enough to cover the debt.

Checklist

• Check that your debt can be deferred: your cash difficulty must be temporary, the debt must be €30 or more, and it must not be a tax you withheld as a company.

• Find out which office handles the debt: the tax agency for state taxes, or the regional tax agency or your town hall's collection office for local and regional taxes.

• File the deferral request electronically in the tax agency's electronic office, with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, during the voluntary payment period.

• Add up every debt in the request, including other deferred debts, and compare the total with €50,000.

• Arrange a bank guarantee or surety insurance certificate if the total is above €50,000, or show that none can be obtained and that your assets are enough.

• Ask for the current late-payment interest rate, because it is charged on the deferred amount.

• Pay before the payment order is notified if you miss the voluntary period, to keep the surcharge at 5%.

• Read the payment period in the payment order when it arrives and pay within it.

• Compare your salary and bank balance with the minimum wage protection if you receive a seizure order, and tell the office if it seizes protected money.

Frequently asked questions

Can a company defer taxes it has withheld?

No, in general a company cannot defer taxes it withheld or paid on account, such as withholdings on salaries. VAT you have collected is also excluded in certain cases. Ask the tax agency about your case before relying on a payment plan.

Can Hacienda seize my main home for a tax debt?

Yes, your main residence is not protected from seizure in tax enforcement. Hacienda goes first for bank accounts, credits, salaries and pensions, then securities, and only then property, so the home comes late in the order.

Can Hacienda take my whole salary?

No, wages up to the minimum wage (SMI) cannot be seized, and bank balances are protected up to the same amount. Above it, Hacienda can take 30% of the next band, then 50%, 60%, 75% and 90% of the higher bands. In 2025 the SMI was €1,184 for 14 payments.

Do I pay interest on a deferred tax debt?

Yes, a deferral carries interest at the legal late-payment rate, which is set each year in the Budget Law. Ask the tax office for the current rate before you choose the instalments.