Taxes, business and banking

Declaración de la renta: your first tax return in Spain

Every spring the whole of Spain sits down to the declaración de la renta - the annual income tax return. For first-time filers it is stressful: it is unclear whether you are obliged to file at all, what the deadlines are, what a borrador is and how to avoid paying twice on income from another country. Here is a step-by-step breakdown, using the 2026 campaign as the example.

Krepko teamUpdated: 2026-08-0410 min

Key takeaways

A tax resident is someone who spent more than 183 days of the year in Spain or has their centre of economic interests here; a resident declares worldwide income.
The filing threshold: 22,000 euros from a single payer, or 15,876 euros where there are two or more (benchmarks for the 2026 campaign covering 2025 income).
The Renta 2025 campaign runs from 8 April to 30 June 2026; where tax is due and paid by direct debit, the deadline is 25 June.
Filing is online through Renta Web, with identification via Cl@ve, an electronic certificate or a número de referencia.
Autónomos and recipients of unemployment benefit file a return regardless of how much they earned.

First things first: who counts as a tax resident

The obligation to file the Renta depends neither on your citizenship nor on your type of residence permit, but on tax residence. Under the IRPF law you are a Spanish resident if at least one condition is met:

you spent more than 183 days of the calendar year on Spanish territory (short trips abroad are not deducted from the count unless residence in another country is proven);
Spain is where your centre of economic interests lies - your main business, work or sources of income;
your spouse and minor children live here permanently (a presumption that can be rebutted).

A resident declares worldwide income: a Spanish salary, remote work, rent from a flat in another country, dividends, interest on deposits. Non-residents pay tax in Spain only on Spanish-source income - but under a different tax (IRNR), not through the Renta.

Who is obliged to file a return

The thresholds for the 2026 campaign (2025 income):

22,000 euros a year - if all your employment income came from a single payer;
15,876 euros a year - if there are two or more payers and the second and subsequent ones paid more than 1,500 euros in total. A payer means each employer, as well as SEPE (benefits) and other sources;
investment income and gains subject to withholding - from 1,600 euros in total;
imputed income from property and other cases - from 1,000 euros.

Certain categories file regardless of the amount:

everyone who was an autónomo for even a single day of the year (more detail in our article on autónomo taxes);
recipients of unemployment benefit (paro) - since the campaign covering 2024;
recipients of the IMV minimum income and members of their households;
anyone who wants to reclaim withheld tax or claim deductions - filing is voluntary here, but worth it.

The thresholds are revised from time to time - check the figures on the Agencia Tributaria website before you file.

The 2026 campaign dates

Date	What happens
8 April 2026	Campaign opens: online filing through Renta Web
6 May 2026	Filing by telephone begins (the Le Llamamos plan, appointments from 29 April)
1 June 2026	In-person appointments at tax offices begin (by prior booking)
25 June 2026	Deadline for returns with tax due paid by direct debit (domiciliación)
30 June 2026	Renta 2025 campaign closes

The dates are announced by the tax office each year and can shift slightly - the benchmark is always "April to June". If your result is tax due and you want to pay by direct debit, plan to file before 25 June.

How to file: Cl@ve, referencia and Renta Web

Paper forms are long gone - everything is done in the Renta Web service on the tax office website. Step by step:

Get a means of identification. The options are an electronic certificate (certificado digital), the Cl@ve system (registration by video call, at an office or with an electronic ID) or a número de referencia - a code based on data from your previous return (box 505); for a first filing, the referencia can be obtained using your NIE and document details.
Open your tax data (datos fiscales). The tax office already knows about salaries, withholdings, accounts and most sources of income - the system will pull them into a draft (borrador).
Check and complete it. The draft is not gospel: add foreign income, rental income and deductions (family, regional, for donations), and correct anything that is wrong.
Confirm the result. For a refund (a devolver) give your IBAN; for tax due (a ingresar) choose to pay in full or 60/40 (the second payment at the beginning of November).
Save the filing confirmation - the PDF with the reference number. It comes in handy for residence permits, mortgages and any checks.

Common beginner mistakes

Confirming the borrador blindly. The draft knows nothing about your foreign income or your entitlement to deductions. Responsibility for errors sits with you, not with the tax office.
Forgetting worldwide income. Salary earned before the move, rent from a property abroad, interest on foreign deposits - a resident declares all of it. Spain actively receives data through automatic exchange.
Ignoring double taxation treaties. Tax paid abroad is credited in many cases - but it has to be reported correctly.
Missing regional deductions. Every autonomous community has its own list: rented housing, children, education, sport. This is real money.
Ignoring letters from the tax office. A requerimiento with a short reply window arrives in your electronic mailbox - missing it turns a query into a penalty.

How Krepko helps

We prepare and file the Renta for you: we establish your residence status, gather the data on Spanish and foreign income, apply the treaties and every deduction you are entitled to, submit the return and answer queries from the tax office. Legally significant steps are performed by licensed specialists - lawyers, gestores and sworn translators.

Our tax practice is on the Business and taxes page. Not sure whether you are obliged to file? Write to us and we will check for free.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

If by the end of the year you became a Spanish tax resident (for example, you spent more than 183 days here), you declare worldwide income for the entire calendar year, including what you earned before the move. Double taxation is resolved through treaties: tax paid abroad is normally credited. Accurate calculation matters especially here.

If you file voluntarily after the deadline, a surcharge applies: 1% plus another 1% for each full month of delay, and after 12 months 15% plus interest. If the tax office demands the return first, the penalty can start at 50% of the amount due. If the return results in a refund, the penalty is usually nominal, but you still have to file.

Most refunds arrive within a few weeks of filing, but by law the tax office has until 31 December of the year of filing. If it misses that date, the amount is returned with interest. A delay often means an additional check - it is important to reply quickly to letters from the Agencia Tributaria.

Yes, since the campaign covering 2024 recipients of unemployment benefit (paro) must file a return regardless of the amount of income - otherwise the payment can be suspended. The benefit counts as employment income and SEPE acts as a separate payer, which affects the 15,876 euro threshold.

Yes, the standard interest-free scheme is 60% of the amount when you file and 40% at the beginning of November (in 2026, by 5 November). All you need to do is tick the instalment option in the return and give the account for the direct debit. For large amounts an individual payment plan is also possible on request, but it carries interest.

First Renta and worried about getting it wrong?

Leave a request - we will establish your residence status, calculate the tax taking treaties and deductions into account, and file the return for you. No missed deadlines and no surprise letters from the tax office.

Discuss your case

This material is for information purposes and is not tax advice. Thresholds, dates and campaign rules change every year - check them on the official Agencia Tributaria website. Legally significant steps are performed by licensed specialists - lawyers, gestores and sworn translators.

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