Whether you’ve completed Spain’s annual ‘declaración de la renta’ (income tax return) before or this is your first time, there are several key points and common blunders you need to keep in mind before doing so.
Spain’s annual tax campaign known as ‘la declaración de la renta‘ this year began on April 8th and you will have until June 30th to submit it. This year you will fill out your details for your earnings in 2025.
Even if you’re an employee, rather than self-employed or autónomo, and your employer automatically deducts your tax from your paycheck each month, there are lots of points you need to keep in mind when filling it out or even when getting a gestor or accountant to help you.
The tax authorities will provide an estimate and an initial draft of your declaration and include how much they believe you should pay, but this isn’t always accurate and won’t include all the information, so it’s important to keep these points in mind.
Find out whether you’re required to fill it out
Keep in mind that not everyone must automatically fill out the income tax form. You will have to complete it if:
- You are employed and have an annual income over €22,000 from a single employer.
- You had multiple employers, but your income from the second or subsequent ones exceeded €1,500 annually.
- You earned more than €15,876 from two or more employers, if the second employer paid you more than €1,500 annually.
- You are self-employed or have your own business. Remember, you have to file one even if you’ve made a loss.
- Your income from yearly dividends, interest and capital gains exceeds €1,600
- You receive rental income over €1,000 per year
- It is the first year that you are filing a tax return in Spain
READ ALSO: Who has to do a tax declaration in Spain in 2026?
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Check the draft
Before submitting the form, you will typically see a draft of what the tax authorities believe your personal income tax will be, according to the data they have. Of course, this may not be correct or complete, so it’s important to check each section carefully and not simply submit the draft calculation.
READ ALSO: The big tax changes in Spain in 2026
Check your tax address
If you moved house during the past year and did not notify the Treasury, be careful when exporting your data into the tax form. It’s likely that the old address will appear. Even though this is a small mistake, it has its consequences and you may incur a fine.
Review your family status
Did you have a child or get married since your last tax return? You must explicitly indicate the change in your family and personal situation in the dedicated section. For example, the difference between including or not including your children in the income statement is huge.
Remember though that the Treasury takes into account your situation as of December 31st of the previous year. This means that if you became a parent in January of this year, you must wait for the next Income Tax return to apply your deduction. The same applies to marriages and divorces. This is one of the most common mistakes and can cost you if you get it wrong.
READ ALSO – The tax return scams you need to avoid in Spain
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Not including information on your second property if you have one
If you own a second property, such as one in your home country or one that you use in summer near the beach, for example, it’s important to include this on your declaration too, as many people forget.
Home rental deductions
It’s important to keep in mind that only rental contracts signed before January 1st, 2015 are entitled to a deduction. The Treasury will also not automatically include this information in the initial draft, so you will need to add it. If you meet this requirement, you can deduct 10.05 percent of the amounts paid in the tax period for the rental of your home. Don’t forget to check if your region includes any type of additional deduction to the rent before confirming.
READ ALSO: The regional deductions you can get in Catalonia
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Deductions for maternity, incapacity or for a large family
If you are entitled to any deductions because you are a mother with a child under three years old, are on incapacity benefit or have a large family, then you should know that the tax authorities will not automatically include this information in the initial calculation, so you’ll need to add it all yourself. For example, mothers of children under three years of age are entitled to a maternity deduction of €1,200 that they can collect in advance at a rate of €100 per month. There are also deductions for childcare expenses for working mothers.
READ ALSO: The new tax deductions for people in Spain’s Andalusia region
Be aware of any regional deductions
You may be entitled to certain deductions, depending on where you live in Spain. In order to pay less income taxes, you will almost always have to fill in the data yourself, they are not automatically included. These could include deductions for school expenses, vet bills, buying a house or investing in newly created companies. Regional deductions can change quite a bit and there are lots of new ones for this year, so it’s worth checking.
Remember to include interest, dividends and life insurance
Other amounts that will not automatically be generated and included in the draft version of your calculation are the bank interest you have earned from savings, any dividends you are paid from companies or life insurance payouts. You must include all of these in order to get an accurate calculation and ensure you’re not withholding any important financial information.
READ ALSO: Five tax deductions you can benefit from in Spain’s Valencia region
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Not understanding which deductions will apply if you’re a landlord
If you are a landlord and rent out a property, you will have to pay taxes for the profit you obtain and enter this data manually as it will not have been calculated for you. Remember that by including the rent you may be able to subtract expenses such as your IBI bill and your community bills for cleaning and upkeep of the building.
Knowing if you should file if you were unemployed
Up until now, even if you were unemployed you still had to file an income tax return, but this year you won’t have to.
According to Spain’s BOE state bulletin, in order to prevent a modification of taxes for unemployment benefit recipients, it is considered necessary “to eliminate this obligation to file an IRPF return”.
In practical terms, this means that if you were unemployed in 2025 and only received unemployment benefits not exceeding €22,000 annually, then you will not have to file la renta.
If you earned more than this though, or if you were self-employed at some point in 2025 or if you received the Minimum Living Income (IMV), you will still have to file one.
Our journalists at The Local are not tax experts. This article is intended to be helpful and informative, but before filing your tax return or making any financial decisions, you should always seek the advice of a professional accountant or gestor.
