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Date Published: 05/04/2024

Who exactly has to file their IRPF income tax returns in Spain?

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These are the important dates and information you have to know for filing your income taxes in Spain in 2024

Who exactly has to file their IRPF income tax returns in Spain?

Spain has begun the process of the ‘Declaración de la Renta’ 2024, revealing all the dates that you need to know for the 2024 income tax return campaign, which corresponds to the natural year 2023.

Anyone who is a resident in Spain is obliged to declare the income they make for the purposes of paying income tax, which is known in Spanish as the ‘Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas’ or IRPF for short.

The 2024 income tax returns are filed for any income that corresponds to the year before, 2023.

Here is everything you need to know about income tax returns in Spain in 2024, including key dates and useful information.

Who has to file income tax returns in Spain?

The IRPF income tax in Spain must be filed by any resident who meets any of the following requirements:

Spend more than 183 days per calendar year in Spain
Have business or economic interests located within Spanish territory
Have a spouse or dependent children who are Spanish tax residents

After you file your tax returns, you will either be given a rebate or have to pay more, which is the usual outcome for non-national residents in Spain as the Government does not apply any withholding on a monthly basis.

Do non-residents have to pay income tax in Spain?

People who live in Spain but are not residents and those who only come over for half the year are required to pay income tax on money earned in Spain and on any property they own in Spain.

In this case, you are required to file your tax returns and pay the non-resident tax rate, which is set at a flat rate of 24% applied to this income. Capital gains, for example, and other investment income is taxed at 19%.

What income tax deductions are available in Spain?

The Income Tax in Spain has two parts: national and regional.

The National Government recently approved some modifications with the aim of protecting households living on very low incomes. For instance, the minimum threshold for earnings after which you are obliged to declare your income in Spain used to be 14,000 euros per year, but now it is 15,000 euros, so taxpayers whose gross annual income does not exceed this amount will not be obliged to file an income tax return.

There are other national measures that will be in force, including 100 euros per month for any mother with a child under 3 years old. In previous years, this benefit only applied to working and self-employed mothers, but now it has been extended to include all mothers.

There are also some additional tax deductions for each Comunidad Autónoma in Spain, so it’s worth contacting a local expert to help you understand the specific rules for your area. For example, the Regional Government in Murcia has reduced the rate for the Income Taxes to try to minimise the impact of high inflation.

When do I have to file my income tax returns in Spain?

You can start the process of filing your tax declaration online in Spain on Tuesday April 3, 2024, and the final deadline to file your taxes is July 1, 2024. After this date, you will not be able to file your tax returns in Spain.

The process of informing the Spanish Tax Office (Hacienda) about your income in Spain is incredibly complex and cannot be conducted in English. Even 95% of Spanish people contract the services of an accountant or financial services professional to file their tax returns form for them.

If your tax returns process in Spain results in a tax deduction for you, oftentimes this will be paid directly into your bank account and you won’t have to do anything else.

However, if you are required to pay more income tax and you want to pay the outstanding amount you owe by direct debit, the deadline is June 26, 2024.

Key dates for Income Tax Returns in Spain 2024

April 3-July 1: Income tax returns can be filed online
May 7-June 28: Income tax returns can be done by telephone
June 3-28: Income tax returns can be done in person
June 26: Deadline for those who must pay by direct debit
June 29: Last day to make an appointment
June 30: Final deadline to file your income taxes in Spain

How to file your tax returns in Spain 2024

It’s possible to file your tax returns yourself, but by far the easiest way is to get someone to do it on your behalf, because the process is very convoluted and it is very easy to make a mistake if you are not familiar with the intricacies of the Spanish tax system.

This is especially true for foreign citizens as in many cases there are additional aspects to consider, such as obtaining a certificate of non-residency from their country of origin and any double taxation treaties that may exist between Spain and their home country.

For this reason, the vast majority of ex-pats living in Spain and those who own property in Spain, whether as residents or non-residents, choose to contract the services of a professional tax expert to file their tax returns for them. Contact Abad Abogados today to learn how their accountancy team can help make your Spanish income tax returns easy this year:

Abad Abogados English-speaking lawyers in Murcia and Los Alcazares

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Abad & Asociados Abogados y Economistas, S.R.L. is a firm of English-speaking lawyers and accountants founded in 1996 in Murcia by Isaac Abad, winner of the “Best Lawyer 2022” award in Tax Law in Murcia granted by “Best Lawyers”.

The Abad Abogados Murcia law firm specialises in offering innovative legal solutions to its clients, prioritising quality, satisfaction and success. With offices in central locations in Murcia city, Los Alcázares and La Zenia in Orihuela Costa, Alicante, it is easy for expats and foreign citizens abroad in Spain to access the legal services they need.

The team at Abad can help you with any issues relating to Real Estate and Property law, Taxation, Litigations and Commercial law in Spain. From getting a NIE number in order to Abad Abogados English-speaking lawyers in Murcia and Los Alcazares

be able to undertake official paperwork in Spain, to completing your residency and visa requirements, they are there to ease every step of the move to Spain for people wanting to come and live in the country.

They can also handle any resident and non-resident tax declarations in Spain, including property taxes and issues surrounding double taxation across international borders, as well as inheritance tax and wills.

Whether you want to formally register your own business in Spain, take someone to court or face being taken to court yourself for whatever reason, Abad & Associates will be by your side.

Their unqualified successes in helping clients navigate these issues have made Abad Abogados one of the leading firms of Lawyers and Accountants and Tax Advisors in the Region of Murcia and in Alicante province.