Spain taxes crypto more comprehensively than most EU countries. Every sale, every swap, every staking reward — all taxable. The AEAT has been collecting transaction data from exchanges since 2024 via Modelo 172, and it cross-references that data against individual IRPF returns. If you traded crypto in 2025 and don't declare it, the AEAT will likely know.
This guide covers every tax obligation for Spanish crypto traders and investors: what triggers a taxable event, how to calculate gains using Spain's mandatory FIFO method, what rates apply, when and what to file, and what happens if you don't.
Timing: The IRPF filing window for fiscal year 2025 opens in April 2026 and closes June 30, 2026. If you held crypto abroad above €50,000 at December 31, 2025, your Modelo 721 was due March 31, 2026. If you missed it, file voluntarily now — the penalty for voluntary late filing is lower than an AEAT-initiated correction.
Key Deadlines
What Is a Taxable Event in Spain
Spain's AEAT treats crypto as a financial asset. A taxable event occurs every time you dispose of a crypto-asset — regardless of whether you received euros in return.
These are taxable events:
- Selling crypto for euros or any other fiat currency
- Exchanging one crypto for another (BTC → ETH, ETH → USDC, any swap)
- Using crypto to purchase goods or services (paying with Bitcoin at a merchant)
- Receiving staking rewards, yield farming income, or liquidity provision fees
- Receiving crypto from hard forks or airdrops (at market value on receipt date)
- Crypto received as salary or freelance payment (taxed as employment/professional income, not capital gains)
These are not taxable events:
- Simply holding crypto — no tax until you dispose of it
- Transferring crypto between your own wallets (same owner, different addresses)
- Buying crypto with euros (the acquisition itself is not taxable — it sets your cost basis)
- Moving crypto between your own accounts on different exchanges
Crypto-to-crypto swaps are fully taxable. This catches many traders off guard. Swapping BTC for ETH on any platform — centralized or decentralized — is treated by the AEAT as selling BTC (triggering a capital gain/loss) and buying ETH (setting a new cost basis). You must calculate and declare the gain on BTC even if you never touched euros.
Capital Gains Tax Rates (2026)
Crypto capital gains in Spain are classified as ganancias patrimoniales and taxed as savings income (base del ahorro) under IRPF, regardless of how long you held the asset. Spain does not apply reduced rates for long-term holdings — the same rates apply whether you held for one day or ten years.
| Net capital gain (annual total) | Tax rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €6,000 | 19% |
| €6,000 – €50,000 | 21% |
| €50,000 – €200,000 | 23% |
| Above €200,000 | 27% |
These rates apply to your net position — gains minus losses from all crypto disposals in the year. If you made €10,000 profit on one trade and lost €4,000 on another, your taxable gain is €6,000. Losses can also be offset against other capital gains (e.g., stock gains) in the same year, and carried forward for up to four years if losses exceed gains.
How to Calculate Gains: The FIFO Method
Spain mandates the FIFO (First In, First Out) method for crypto cost basis calculation. When you sell or swap crypto, the AEAT assumes you are disposing of the units you acquired earliest.
This means you must track the EUR cost basis of every purchase — not just the average price or the current price. Your cost basis for each unit is the EUR value you paid when you bought it, including any exchange fees paid at the time of acquisition.
Keep records of every acquisition. You need the date, amount in crypto, and EUR value at the time of purchase for every buy, staking reward, airdrop, and fork received. Without this data, you cannot calculate FIFO correctly — and the AEAT will default to a zero cost basis, maximizing your taxable gain.
Staking, DeFi, and Yield Income
Income earned from crypto participation — staking, liquidity provision, lending, yield farming — is taxed differently from capital gains. The AEAT classifies these as capital income (rendimientos del capital mobiliario), taxed in the year of receipt at the same savings rates (19–27%), but as income, not gains.
