Spain exit tax: when it applies, how it is calculated and why it exists

Spain’s exit tax is a personal income tax rule that treats the shares and holdings of someone who ceases to be a Spanish tax resident as if they had been sold at market value, and taxes the gain built up to that point. There is no sale and no cash, but there is tax.

Definition. Capital gain on change of residence (Article 95 bis of the Spanish Personal Income Tax Act, Ley 35/2006, del IRPF): the positive difference between the market value and the acquisition cost of the shares or holdings in any type of entity owned by a taxpayer who gives up Spanish tax residence, provided the prior-residence and value thresholds set by law are met.

It was introduced by Law 26/2014 of 27 November, effective from 1 January 2015, and it has not changed since: the consolidated text in Spain’s Official Gazette (BOE) still shows the original wording.

The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) describes the exit tax in its practical income tax manual as a tool to curb tax evasion and protect revenue. Put simply, it does not tax you for leaving Spain; it taxes what you gained while you lived here.

For individuals, the exit tax sits in Article 95 bis of Law 35/2006 on Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and in Articles 121 to 123 of its Regulations (Royal Decree 439/2007). Companies have their own version in Article 19.1 of Law 27/2014 on Corporate Income Tax.

The current legal framework:

EU law shapes the whole design. The Court of Justice rejected immediate exit taxation in de Lasteyrie du Saillant (C-9/02, judgment of 11 March 2004) and ruled against Spain’s corporate regime (C-64/11, judgment of 25 April 2013). Hence the deferral for moves within the EU and, for companies, the harmonised rule in Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2016/1164.

It applies when three conditions are met at once: you cease to be a Spanish tax resident, you were an income taxpayer for at least 10 of the 15 tax years before the last one you must file, and your holdings exceed one of the two value thresholds in Article 95 bis.1.

1. Loss of tax residence. You no longer meet the tests in Article 9.1 of the IRPF Act: more than 183 days in Spain in the calendar year, or Spain being the main centre of your business or economic interests.
2. Long prior residence. At least ten of the fifteen tax years before the last one you must file. If you used the Beckham Law, those ten years start counting from the first year in which the special regime no longer applied (Article 95 bis.8).
3. Value threshold. One of these is enough:
   • the combined market value of your shares or holdings exceeds €4,000,000; or
   • you own more than 25% of an entity and that stake is worth more than €1,000,000. In this second case only that stake is taxed, not the rest of the portfolio.

The reference date is the accrual date of the last year you file as a resident, normally 31 December. Spain’s tax year matches the calendar year.

Spain taxes the gain on departure because, once you live elsewhere, most double tax treaties give the right to tax gains on shares exclusively to the seller’s country of residence. Without an exit tax, Spain would lose the right to tax value created while the taxpayer lived here.

Article 13.5 of the OECD Model Tax Convention, on which Spain’s treaty network is based, allocates gains on shares to the seller’s state of residence (with exceptions, such as companies whose value comes mainly from real estate). The scheme lawmakers want to stop is simple: move to a country that barely taxes capital gains, sell the following year, and Spain collects nothing on twenty years of growth.

The exit tax settles the account before you leave. It is not a penalty, and the law proves it: if you come back without having sold, you get the tax back with interest (Article 95 bis.5).

The gain subject to the exit tax is the difference between the market value of the holdings at 31 December of your last year of residence and their acquisition cost. It is added to the savings income of that last year through a supplementary return, with no surcharges or interest, filed within the filing period for your first year as a non-resident.

Valuation rules in Article 95 bis.3:

• Listed securities: their market price.
• Unlisted companies: the higher of two amounts, unless you prove a different market value: net equity per the last closed balance sheet, or the average result of the last three closed financial years capitalised at 20%.
• Investment funds: their net asset value.

A worked example. Laura has lived in Spain since 2008 and is the sole shareholder of a Spanish limited company (SL) she set up with €60,000 of share capital. She moves to Lisbon in January 2026, so 2025 is her last year as a resident. Her company has net equity of €3.2 million and average profits of €900,000 over the last three years; capitalised at 20%, that gives €4.5 million. The higher figure applies: €4,500,000.

• Gain: €4,500,000 − €60,000 = €4,440,000.
• Tax under the 2025 savings income scale (19% up to €6,000; 21% up to €50,000; 23% up to €200,000; 27% up to €300,000; 30% above that, following Law 7/2024): €1,313,880, assuming no other savings income in 2025.

Laura would report the gain in a supplementary 2025 return, within the 2026 income tax filing period, in spring 2027 (Article 121 IRPF Regulations). But as she is moving to Portugal, she can opt for the EU regime and pay nothing at that point.

Had she settled permanently in the United States instead, there would be no deferral: the €1,313,880 would be paid with that same supplementary return, in spring 2027.

