Curious about how much tax you'll pay on crypto in Spain? This guide will provide you with all the information you need to know! Whether you're interested in learning about Bitcoin tax or any other cryptocurrency, we'll discuss how crypto is taxed and the amount of tax you'll be required to pay. Additionally, we'll share strategies that can help you minimize your tax burden. Lastly, we'll provide a step-by-step walkthrough on how to file your crypto tax using the appropriate platform before the deadline of June 30. Let's get started! 🚀
Yes, cryptocurrency in Spain is taxable. The Agencia Tributaria views it as a kind of capital asset, and views gains from crypto transactions as savings income generally subject to taxation under Personal Income Tax (PIT). Tax rates vary based on transaction type and the taxpayer's individual circumstances. You'll need to report your crypto profits as part of your tax return.
For private investors, crypto in Spain is generally taxed like this:
Spain's crypto tax rules are constantly changing. Our guide is updated and fact-checked to keep you informed and compliant with Agencia Tributaria's policies.
Yes - the Agencia Tributaria will know about your crypto. Here's how:
All this to say - you should declare any gains or income you have from crypto investments. The penalties for crypto tax evasion are steep - up to five times higher than the amount you failed to declare and potentially prison time too.
Spain's tax authority, Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT), has provided some updated guidance for 2022.
In summary, crypto in Spain may be subject to three different taxes depending on the transaction:
Let's go through each different kind of tax and how and when it'll apply to your crypto, as well as how much you'll pay.
Your capital gains from crypto are viewed as savings income. You have a capital gain whenever you dispose of your crypto - so whenever it changes hands. This would include:
You'll pay between 19% to 26% in tax depending on how large a net profit you've made and the financial year, as these rates have changed slightly for the 2023 financial year.
Savings income has a particular tax rate (Base Imponible del Ahorro), which is a progressive tax rate calculated as follows:
This tax rate is progressive. This means that you won't pay the same tax rate on the entire amount. For example, if you had a €60,000 net capital gain, you wouldn't pay 23% on all of it. Instead, you'd pay 19% for the first €6,000, 21% for the next €44,000, and 23% on the remaining net profit.
For the 2023 financial year, these rates increase slightly, and there's a new higher rate for individuals with high savings income. You can see the 2023 rates below:
First, determine your cost basis, which is the purchase price of your crypto along with any associated acquisition or disposal costs. If you received your crypto through other means, use the fair market value on the day of receipt.
Next, subtract your cost basis from the sale price of your crypto. For other types of disposals, such as trading or gifting, subtract your cost basis from the fair market value on the day of disposal.
Report the total amount in your annual personal income tax return.
You can offset losses against gains of a similar kind. So if you've got crypto gains (or other capital gains), you could offset your crypto losses against these gains. If you have no gains to offset your losses against or if your losses exceed your gains, you can carry this forward to future tax years. Unused losses can be carried forward for four years to offset against other capital gains. If you still have unutilized losses after this point, and other income savings (Rendimientos del capital mobiliario) like dividends, interest, bonds and so on, then you can also offset up to 25% of this income.
Good to know
Formerly, there was a particular rule around capital/investment losses and wash sales. It stated that capital losses should be integrated with capital gains, except in the event that the taxpayer had acquired homogeneous financial assets within the two months before or after said transfers, in which case, said capital losses will be integrated as the financial assets that remain in the patrimony of the taxpayer are transferred. While this rule remains in force for shares and was previously used for crypto in the 2021 tax return, there is a new section for crypto assets specifically in the 2022 tax return, in which this requirement has disappeared, and the Agencia Tributaria deleted this option in the crypto form. As such, it looks like this rule no longer applies to crypto assets.
Spanish Income Tax is complicated - as several sub-categories of income fall under the general tax scale (base imponible general), including freelancer, rental income and the 17 different autonomous community tax rates and more, as well as base imponible del ahorro - which is the tax rate for savings income, investment income, and capital gains.
The guidance from the AEAT currently is limited, but here are some other common transactions and how they're taxed in Spain:
Read next: Want to learn about crypto and earn crypto? See our learn and earn guide, including guidance on how your rewards may be taxed.
Most regions of Spain charge a Wealth Tax, and the EUR value of any crypto must be considered for Wealth Tax calculations. The Wealth Tax rates and minimum exempt amount vary depending on your region but often start at around €700,000 with rates ranging from 0.2% to over 3%.
You can see the regional Wealth Tax rates below:
Madrid is the only autonomous community that does not impose a Wealth Tax currently. However, you need to submit a Wealth Tax Return for information purposes if your total assets are worth more than €2 million.
If you own assets over the exemption limit, you'll need to make a Wealth Tax declaration and include the value of your cryptocurrencies in EUR based on the market price on the 31 December of the corresponding tax year.
If a person receives an inheritance including cryptocurrencies, this must be included in the ISD statement.
Like with the Wealth Tax, the tax you'll pay on inherited or gifted crypto will vary depending on how much you received and where you live. Each Autonomous Community sets their own tax rate for inherited and gifted assets. But in general, the taxable rate will vary between 7% to 36.5%.
You won't always pay tax on your crypto, there are a few crypto transactions that are tax free in Spain, including:
The AEAT (Agencia Tributaria) wants to know about your crypto activity in terms of income and capital gains. You'll need to declare both in your annual Income Tax Return.
If you are a Spanish tax resident, complete Form 100 (Modelo 100) in order to make a Spanish income tax declaration.
