Before you start

NIE
A determination of whether you are tax resident for the year
Records of worldwide income and foreign assets
A certificado digital or Cl@ve credentials for the Agencia Tributaria

Step-by-step

1
Work out whether you are tax resident, and from when
More than 183 days in a calendar year makes you resident, as does having your centre of economic interests in Spain. Residency is assessed for the whole calendar year rather than pro-rated from your arrival, which produces surprising results for anyone moving mid-year with significant income already earned abroad.
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2
Understand that half your income tax is Valencian
IRPF combines a state scale with an autonomous community scale, and the Comunitat Valenciana sets its own. The same gross salary produces a different net in Alicante, Málaga and Madrid — and a different one again in Bilbao, which runs an entirely separate foral system. Any comparison quoting a single national rate is wrong in a way that matters at higher incomes.
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3
Check the current wealth tax threshold rather than a published figure
The Comunitat Valenciana applies wealth tax and does not rebate it. Ley 5/2025 raised the exempt minimum from 500,000 to 1,000,000 euros with effect from the 31 December 2025 accrual, alongside the separate allowance for a main residence. Thresholds here have moved more than once in recent years — confirm the current figure with the Agència Tributària Valenciana before making a decision on it.
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4
File the Modelo 720 if you hold foreign assets
Tax residents must report overseas accounts, securities and property above a threshold in each of three categories, with a separate Modelo 721 for cryptoassets held abroad. These are information returns rather than taxes, with their own deadline, and they are the single most common serious compliance failure among new residents.
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5
Decide on the impatriate regime inside its window
The régimen especial for displaced workers — the Beckham Law — taxes Spanish employment income at a flat rate rather than the progressive scale for a limited period, and was extended to arrivals under the digital nomad route. It must be elected within a strict period after social security registration and is not easily reversed. It favours higher earners and can be worse for lower ones.
OnlineWho: YouWithin the statutory window
6
File the annual Renta between April and June
The declaration for the previous calendar year is filed in the spring window. The Agencia Tributaria pre-fills a draft — the borrador — which is usually right for a simple Spanish salary and materially wrong for anyone with foreign income, a UK pension or overseas rental. Do not confirm it unchanged.
OnlineWho: YouApril–June annually

Documents you’ll need

NIE
Certificado digital or Cl@ve credentials
Employment income certificates from Spanish employers
Records of all worldwide income and foreign accounts
Documentation of foreign property, pensions and securities for the Modelo 720

Things most newcomers don’t know

The Valencian wealth tax threshold doubled at the end of 2025, and most guides still quote the old one.

Wealth tax is designed nationally and modified regionally. The Comunitat Valenciana applies it where Andalusia and Madrid rebate it in full — but Ley 5/2025 raised the regional exempt minimum from 500,000 to 1,000,000 euros with effect from the accrual on 31 December 2025, taking a whole band of taxpayers out entirely. This is exactly the kind of settled-sounding background fact that changed recently. Check the current figure before treating the Valencian position as a reason to live elsewhere.

Source: Generalitat Valenciana — Agència Tributària Valenciana

Spanish tax residency is worldwide and is assessed for the whole calendar year.

Once you cross the 183-day threshold, Spain taxes your global income for that entire year rather than from your arrival date. Someone arriving in May with a large bonus or a share sale from January to April can find that income falling into the Spanish net. If you have significant pre-move income, the difference between arriving in June and arriving in July can be very large, and it is a decision you can only make once.

Source: Agencia Tributaria

A UK state pension is taxable here, and a UK government-service pension generally is not.

This distinction catches a large share of Alicante province's retired population. Under the UK–Spain double taxation convention, most private and state pensions are taxable only in the country of residence, so Spain taxes them — while pensions paid in respect of government service are generally taxable only in the UK, though they are still taken into account when setting your Spanish rate on other income. People assume the treaty means their pension is untouched, and for most of them it does not.

Source: Agencia Tributaria

The borrador is a draft, not an answer.

The Agencia Tributaria pre-fills a return from the data it already holds, and for a straightforward Spanish salary it is usually correct. It knows nothing about a UK rental property, an overseas brokerage account or a foreign pension. Confirming the draft unchanged is a fast and common mistake here precisely because so many residents have income the tax office cannot see.

Source: Agencia Tributaria

Common mistakes to avoid

Quoting a single national income tax rate and ignoring the Valencian regional scale.
Relying on a pre-2025 figure for the Valencian wealth tax exempt minimum.
Assuming a double taxation treaty means a foreign pension is not taxable in Spain.
Confirming the borrador unchanged when you have foreign income.
Missing the Modelo 720 or Modelo 721 in your first year as a tax resident.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.