Fiscal residents pay Spanish income tax (IRPF) on their worldwide income, at progressive rates. Non-residents pay Spanish tax only on income sourced in Spain (property, employment carried out in Spain, Spanish-company dividends), at flat rates.
How Spain decides if you are a tax resident
Under Spanish law (Article 9, Personal Income Tax Law), you are a tax resident in Spain if any of the following applies:
- You spend more than 183 days in Spain during the calendar year. These days do not need to be consecutive, and temporary absences count towards the total unless you can prove tax residency elsewhere.
- Your main economic interests are based in Spain, directly or indirectly.
- Your non-legally-separated spouse and dependent minor children habitually live in Spain. This creates a rebuttable presumption of residency, even if you personally spend fewer than 183 days in the country.
If none of these apply, you are a non-resident for Spanish tax purposes.
Income tax for residents (IRPF)
If you are a fiscal resident, you must file a Spanish tax return and pay IRPF on your worldwide income if any of the following apply:
- Your annual employment income exceeds €22,000 from a single payer, or €15,876 if you have two or more payers and the combined income from the
- You are self-employed or run your own business
- You receive rental income of more than €1,000 a year
- You have capital gains and savings income of more than €1,600 a year
- It is your first year declaring tax residency in Spain
Your taxable base is your income after deductions (social security contributions, pension fund contributions, personal allowance, deductible professional costs). The tax is progressive.
Spanish tax bands 2026
IRPF is split into a state scale, the same across the whole country, and a regional scale, set independently by each of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities. Your total marginal rate is the sum of both.
State scale (Escala general del Estado), applicable to all residents regardless of region:
| Taxable income band | State rate |
| Up to €12,450 | 9.5% |
| €12,450 to €20,200 | 12% |
| €20,200 to €35,200 | 15% |
| €35,200 to €60,000 | 18.5% |
| €60,000 to €300,000 | 22.5% |
| Above €300,000 | 24.5% |
This state scale has not changed since 2021 and remains unchanged for the 2026 tax year (source: Agencia Tributaria, Manual Práctico de Renta).
To get your total rate, add your region’s own scale on top. As a practical reference point, the combined state + reference regional scale (used by the Tax Agency for taxpayers without an assigned Spanish region) looks like this:
| Taxable income band | Combined rate (reference) |
| Up to €12,450 | 19% |
| €12,450 to €20,200 | 24% |
| €20,200 to €35,200 | 30% |
| €35,200 to €60,000 | 37% |
| €60,000 to €300,000 | 45% |
| Above €300,000 | 47% |
This table is a reference, not a universal rate. Each autonomous community sets its own regional scale, and the difference between, say, Madrid and Cataluña can be several percentage points at the higher bands.
Resident vs non-resident: what changes
| Resident | Non-resident | |
| Scope of taxation | Worldwide income | Only Spanish-source income |
| Applicable tax | IRPF, progressive | IRNR, flat rate |
| Standard rate | 19% to 47%, by band | 19% (EU/EEA) or 24% (rest of the world) |
| Personal allowances | Yes | No, as a general rule |
| Filing obligation | Annual tax return (Renta) | Per income type; see Modelo 210 |
Non-resident taxation
If you spend fewer than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year and don’t meet the economic-interests or family tests above, you are a non-resident for Spanish tax purposes. You are taxed only on Spanish-source income, at a flat rate: 19% if you are tax resident in an EU or EEA country with an effective exchange of tax information (this includes Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein), and 24% for residents of any other country.
The most common case among Accompany’s non-resident clients is owning property in Spain. That situation has its own filing form and its own set of deadlines, covered in detail in the Modelo 210 guide.
Other taxes you may come across
- Wealth tax: applies annually to residents and non-residents above a general allowance, with rules that vary significantly by region.
- Property tax (IBI): an annual local tax paid by every property owner in Spain, resident or not.
- VAT: 21% general rate, with reduced rates of 10% and 4% for specific goods and services.
- Capital gains, inheritance and gift tax also apply, with rules that depend heavily on region and personal circumstances.
This guide covers the general rules. Your personal situation, especially your region of residence, can change the numbers.
If any of this applies to your situation, talk to our team about your tax position in Spain.
FAQs
Do I have to pay Spanish tax if I only spend part of the year in Spain?
It depends on how much of the year and on your economic ties to the country. If you spend 183 days or more in Spain in a calendar year, or your main economic interests are based here, you are treated as a fiscal resident and taxed on your worldwide income, not just on what you earn in Spain.
Are tax bands the same in every Spanish region?
No. The state scale is fixed nationally, but each autonomous community sets its own regional scale on top of it. Two people with the same income can end up with a different total tax bill depending on where in Spain they live.
What’s the difference between IRPF and IRNR?
IRPF is the income tax paid by fiscal residents on their worldwide income, at progressive rates. IRNR is the tax paid by non-residents, only on their Spanish-source income, at a flat rate.
Do non-residents get any tax deductions?
As a general rule, no. Non-residents are taxed on the gross amount of their Spanish-source income, without the personal allowances or most of the deductions available to residents, except in a limited set of cases for EU/EEA residents under specific conditions.