Once you, or your accountant, have calculated your crypto tax (we have an app for that!), the easiest way to file your taxes is via the AEAT's Renta Online.
Up until 2021, reporting profits from crypto investments was mixed in with several different types of capital gains. However, for the 2022 tax year, this has been updated for your return this year and the Agencia Tributaria created a new specific page to include all the relevant information about cryptocurrencies transactions, which you can see below:
The Spanish tax year runs from the 1st of January to the 31st of December each year - just like the calendar year.
Spanish income tax returns start every year in early April and must be filed by 30 June for the preceding year. This means you will need to submit your tax return for the 2022 tax year by June 30, 2023.
The Model 720 Declaration is used to inform the tax agency about your assets abroad, so you can pay Wealth Tax accordingly (both the Wealth Tax declaration and the Model 720 must be aligned). It is used to declare holdings abroad of more than €50,000 such as properties, bank accounts, deposits, savings, shares, or life insurance. It was previously believed that the Model 720 applied to cryptocurrency, however recently the Spanish treasury has confirmed that this is not the case. However, if you have other financial assets held abroad that are more than €50,000 in value, you would need to file the Model 720 declaration.
The Model 721 Declaration is an informational tax form, created as part of the reform of the Spanish Tax Laws around anti-fraud measures in July 2021 - and the reform means the form applies to cryptocurrencies held abroad.
Under the reform, individuals who own crypto with a portfolio value of at least €50,000 must submit Model 721 between January 1 and March 31. This said, the first year this is applicable is the 2023 tax year, meaning the first year you may have to submit Model 721 under the circumstances outlined is 2024. The official Model 721 form is yet to be released for the 2024 tax deadline.
To value your cryptocurrency, you'll need to calculate it using the average price as of December 31 each financial year. For investors who held more than €50,000 at any time during the financial year but did not hold €50,000 as of December 31, you'll need to provide information about the date on which your crypto portfolio lost this value.
Investors who are required to submit Model 721 but fail to do by the deadline so will face a penalty of €200. Investors who submit Model 721 incorrectly will face a penalty of €150.
In Spain, crypto tax is calculated using the FIFO method (first in, first out) when calculating your crypto taxes. This assumes the first asset you bought is the first asset you sold and you'll calculate your crypto taxes based on this cost basis. To understand more about how FIFO works, check out this article.
Now that you know how to go about calculating and filing your crypto taxes, let's explore Spain's crypto tax rules in more detail. Here's a breakdown of the most common crypto scenarios and the type of tax liability they result in.
Not sure when or what tax you'll pay on your crypto in Spain? Here are the most common examples.
When you sell your crypto for euros (or any other fiat currency), you'll need to pay tax on any savings income (capital gains) you have as a result.
You buy 1 ETH for €3,000 and pay 2% in transaction fees, making your cost basis €3,060.
You later sell your 1 ETH for €3,400. Subtract your cost basis to figure out your gain.
€3,400 - €3,060 = €340. You have a €340 capital gain, which you'll need to pay tax on.
When you trade crypto for another crypto - this is seen as a disposal and you'll need to pay tax on any gain you have as a result. It's not the "purchase" of another crypto that the Spanish tax office is interested in taxing, it's the disposal of your original asset.
You buy 0.5 BTC for €20,000. You later decide to trade your 0.5 BTC for ETH.
On the day you trade your BTC, the fair market value of 0.5 BTC is €21,000. Subtract your cost basis from the fair market value of your BTC on the day you traded it for ETH.
€21,000 - €20,000 = €1,000. You have a capital gain of €1,000 which you'll need to pay tax on.
You'll also need to note the fair market value of ETH on the day you acquired it to track your cost basis in the future should you later dispose of your ETH.
Getting paid in crypto is taxable - but the tax you may be liable to pay depends on your specific circumstances. If you're employed by a company and being paid in crypto, any company in Spain that pays its employees with cryptocurrencies has to include these payments in the standard informational tax form about salaries. So all you'd need to do as the employee is check online your work income report for accuracy.
Meanwhile, if you're a contractor being paid in crypto, you'd need to exchange that value to the EUR equivalent and create an invoice for tax purposes to determine your future freelance income, or Rendimientos de Actividades Económicas.
Mining crypto is viewed as a business activity under the current guidance from the AEAT. Anyone mining crypto must register as a freelancer (autónomo) - specifically business activity code 832.9 (otros servicios financieros). Any income from your mining activities will be subject to General Income Tax.
This said, if and when you later dispose of your mining rewards, this would be viewed as savings income and taxed in the same way as any other disposal of crypto.
If you're hodling for the moon and you're over the Wealth Tax threshold in your autonomous region - you'll need to calculate the total value of your crypto assets and add this figure to your overall total assets sum.
Want to give the gift of crypto? Bad news, this is seen as a kind of disposal and you'll need to pay Inheritance and Gift Tax. The exact amount you'll pay varies depending on the autonomous region that you live in.
Yes, the AEAT requires you to keep detailed records of cryptocurrency transactions for 5 years after you “prepared or obtained the records”, or “completed the transactions or acts those records relate to”, whichever is later. You need to keep the following records:
Crypto tax reporting is fairly new, and a road less traveled for most accountants, but that doesn't mean the AEAT is going to cut you any slack. Here are 4 ways you can tackle your crypto taxes and keep in the taxman's good books. We'll start with the easiest and most accurate method first.
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