Personal income tax (Impuesto sobre la renta de las personas físicas, or IRPF): this is a general, progressive tax managed by the State. It is a personal, direct tax on individuals’ income which takes into account personal and family circumstances.

This tax is also partially granted to eight Autonomous Regional Governments (Balearic Islands, Castilla y León, Catalonia, Galicia, Madrid, La Rioja, Murcia and Valencia).

VAT (IVA): with the exception of the Canary Islands, the tax rate stands at 16–17% and 4% throughout the whole of Spain.

Special taxes on consumption: e.g. on hydrocarbons, alcoholic drinks, etc.

Local taxes: e.g. on mechanically drawn vehicles, property, etc.

Depending on whether they are resident or non-resident, professional and managerial staff from the European Union will be subject to either personal income tax or a tax on non-resident income.

Personal Income Tax: With a few exceptions, income earned by residents of Spain during the tax year (which corresponds to the calendar year) is subject to two progressive taxes after the relevant deductions and allowances have been made according to personal circumstances: one general tax and one regional one, followed by further deductions.

The amount already paid to the State must then be deducted from the final figure, as wages paid in Spain are subject to deduction at source every month by the employer in line with a scale of progressive taxes which take into account factors such as number of children and total earnings.

Any amount outstanding must either be paid in full when the tax statement is sent in, or else in two instalments, one of 60% when you send in your statement, and another to cover the remaining 40%, to be paid before a specified date. If there is in fact no amount outstanding, you will be reimbursed.

When filling out your income tax statement, only married couples are considered to form a family unit and only they can fill out one shared tax statement in the event that both partners work.

Further information at the Tax Office.

An income tax on non-residents (Impuesto sobre la Renta de los No Residentes or IRNR). No deductions may be made from the taxable base, which is subject to a tax rate of 25%.

An optional system, if their income accounts for at least 75% of their income for the financial year and has been subject to income tax for non-residents. If they request it, they may be dealt with under Personal Income Tax regulations at the time the calculations are made, without losing their status as Non-Resident Income Taxpayers.

Above all, however, in order to avoid double taxation, bear in mind the agreements reached with the different European Union countries (with the exception of Greece).

Further information at the Tax Office (choose “NO residentes”)(also in English, French, German)

Autonomous or complementary tax scale

Further information:

Tax Office / Agencia Tributaria: Tel: 00 34 901335533, http://www.aeat.es/
http://www.jcyl.es/jcyl/