What digital nomads need to know about Spain’s annual income tax declaration

Today, April 2nd marks the start of Spain’s income tax campaign – la declaración de la renta.

If you were resident in Spain in 2024 for more than 183 days, then you will have to complete one before June 30th 2025.

This year, you will only present data about income you received in 2024. It’s important to note that the Spanish tax year runs from January 1st to December 31st, not April to April like in the UK.

You will have to pay tax on your worldwide income, which includes all your income from jobs abroad, as well as rental properties overseas for example.

READ ALSO: The changes to Spain’s income tax declaration in 2025 

If you are self-employed or have your own business, like many on the digital nomad visa, then you will be obliged to present this annual declaration.

For those who are employed by companies abroad, you will also be obliged to complete it because you earn over €22,000 from a single employer. In order to be eligible for the visa in 2025, you must demonstrate a monthly income of at least €2,762. This equals €33,144, so well over the threshold of who needs to fill out the income tax form.

EXPLAINED: Who has to do a tax declaration in Spain in 2025?

Do I need to complete the income tax declaration if I only moved to Spain part way through 2024?

That will most likely depend on the 183-day rule. If for example you moved to Spain in April 2024, then you were living here for more than 183 days, but if you only moved at the end of September, you were only here three months of 2024 – less than 183 days. 

This determines whether or not you were a tax resident in 2024 and if you need to complete the declaration this year or not. 

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But, a lot of digital nomads on online forums recently have been asking questions like “If I leave Spain for a couple of months and keep under the 183 days, do I still have to pay tax here?”

While it’s true that you are considered a Spanish tax resident if you lived here for more than 183, short times away from Spain do not count as not living here, because you still had Spanish residency.

So, if for example you moved to Spain at the beginning of June, but left for the month of August (31 days) and then continued living in Spain again until the rest of the year, you would likely still be considered a Spanish tax resident even though you were only here 182 days.

This is because Spain also considers you to be a tax resident if your main economic interests are located in Spain (which they are if you’re physically working here, even if for a company abroad) or your spouse and children live in Spain. 

If in doubt, it’s best to check with a tax professional like a gestor to make sure if you have to file one or not.

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I already submit my taxes every quarter, why do I need to do this as well?

If you’re self-employed and registered in the autónomo system, then you will already be submitting tax returns every quarter so the tax agency will already have an idea of what you’re earning, so why do you have to do a fifth declaration?

As the tax agency already has all your quarterly returns, the annual return is mostly used to declare any earnings outside of your work. For example, this could include interest from bank accounts, capital gains and income you receive from renting out a property abroad.

This will help the authorities to accurately work out how much you’ll have to pay.

Can I complete it myself?  

If you’re from a country like the UK, where you’re used to doing the self-assessment income tax form yourself, you may be surprised to find that the Spanish form is pretty complicated and many people choose to hire an accountant or gestor to do it for them.

If this is your first time doing your Spanish income tax return or you don’t speak or understand Spanish very well, then we advise that you get some help.

There are lot of questions that could catch you out if you don’t understand for example one of the questions is if you want to contribute to the support of the Catholic Church.  If you make a mistake on the forms, you will also be fined, so it’s worth your while paying someone to help and save money in the long run.

READ ALSO: What a gestor is in Spain and why you probably need one

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How much will I pay? 

You will pay most of your taxes in Spain quarterly, but there may be extra to pay on the annual return if you earned money from interest, stocks, renting out an apartment etc. 

Spanish income tax is paid as a progressive rate, depending on how much you earn. This could be anywhere from 19 up to 47 percent, the latter for incomes over €300,000.

Exactly how much you will pay will depend on your specific circumstances.