Staking rewards
Declared as income in the year received, valued at the EUR market price on the date the rewards were credited to your wallet or account. When you later sell those staking rewards, the capital gain is calculated from that initial income value as the cost basis.
Liquidity provision and yield farming
Fees and yield received are income in the year received. Providing liquidity itself — depositing tokens into a pool — is treated as a disposal of those tokens (triggering capital gains calculation) and acquisition of LP tokens at the same EUR value.
Airdrops and hard forks
Received at the market value on the date of receipt. If no market price exists (new token, no trading), value is zero until first traded — at which point the price at first trade becomes the cost basis. Subsequent sale is a capital gain from that basis.
NFT sales are taxable. Selling an NFT for crypto or for fiat generates a capital gain. The gain is the EUR sale price minus the EUR acquisition cost (including gas fees). Swapping an NFT for another NFT triggers a disposal at market value. The AEAT's 2025 guidance explicitly includes commercial NFT activity in the reporting scope.
Modelo 721: Foreign Holdings Above €50,000
If you held more than €50,000 in crypto-assets at any provider located outside Spain at December 31, you must file Modelo 721 annually by March 31.
Key facts about Modelo 721:
- It is a disclosure obligation only — no additional tax is owed just because you file it
- The €50,000 threshold applies to the total value across all foreign providers at December 31, converted to EUR at that day's closing price
- It covers crypto-assets held at exchanges, custodians, and wallets — including hardware wallets if the provider is foreign
- Omitting Modelo 721 when required carries penalties of €5,000 per unreported data item, with a minimum of €10,000 per filing period
- The 2025 deadline was March 31, 2026. If you missed it, file voluntarily immediately
Crypto held at Spanish providers (Bit2Me, Criptan) does not count toward the Modelo 721 threshold. Those providers report your balances to the AEAT themselves via Modelo 173.
What the AEAT Already Knows
Since 2024, crypto exchanges serving Spanish residents have been legally required to submit Modelo 172 quarterly — a transaction-level report of every crypto trade made by Spanish resident clients. This includes Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, and any other exchange with Spanish users, regardless of where the exchange is incorporated.
The AEAT cross-references Modelo 172 data against individual IRPF returns. If an exchange reports that you made €25,000 in crypto transactions in 2025 and your IRPF shows no crypto income, you will receive an requerimiento de información — an information request — automatically. Unresolved discrepancies escalate to full tax inspection.
The AEAT also has access to blockchain analytics. On-chain data for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and major blockchains is analyzed to identify undisclosed wallets linked to Spanish residents. This approach has been used in enforcement actions since 2023.
How to Declare Crypto on Your IRPF
Crypto capital gains and income are declared in your annual IRPF return (Declaración de la Renta). The IRPF filing window for fiscal year 2025 opens in April 2026 and closes June 30, 2026.
Capital gains from disposals
Reported in Sección G2 of the IRPF form, under "Ganancias y pérdidas patrimoniales que no derivan de la transmisión de elementos patrimoniales" for short-term, or "G1" for disposals of assets held — the AEAT applies savings rate to all crypto regardless of holding period, but uses the transmission section.
Each disposal should be listed individually with: date acquired, date disposed, acquisition value (EUR), disposal value (EUR), and net gain/loss. For traders with hundreds of transactions, this requires a supporting annex generated from your transaction history.
Staking and yield income
Reported as capital income (rendimientos del capital mobiliario) in the corresponding section of the IRPF form. Declare the total EUR value of all staking rewards, DeFi yield, and liquidity provision fees received in 2025.
