Tax & Accounting
Tax residency in Spain
Whether you are tax resident in Spain decides what you declare, where, and on which income. We establish your position under Spanish law and the relevant treaty, and plan the move, or the year, around it.
What it is
Spanish tax residency is determined by objective tests: physical presence of more than 183 days in a calendar year, the location of your main centre of business or economic interests, and a presumption based on where your spouse and dependent minor children live. Meeting any one of them can make you resident for the whole year.
Where another country also treats you as resident, the tie-breaker rules in the applicable double tax treaty decide. We assess each test against your actual circumstances and document the conclusion.
When it is useful
- You are planning a move to Spain and want to choose the right date
- You spend part of the year in Spain and part elsewhere
- Your family lives in Spain but you work abroad
- You have received a query from the tax authority about residency
- You are leaving Spain and need to cease residency cleanly
- You hold income or assets in more than one country
What we assess
Scope is agreed up front; not every engagement needs every area.
Day count
Presence in Spain across the calendar year, including sporadic absences.
Economic interests
Where your main business activity, income and assets are located.
Family presumption
Residency of a spouse and dependent minor children.
Treaty position
Tie-breaker tests where another country also claims residency.
First and final years
Timing of arrival or departure and its effect on the tax year.
Ongoing obligations
Declarations that follow from residency, including foreign assets.
How we work
Facts
Where you live, work, earn and hold assets, and for how long.
Assessment
Each residency test applied under Spanish law and the treaty.
Written view
A clear conclusion, its basis and the risks.
Plan
Timing, filings and records to keep from that point on.
Typical situations
Illustrative situations, not client case studies.
Splitting time between Spain and another country
Day count close to the threshold and income earned abroad. We look at presence, economic interests and the treaty position, and set out how to manage the year.
A family arriving mid-year
The residency of each family member and the treatment of the year of arrival.
A resident leaving Spain
The evidence needed to show departure and the final-year declaration.
Questions
Is the 183-day rule the only test?
No. The economic-interests test and the family presumption can each make you resident even with fewer than 183 days in Spain.
Can I be resident in two countries?
Under each country’s domestic law, yes. The applicable double tax treaty then determines which country has priority.
When should I get advice?
Before the move or the change in circumstances. Timing is the lever with the most effect, and it cannot be adjusted afterwards.
Adviser
Luis Rendón leads Worldwide Framework and its Tax & Accounting practice, the foundation of the firm.
Tell us where you live, earn and hold assets. We will tell you what applies.
Discuss your residency positionConfidential and without obligation.