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Date Published: 24/03/2025

When to file your Spanish tax return in 2025: All the dates and what's new this year

Barring a few exceptions, anyone working in Spain during the 2024 fiscal year will need to file a return from April

It’s time to dust off that folder full of invoices and expenses and dig out the calculator as the annual Income Tax Return season has rolled around again. Although the 2024-2025 Income Tax campaign, or Declaración de la Renta, doesn’t actually start until next month, taxpayers can now access their information for the 2024 tax year and begin getting their affairs in order.

In 2025, income earned in the previous year will be taxed, that is, the corresponding tax return for 2024 will be filed. As usual, this can be done online, by phone or in person.

The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) now has a handy tax return simulator available on their website, so you can avoid any nasty surprises, and for the first time ever, taxpayers will be able to pay anything that’s owed through Bizum, in addition to the traditional direct debit and bank transfer.

Who needs to file and Income Tax Return?

As was the case last year, self-employed workers, or autónomos, regardless of their income, and beneficiaries of the Minimum Living Income (IMV) will be required to file a tax return. Unemployment benefit recipients will not be required to do so this year, despite the initial plan.

Taxpayers do not pay their entire personal income tax at once; instead, they pay a portion of their income, either through payroll withholdings made by their employers each month in the case of employees, or through quarterly returns in the case of self-employed workers.

Any natural person, whether Spanish or not, who has resided in Spain for more than 183 days during the calendar year, or whose main base or economic activity or interests are located in the country, directly or indirectly, is required to file a tax return. However, there are some exceptions.

Taxpayers who receive total earned income (including pensions and pension benefits, as well as compensatory pensions and alimony) exceeding €22,000 per year are required to file a tax return if they come from a single payer.

Taxpayers whose total earned income, being less than 22,000 euros, exceeds 15,876 euros per year, comes from more than one payer, and the income received from the second and remaining payers exceeds the total amount of 1,500 euros per year are also required to file a 2024 Income Tax Return.

Likewise, taxpayers whose total employment income exceeds 15,876 euros (this limit having also been increased from the 15,000 applicable for 2023 income) are required to file the 2024 Income Tax Return, in the following cases:

Receive spousal alimony or maintenance payments that are not exempt. Maintenance payments received from parents by court order are exempt.
When the payer of employment income is not required to withhold (for example, in the case of pensions from abroad).
When full income from work is received at a fixed withholding rate.

When can you start filing your 2025 Income Tax Return?

The Income Tax campaign begins on Wednesday April 2 with online tax returns and will run until Monday June 30.

From May 6 to June 30, the Tax Agency will be able to prepare taxpayers' tax returns over the phone; appointment requests will be available from April 29 to June 27.

The Tax Agency will be able to prepare taxpayers' returns in person at its offices between June 2 and 30, with appointments available from May 29 to June 27.

However, it’s important to remember that if you owe money and intend to pay by direct debit, the deadline for getting your return in is June 25.

There are several new features and changes for the 2024 Income Tax Return period:

System for correcting self-assessments

The Tax Agency is introducing a new system for correcting self-assessments. This will replace the current dual system of supplementary self-assessments and rectification requests.

Taxpayers can now submit a corrective self-assessment to rectify, complete or modify a previously submitted self-assessment without waiting for an administrative resolution.

Support for seniors

The Tax Agency is maintaining its assistance program for seniors, which includes:

Telephone support through the ‘We'll Call You’ plan
In-person assistance at Tax Agency offices and authorised locations
Special assistance for seniors over 65 in small municipalities through the Platform for Seniors and Pensioners (PMP)

Tax refunds for retired mutual members

The Treasury Department reminds taxpayers that the processing of personal income tax refunds for retired mutual fund members has changed. Refunds will be distributed over four years and taxpayers can request a refund for the 2019 fiscal year and previous years that have not expired.

Exempt aid for DANA victims

The Spanish government has approved measures to exempt aid received by those affected by the DANA from taxation. Exempt aid includes:

Aid for material damage, including compensation from the Insurance Compensation Consortium
Aid for personal injuries
Aid for temporary or permanent eviction of habitual residence or commercial premises
Amounts paid by employers to cover personal and property damage to employees and their families

Tax benefits for self-employed workers (autónomos)

Self-employed workers in areas affected by the DANA can benefit from:

A 25% reduction in their net income from modules in their personal income tax
A 25% reduction in their contributions under the simplified VAT regime
The option to exceptionally waive the application of the module regime in their 2024 personal income tax return

At the end of the 2023 fiscal year, the Tax Agency had returned more than €12.9 billion to over 15 million taxpayers.

Filing tax returns in Spain, especially for the first time, can be a really daunting prospect and it’s important to get it right to make sure you’re not stung by unexpected tax bills.

To avoid costly mistakes, it’s best to leave Income Tax returns to the experts. Gestoría Carvajal, a family-owned business that has been trading successfully for more than 10 years, is a leading agency in legal services and conveyancing.

The staff at Gestoria Carvajal can speak English, Spanish and French, so they are able to serve a wide variety of customers.

To find out how Gestoria Carvajal can help you with your Spanish tax returns or any other legal or administrative needs, contact Pamela on 0034 968 154 045 or email info@gestoriacarvajal.com now.

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