Your first tax year as a resident in Spain: what to do yourself

First tax year in Spain: a 15-step plan

1. Find out whether you have become a tax resident

   Under article 9 LIRPF, you are resident if you spent more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year or if your main centre of business or economic interests is here. If your spouse, from whom you are not divorced, and your dependent minor children live in Spain, residence is presumed. Temporary absences count towards the 183 days unless you prove tax residence in another country.

   • Counted my days in Spain over the calendar year using stamps and tickets
   • Assessed where most of my income and assets are
   • Noted where my spouse and minor children live

   Where: article 9 of Ley 35/2006, AEAT manualTiming: at the end of each calendar yearCost: free

   When you need help: you moved mid-year, another country also treats you as resident, or your days come to almost exactly 183. A case like this is for a tax specialist.

2. Tell the AEAT your tax address

   A change of domicilio fiscal, your tax address, must be reported within three months of the change. For an individual, the main way is form 030 on the AEAT sede. If the three months end after the return deadline, you can give the address in the Renta return itself.

   • Checked which address the AEAT has in my data
   • Filed form 030 with my new address in Barcelona
   • Saved the filing receipt

   Where: AEAT sede, form 030Timing: 3 months from the change of addressCost: free

   When you need help: you have no NIE, or the AEAT knows you under a different number. Sort out your identification first (NIF and NIE).

3. Get access: Cl@ve or a digital certificate

   Renta WEB, datos fiscales and almost all forms open with Cl@ve, a digital certificate, DNI electrónico or the número de referencia, a one-off code for the Renta campaign. A certificate is also useful with other authorities; Cl@ve is easier on a phone.

   • Registered for Cl@ve (online with video identification or in person)
   • Installed the Cl@ve app and checked that I can log in to the AEAT sede
   • Optionally got a digital certificate: Cl@ve and Mi Carpeta Ciudadana

   Where: clave.gob.es, AEAT sedeTiming: before the Renta campaign startsCost: free

4. Gather your worldwide income

   A Spanish tax resident declares income received in any country. This includes salary and fees from foreign clients, interest, dividends, rent from a flat back home, and the sale of shares or property abroad.

   • Made a table of income by month, country and type
   • Requested annual statements from foreign banks and brokers
   • Collected proof of tax paid abroad

   Where: your banks, brokers, clientsTiming: January-March of the following yearCost: free

   When you need help: you sold assets, or have options or income from a company abroad. The valuation rules there are more complex than usual.

5. Check the double taxation agreement

   The agreement (convenio) determines which country taxes each type of income and how Spain credits tax paid abroad. The AEAT publishes the list of Spain’s agreements, and the texts are on the Ministry of Finance (Hacienda) website. If there is no agreement, tax paid abroad is credited under article 80 LIRPF.

   • Found my country on the AEAT list and opened the text of the agreement
   • Checked for official notices that its application has been suspended or changed
   • Noted the article of the agreement for each type of income

   Where: AEAT, Convenios de doble imposición; hacienda.gob.esTiming: before preparing the returnCost: free

   When you need help: income from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other countries where the application of the agreement may have changed. We draw no conclusions without an official source: this question is for a tax specialist. See also double taxation between Russia and Spain.

6. Note the Renta campaign dates

   The return for a year is filed in the spring of the following year. For example, Renta 2025 was filed online from 8 April to 30 June 2026, and until 25 June 2026 if paying a balance by direct debit. The AEAT publishes the dates of the next campaign in its tax calendar; check them there.

   • Added the campaign dates from the AEAT calendar to my calendar
   • Marked the separate deadline for direct debit

   Where: Calendario del contribuyente on the AEAT sedeTiming: usually April to June, exact dates in the calendarCost: free

7. Download your datos fiscales and fill in Renta WEB

   Datos fiscales contain what Spanish payers and banks have reported about you. Income from abroad and tax paid there you check and enter yourself. The thresholds for mandatory filing are in the AEAT manual; if in doubt, compare them with your situation before the campaign ends.

   • Downloaded my datos fiscales and checked them against statements
   • Added foreign income and the deduction for tax paid abroad
   • Checked my personal and family details: first modelo 100 return

   Where: Renta WEB on the AEAT sedeTiming: during the campaignCost: free

   When you need help: the draft is far from your own figures, or you are not sure whether you have to file.

8. Check Catalonia’s deductions

   Catalonia sets its own deductions in the regional part of IRPF. For Renta 2025 they included deductions for the birth or adoption of a child, for renting your main home (for certain groups), for interest on loans for a master’s or doctorate, and for donations. Conditions and limits are in the AEAT manual on regional deductions.

