Cryptocurrency in Spain: regulation, taxes and reporting
In short. Spain taxes crypto gains on a rising scale from 19% to 30%, and counts a swap between two coins as a taxable sale. The top rate went from 28% to 30% at the start of 2025. Two reporting duties sit on top: holdings abroad above 50,000 euros need their own return, and a net worth above 700,000 euros brings crypto into the wealth tax.
- GAINS UP TO 6,000 €
- 19%the first bracket of the savings base
- ABOVE 300,000 €
- 30%top bracket, raised from 28% in 2025
- COIN FOR COIN
- Taxablea swap counts as a sale
- HOLDINGS ABROAD
- Report over 50,000 €separate annual return
- WEALTH TAX
- Over 700,000 €net worth, crypto included
- PLATFORM LICENCE
- MiCA, from the CNMVor passported from another EU state
A scale, not a flat rate
Spain puts crypto gains in the savings base of income tax, where the rate climbs with the size of the gain.
Five brackets apply. The first 6,000 euros of gains take 19%. From there to 50,000 the rate is 21%, then 23% up to 200,000, then 27% up to 300,000, and 30% on anything above. The top bracket rose from 28% to 30% on 1 January 2025.
Realise 40,000 euros in a year and you pay 19% on the first slice and 21% on the rest. The scale works bracket by bracket, the way income tax does.
Swapping counts as selling
Trade bitcoin for ether and Spain treats it as a disposal of the bitcoin at market value.
The tax code calls this a permuta, an exchange of one asset for another, and it produces a gain or loss measured in euros even though no euros moved. The same applies when you pay for something with crypto.
France leaves crypto-to-crypto trades alone until you reach euros, and that one rule puts Spain in a different place. Rebalance often from Madrid and you create a taxable event each time, along with the records to prove each one.
Two reporting duties beyond the tax itself
Hold crypto on a platform outside Spain and the total crosses 50,000 euros, and you file a separate annual return declaring it. The duty attaches to the holding rather than to any gain, so it applies in a year when you sold nothing.
The wealth tax catches the second group. Worldwide net worth above 700,000 euros brings your crypto into that calculation alongside property and securities.
Spanish authorised platforms send your balances and transactions to the tax agency on their own schedule, so the assessors hold those numbers before your return arrives.
Licensing runs through Europe now
A platform serving Spanish clients needs authorisation as a crypto asset service provider under the European regime.
The national securities regulator grants it to Spanish firms. A provider authorised in any other member state passports into Spain without a second licence, since one authorisation now opens all twenty-seven markets.
The regime governs conduct and consumer protection rather than tax. Pick a licensed platform and you gain protections; what you owe the tax agency stays the same.
What this means if you are moving there
The rate sits mid-table for Europe, and the taxable-swap rule is what makes Spain expensive for anyone who trades often.
A buy-and-hold investor selling once at 40,000 euros faces a bill close to what Portugal or Germany would charge on a short hold. Someone rebalancing weekly pays on each leg and files the paperwork to match. Add the wealth tax if your total assets are substantial, since crypto counts toward the 700,000-euro threshold like anything else you own.
Allowed
- Buy, hold and sell crypto, paying on the savings-base scale
- Offset capital losses against gains under the ordinary rules
- Use any platform licensed under the European regime in any member state
- Hold crypto abroad, declaring it once the total passes 50,000 euros
Restricted
- Treating a coin-for-coin swap as untaxed, since Spain counts it as a sale
- Holding over 50,000 euros abroad without filing the separate return
- Leaving crypto out of the wealth tax when net worth passes 700,000 euros
- Assuming the tax agency lacks your numbers: Spanish platforms report them
How the rules took shape
Anti-fraud law brings crypto holdings into the reporting duties for assets abroad.
The separate annual return for crypto held outside Spain applies for the first time.
The top savings-base bracket rises from 28% to 30%.
The national regulator starts authorising providers under the European regime.
The European transition closes: only authorised providers may serve clients in the EU.
Worth knowing
In 2025 BBVA, the country's second-largest bank, won regulatory approval and opened bitcoin and ether trading to ordinary retail customers inside its banking app.
Common questions
What rate will I pay on a crypto gain?
The savings-base scale: 19% on the first 6,000 euros, 21% to 50,000, 23% to 200,000, 27% to 300,000 and 30% above that. Each bracket applies to its own slice.
Do I owe tax when I swap one coin for another?
Yes. Spain treats the swap as a disposal at market value and calculates a gain in euros even though no euros moved.
When do I file the return for holdings abroad?
When your crypto held outside Spain totals more than 50,000 euros. It reports the holding, so it applies in a year with no sales.
Does crypto count for the wealth tax?
Yes, once your worldwide net worth passes 700,000 euros. Crypto sits in that calculation alongside property and securities.
Which platforms may serve me?
Those authorised under the European regime, either by the Spanish regulator or by another member state passporting in.
Sources
Related reading
Other countries
Updated 20.08.2026 · this is reference material, not investment or tax advice