Yes, a great deal. The law distinguishes four situations: a permanent move to a non-EU country (immediate payment), a temporary posting (deferral on request), a move within the EU or EEA (optional deferral of up to ten years) and a Spanish national moving to a tax haven (taxed anyway, while remaining a taxpayer).

The EU option is exercised with Form 113, between the date of the move and the end of the filing period for your first year as a non-resident (Article 123 IRPF Regulations). And if you eventually sell for less than the exit value, the taxable gain is reduced by that difference (Article 95 bis.6.b).

Keep an eye on the tax-haven list: Order HAC/649/2026 of 21 June (BOE of 27 June 2026) removed Gibraltar, Barbados and Seychelles, among others, although its transitional provision keeps the previous list for tax periods not yet closed when it came into force.

The most frequent errors are getting the residence date wrong, assuming the exit tax covers every asset, adding stakes together for the 25% test and forgetting to file Form 113. The DGT has also expressly excluded bitcoin-type cryptocurrencies from its scope.

• Confusing your flight date with your change of residence. If you leave in September after spending more than 183 days in Spain, you are still resident that year, and the valuation date moves back by a year.
• Assuming it covers property, deposits or crypto-assets. It only applies to shares and holdings in entities. Binding ruling V0666/2025 of 14 April concludes that bitcoin-type virtual currencies fall outside it; tokens giving rights over an entity need case-by-case analysis.
• Adding stakes together for the 25% threshold. The percentage and the €1 million figure are measured company by company (binding ruling V2282/2016 of 24 May).
• Not filing Form 113. Without that notice, you lose the EU deferral.
• Restructuring the company during the deferral without telling the AEAT. The DGT accepts that a demerger under the tax-neutral restructuring regime (FEAC) does not bring the deadline forward, but requires notice to the AEAT and the security to be maintained (binding ruling V0474/2025 of 25 March).

Does the exit tax apply to my property or my crypto?

No. The exit tax in Article 95 bis only taxes shares and holdings in entities, including investment funds. Real estate is outside its scope, and the DGT confirmed in binding ruling V0666/2025 that bitcoin-type cryptocurrencies are not taxed merely because you change your tax residence.

What happens if I move back to Spain after paying?

If you become resident again without having sold the shares, you can ask for the exit tax return to be corrected and the tax refunded. The AEAT pays late-payment interest from the date you paid (Article 95 bis.5 IRPF Act). The request can be filed once the filing period ends for the first year you must file a Spanish income tax return again.

Do I pay if I move to Portugal, France or Ireland?

Not necessarily. When you move to an EU or EEA state, you can opt not to pay the exit tax on departure. You will only pay if, within the next ten years, you sell the shares, stop living in the EU or EEA, or fail to file Form 113.

What if I move to Andorra, Dubai or the United States?

Outside the EU and EEA, the exit tax has no ten-year deferral (except Switzerland, according to the DGT). If the move is permanent, the gain goes in the supplementary return for your last year of residence. If it is temporary, you can request the Article 95 bis.4 deferral, provided the destination meets its conditions.

Do companies also pay exit tax in Spain?

Yes. Article 19.1 of the Corporate Income Tax Act taxes the difference between market value and tax value of the assets of a company that moves its residence out of Spain, unless they stay attached to a Spanish permanent establishment. For EU or EEA destinations (with mutual assistance in tax recovery), the tax can be paid in five annual instalments.

Can the impact of the exit tax be reduced legally?

Yes, within the law: by choosing the right regime for your destination, evidencing a market value below the statutory presumption where one exists, and planning your departure date. Artificial restructurings designed to stay under the thresholds can be recharacterised under Spain’s general anti-abuse and sham rules (Articles 15 and 16 of the General Taxation Act).

At Martínez-Cardós Abogados we sum it up like this: Spain’s exit tax does not punish moving abroad; it settles in Spain the gain generated in Spain. What matters is the order, and it is worth running through it before you buy the ticket:

1. Value your portfolio at 31 December and compare it with the two thresholds: over €4 million in total, or more than 25% of an entity where that stake is worth over €1 million.
2. Count the years: the exit tax only applies if you were an income taxpayer for at least 10 of the 15 tax years before the last one you file.
3. Fix your last year of residence using the 183-day rule and the centre of interests test, not your flight date.
4. Choose the regime that fits your destination: immediate payment, deferral for a temporary posting, or deferral within the EU or EEA.
5. File the supplementary income tax return on time or, if you move within the EU or EEA, Form 113.

If you are planning to relocate and hold significant shareholdings, Martínez-Cardós Abogados can review your case before the move becomes irreversible.

About the author. Mario Martínez-Cardós Bada, lawyer at Martínez-Cardós Abogados specialising in tax and succession law.