   • Checked Catalonia’s list of deductions for the right year
   • Checked the conditions on age, income and documents
   • Collected rental contracts, certificates and receipts

   Where: AEAT manual, Cataluña sectionTiming: with the returnCost: free

9. Assess whether you must file form 720

   Form 720 informs the AEAT about accounts, securities, insurance and property abroad. The obligation arises when the value of assets in a block exceeds €50,000. It is filed from 1 January to 31 March for the previous year, and again in later years when values rise or change under the AEAT rules.

   • Noted balances at 31 December for accounts, securities and property abroad
   • Compared the amounts with the threshold for each block
   • Read how modelo 720 works

   Where: AEAT sede, form 720Timing: 1 January - 31 MarchCost: free

   When you need help: joint accounts, authorisations to operate accounts, assets held through a company. The rules for counting towards the threshold are not obvious.

10. Check cryptocurrency held abroad: form 721

    Form 721 covers virtual currencies held by foreign providers. It is filed from 1 January to 31 March of the following year if their value at 31 December exceeds €50,000. In later years you must file if the total balance has risen by more than €20,000.

    • Exported balances at 31 December from foreign exchanges and custodial wallets
    • Separated crypto in my own wallets from crypto held by providers

    Where: AEAT sede, form 721Timing: 1 January - 31 MarchCost: free

    When you need help: many exchanges and transactions in the year. Gains from sales must also be declared in the Renta.

11. Decide on the Beckham regime

    The special regime for people moving to Spain (article 93 LIRPF) is available to those who have not been resident in Spain in the previous five years. You opt in with form 149 within six months of the start date of your activity according to your alta in the Seguridad Social. The regime applies in the year you move and the following five years, and returns under it are filed on form 151.

    • Checked that I was not resident in Spain in the previous five years
    • Found the start date of my activity in my Seguridad Social alta
    • Compared the regime with ordinary IRPF: the Beckham law for digital nomads

    Where: AEAT sede, form 149Timing: 6 months from the start date of your activityCost: free

    When you need help: always, before filing form 149. The choice affects six years, and a missed deadline cannot be reopened.

12. Check wealth tax in Catalonia

    The Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio is charged on assets held at 31 December. For residents of Catalonia, the tax-free allowance for Patrimonio 2025 was €500,000 (the general statutory allowance of €700,000 applies if a region has not set its own). The return is filed on the AEAT sede within the same period as the Renta.

    • Valued my assets in Spain and abroad at 31 December
    • Checked whether there is tax to pay, or an obligation to file because of high asset value
    • Read wealth tax in Catalonia

    Where: AEAT sede; Catalan rulesTiming: during the Renta campaignCost: as calculated

    When you need help: your assets are close to the threshold or you hold shares in companies. Valuation needs a specialist’s calculation.

13. Pay the tax or get your refund

    You can pay any balance when you file or have your bank collect it (domiciliación). For Renta 2025 the payment could be split 60/40: 60% when filing and 40% by 5 November 2026. To defer the debt or spread it over a longer period, apply for an aplazamiento on the AEAT sede.

    • Chose how to pay: at once, by direct debit or 60/40
    • Gave a Spanish IBAN for the refund or debit
    • Saved the receipt: how to pay tax online

    Where: Renta WEB, your bank, AEAT sedeTiming: direct debit for Renta 2025 until 25.06.2026, second instalment by 5.11.2026Cost: the amount on your return

14. Keep documents for the full limitation period

    Under the Ley General Tributaria the limitation period for taxes is four years. It runs from the day after the filing deadline, so keep the evidence for each year for at least four years after the end of the campaign.

    • Put the return, receipts, statements and transfers in one folder for the year
    • Kept my count of days in Spain and proof of residence
    • Made a backup copy somewhere other than my phone

    Where: your own recordsTiming: 4 years after the filing deadlineCost: free

15. Decide whether you need a gestor

    Many people file a simple resident return with a Spanish salary and one account abroad themselves. You need a gestor or tax specialist when a mistake would be costly: choosing a regime, large assets, a business, complex foreign income.

    • Went through steps 1-13 and noted where I’m unsure
    • Prepared questions and documents before the meeting: how to choose a gestor

    Where: gestor, tax specialistTiming: before the campaign startsCost: as quoted by the specialist

    When you need help: autónomo or SL, the Beckham regime, forms 720 and 721, wealth tax, a residence conflict. Doing these on your own is risky.