Crypto received as salary
If you were paid in crypto by an employer or as freelance income, declare it as rendimientos del trabajo (employment income) or rendimientos de actividades económicas (professional income), at the EUR value on the date of receipt. These are taxed at your general IRPF rate — higher than the savings rate.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
| Violation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Undeclared capital gain (IRPF) | 50–150% surcharge on unpaid tax + 3.75% annual interest |
| Voluntary late IRPF filing (within 3–6 months) | 10% surcharge on unpaid tax (no additional penalty) |
| Modelo 721 not filed (per omitted item) | €5,000 per item, minimum €10,000 per year |
| Modelo 721 filed late voluntarily | €100 per item, minimum €1,500 per year |
| Fraud (deliberate concealment) | Criminal prosecution if undeclared tax exceeds €120,000 |
Voluntary disclosure pays. The penalty differential between voluntary late filing (10% surcharge) and AEAT-discovered omission (50–150% surcharge) is substantial. If you have undeclared crypto income from prior years, file a complementary return (declaración complementaria) before the AEAT contacts you. After an AEAT requerimiento, voluntary disclosure no longer reduces penalties.
Practical Steps Before June 30
- Export your transaction history from every exchange and wallet you used in 2025. Most major exchanges (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken) have a tax export function. For DEX transactions, use a blockchain analytics tool to reconstruct your on-chain activity.
- Calculate FIFO cost basis for every disposal. Total each asset class separately. Aggregate annual gains and losses.
- Identify staking and yield income received in 2025. Find the EUR value on the date each reward was credited — not the current price.
- Check your December 31, 2025 foreign balances. If total value exceeded €50,000, file Modelo 721 immediately (deadline passed March 31 — do it voluntarily now).
- Declare everything on your IRPF before June 30, 2026. If the volume is large, engage a gestoría with crypto experience — general accountants often miss the crypto-to-crypto swap rule and the FIFO requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is crypto taxable in Spain?
Yes. All crypto disposals — selling for euros, swapping for another crypto, or using crypto to buy goods — are taxable under IRPF. Capital gains are taxed at 19–27% depending on the amount. Simply holding crypto is not taxable, but holdings above €50,000 at foreign providers must be disclosed in Modelo 721.
How does Spain calculate crypto capital gains?
Spain uses the FIFO (First In, First Out) method. When you sell or swap crypto, the gain is calculated using the cost basis of your earliest-acquired units. You must track the EUR purchase price of every acquisition. The gain equals sale price in EUR minus acquisition cost in EUR.
Is swapping one crypto for another a taxable event in Spain?
Yes. In Spain, any exchange of one crypto-asset for another — including DEX swaps — is treated as a disposal of the first asset at current market value and acquisition of the second. You must calculate and declare the capital gain on the disposed asset even if you never received euros.
Do I need to declare crypto on my Spanish tax return if I didn't sell?
Holding without selling generates no taxable event and needs no IRPF declaration. However, if holdings at foreign providers exceeded €50,000 at December 31, you must file Modelo 721 by March 31. Staking rewards are taxable as income in the year received, even if you didn't sell the rewarded tokens.
How is staking income taxed in Spain?
Staking rewards are classified as capital income (rendimientos del capital mobiliario), taxed at 19–27% in the year they are received, at the EUR market value on the date of receipt. When you later sell the staked tokens, a separate capital gain is calculated from that income value as the cost basis.
What is Modelo 721 and who needs to file it?
Modelo 721 is an annual disclosure of crypto-assets held at foreign providers above €50,000 at December 31. It is filed by the individual taxpayer (not the exchange) by March 31 each year. It is a disclosure only — no additional tax is owed. Penalties for omission are €5,000 per data item, minimum €10,000 per year.
What are the penalties for not declaring crypto in Spain?
Undeclared IRPF gains: 50–150% surcharge on unpaid tax plus annual interest. Modelo 721 omissions: €5,000 per unreported item, minimum €10,000 per year. Voluntary late IRPF filing before AEAT contact: only a 10% surcharge — file as soon as possible if you have undeclared income.
When is the IRPF deadline for crypto gains from 2025?
The IRPF filing window for fiscal year 2025 opens in April 2026 and closes June 30, 2026. All crypto capital gains and staking income earned in 2025 must be declared in this return.
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