Money and tax when you move to Spain
Spanish tax is not especially complicated. What catches people out is the switch: the day you become resident, Spain's rules apply to everything you own, everywhere. This page explains what changes and when, from official sources. It describes the rules in general, not what you should do.
Residency decides everything, and it arrives on a timetable
Spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year and you are Spanish tax resident for that whole year. Residency can also follow your main economic interests, or your spouse and dependent children living here. Where both countries claim you, the UK-Spain double tax treaty breaks the tie.
The consequence is scope, not just rates: a resident is taxed in Spain on worldwide income and gains. The most valuable planning happens before the switch, while your affairs still sit under UK rules, which is why the move's timing is a tax decision as much as a logistical one.
Declaring what you hold abroad: Modelo 720
Once resident, you declare foreign assets above €50,000 per category (accounts; securities and insurance; property) on Modelo 720, between 1 January and 31 March for the previous year. It is an information return, not a tax bill, and since the EU Court of Justice ruling in 2022 the old disproportionate fines are gone, replaced by ordinary penalties. It still has to be filed, and filed accurately.
Full guide: Modelo 720: declaring your assets abroad
Moving for work: the Beckham Law
Spain's special regime for inbound workers can tax a qualifying newcomer broadly as a non-resident for up to six years, sheltering most foreign income. It is only for people who move for work, the election window is six months from social security registration, and the regime has sharp edges around what it does and does not cover. It rewards planning before arrival and punishes discovering it afterwards.
Full guide: The Beckham Law explained
Owning here without living here
A non-resident who owns a Spanish property pays tax on it every year even when it stands empty: an imputed income charge on a notional rent, filed on Modelo 210, plus local IBI. Let the property out and the rent is taxable in Spain too. None of this arrives as a bill through the door; it is self-assessed, and missing it accrues quietly.
Full guide: Non-resident tax on a Spanish property
UK wrappers do not travel
An ISA keeps its UK tax shelter only for UK residents: you can keep one you already hold, but you cannot pay in once you are no longer UK-resident, and Spain taxes what happens inside it like any other investment. Pensions are a larger and more individual question (what to draw, when, and how the treaty treats it), which is exactly the territory where general pages stop and regulated, personal advice starts.
For advice on your own position, see financial planning with Ben, including how the complimentary first review works.
The order that saves the most
Read across the rules above and one pattern repeats: almost every lever (realising gains, choosing the arrival date, electing for the Beckham regime, restructuring what you hold) works before you become resident and not after. Put the tax planning at the start of the move, alongside the visa, and give it months rather than weeks.
Planning the wider move? Start with moving to Spain; buying costs are on buying a home.
All our money and tax guides
- Money and tax Capital gains tax when you sell a property in Spain: residents and non-residents How capital gains tax works when you sell a property in Spain: resident savings bands, the non-resident flat rate and 3% retention, plus main-home reliefs.
- Money and tax How much can you pay into a Spanish pension each year? The limits for employees and autónomos How much can you pay into a Spanish pension? The personal cap is 1,500 euros, but employees reach 10,000 and autonomos 5,750 via a workplace plan.
- Money and tax How Spain taxes savings and investment gains: the rates for residents in 2026 How Spain taxes savings and investment gains for residents in 2026: the 19 to 30 percent bands and why the date you become resident matters most.
- Money and tax Investment accounts and insurance bonds in Spain: how each is taxed How investment accounts and insurance bonds in Spain are taxed for residents, from rates to deferral, withdrawals, wealth tax and succession.
- Money and tax Modelo 720: declaring your assets abroad once you live in Spain Modelo 720 explained: who must file, the €50,000 thresholds, what counts, the 31 March deadline and how the 2022 EU court ruling ended the old fines.
- Money and tax Non-resident tax in Spain: what you pay on a Spanish property you don't live in Non-residents with a Spanish home pay income tax on a notional rent plus IBI every year, even when it's empty. Here's what you owe and when to file.
- Money and tax The Beckham Law explained: Spain's special tax regime for people moving to work in Spain Spain's Beckham Law can shelter a qualifying newcomer's foreign income for up to six years, but only if you move for work and plan it before you arrive.
Common questions
When do I become tax resident in Spain?
Under Spanish income tax law you are resident in a calendar year if you spend more than 183 days in Spain, if your main base of business or economic interests is here, or, unless you show otherwise, if your spouse and dependent children live here. If the UK also treats you as resident, the UK-Spain double tax treaty decides which country has the first right to tax you.
What does Spanish residency change about my tax?
Scope. A non-resident is taxed in Spain on Spanish-source income only; a resident is taxed here on worldwide income, and must declare foreign assets above the Modelo 720 thresholds. That is why the timing of a move matters more than any rate.
Who has to file Modelo 720?
Spanish tax residents whose assets abroad exceed €50,000 in a category: accounts, securities and insurance, or property. It is an information return rather than a tax, filed between 1 January and 31 March for the previous year, and refiled when a category grows by more than €20,000 or an asset is sold or closed.
Can I keep paying into a UK ISA after I move to Spain?
You can keep an ISA you already hold, but GOV.UK says you cannot pay into it once you are no longer resident in the UK. Spain does not recognise the ISA wrapper, so once you are Spanish tax resident its income and gains are taxed like any other investment.
Who qualifies for the Beckham Law?
Broadly, people who move to Spain for work (an employment contract, a posting, or certain director and remote-work cases) and who have not been Spanish tax resident in the previous five years. The election has a strict six-month window from registration with Spanish social security, so it has to be planned before the move, not after.
Correct as of October 2026. Tax rules change. How you are taxed depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future. This is general information, not personal tax advice; for your own position speak to a regulated financial adviser or an asesor fiscal. Sources: Ley 35/2006 del IRPF, article 9 (BOE) · UK-Spain double taxation convention (GOV.UK) · Agencia Tributaria: Modelo 720 · Real Decreto 1065/2007, articles 42 bis to 54 bis (BOE) · GOV.UK: ISAs if you move abroad.
A money or tax question about your own move? Ask Ben.
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