Spain Crypto Tax Guide 2026

Spain taxes crypto sales and crypto-to-crypto swaps by ordinary investors through IRPF capital-gain rules. For the 2025 tax year filed in 2026, those gains generally sit in the savings base and are taxed at rates from 19% to 30%.

The standard deadline for 2025 Spanish income tax returns is Tuesday, June 30th, 2026, for returns without first-payment direct debit. Crypto can also matter for Wealth Tax, Modelo 721 foreign virtual-currency reporting, and the Temporary Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes, even when you only held crypto during the year.

This guide focuses on Spain-resident individual taxpayers filing Spanish IRPF for consumer crypto activity. Nonresident, business, and cross-border cases can follow different rules. This is general information, not tax advice. Work with an asesor fiscal if you have material DeFi activity, staking or mining income, gifts, inheritance, foreign exchanges, Wealth Tax exposure, prior-year omissions, or missing records.

Quick answer

Spain taxes many crypto transactions, but there is no separate "crypto tax."

If you sell crypto for euros or swap one virtual currency for another different virtual currency outside an economic activity, Agencia Tributaria treats the transaction as a capital gain or loss for IRPF. Crypto-to-crypto swaps are barter transactions. Spain also uses FIFO for homogeneous virtual currencies acquired at different dates and values.

Buying crypto with euros and holding crypto do not create an IRPF disposal by themselves.

Separate reporting can still apply. Modelo 721 can apply to qualifying foreign-custodied virtual currencies above the threshold. Wealth Tax and large-fortune tax can also require a 31 December valuation review.

2026 filing facts

Quick taxable, non-taxable, and fact-specific summary

Is crypto taxed in Spain?

Yes. Spain taxes crypto through existing tax rules, mainly IRPF for individuals.

For consumer investors, a sale or swap of virtual currency creates a capital gain or loss, as long as you hold crypto privately rather than as a business (what Spanish tax law calls an economic activity). Agencia Tributaria's Renta 2025 guidance states that sales for legal tender and swaps between different virtual currencies are reported in the specific virtual-currency section for capital gains and losses from transfers.

Crypto can also matter outside income tax. Depending on your facts, Spain's Wealth Tax, Inheritance and Gift Tax, Modelo 721, and large-fortune tax can apply.

What changed for Spain crypto taxes in 2026?

For the 2025 return filed in 2026, the top savings-base rate is 30% for the band above EUR 300,000.

The core crypto guidance remains centered on Agencia Tributaria's Renta 2025 pages for virtual currencies. Those pages address fiat sales, crypto-to-crypto swaps, FIFO, savings-base reporting, timing, and platform non-return issues.

Modelo 721 also deserves special attention in 2026. Agencia Tributaria's Modelo 721 FAQ states that taxpayer-controlled hot or cold wallets are not included in the Modelo 721 balance computation when no third-party custodian safeguards the private keys on the taxpayer's behalf.

Can Agencia Tributaria see your crypto?

Increasingly, yes. Spain has built several channels that feed crypto data to Agencia Tributaria, and they widen in 2026.

Spanish crypto providers report to AEAT directly. Platforms that safeguard private keys or run exchange services file Modelo 172 (year-end balances held for clients) and Modelo 173 (the year's operations, in Spain and abroad) each January for the prior year. If you use a Spain-based provider, your balances and transactions reach the agency whether or not you file anything yourself.

These duties come from the 2021 anti-fraud law (Ley 11/2021), which created the obligation to report crypto balances and operations and led to Modelos 172, 173, and 721.

From 2026, EU-wide reporting widens the picture. Under DAC8, crypto-asset service providers must report EU-resident users' account and transaction information to tax authorities, with the first reports covering 2026 activity due in 2027 and then exchanged automatically between member states. In practice, that extends AEAT's reach to many platforms based outside Spain.

Two limits are worth keeping in mind. Agencia Tributaria does not automatically see every self-custody wallet transaction, so what it knows depends on what providers report and what you disclose. And missing or incomplete exchange data does not make a transaction tax-free. You still need your own records to determine acquisition value, transfer value, dates, fees, wallet ownership, income, and year-end balances.

How much crypto tax do you pay in Spain?

Ordinary investor gains from crypto sales and swaps generally go into the savings base. For the 2025 tax year filed in 2026, the combined savings-base rate bands are:

For example, if a Spain-resident investor has EUR 54,000 of savings-base crypto gain and no other savings-base items, the first EUR 6,000 is taxed at 19%, the next EUR 44,000 is taxed at 21%, and the remaining EUR 4,000 is taxed at 23%. That produces EUR 11,300 of tax before considering offsets, other income, withholding, deductions, or personal facts.

This table applies to the savings base, not every crypto receipt. Mining, employment compensation, business income, and some rewards can fall outside ordinary investor capital-gain treatment depending on the facts.

General income rates vary through national and autonomous community scales. This guide does not try to calculate every regional outcome.

Wealth Tax and large-fortune tax

Holding crypto is not an IRPF sale or swap. It can still matter for wealth reporting.

Agencia Tributaria's Patrimonio 2025 guidance states that virtual currencies have economic content and must be declared for Wealth Tax when the taxpayer is required to file. Crypto balances are valued in euros at 31 December, using the 23:59 price from main platforms or price-tracking websites, or a reasonable market-value estimate.

Under the national Wealth Tax framework, filing can be required when tax is due or when total assets and rights exceed EUR 2,000,000. The default exempt minimum is EUR 700,000 when an autonomous community has not set another amount.

Wealth Tax is threshold-heavy and autonomous-community-dependent, so high-balance readers should confirm the applicable regional rules before filing.

The Temporary Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes applies to individuals with net wealth above EUR 3,000,000. It is designed to work alongside Wealth Tax, with Wealth Tax paid deducted in the calculation. If this section might apply to you, use the guide as a prompt to talk with an asesor fiscal, not as a full calculation tool.

Spanish crypto tax terms to know

When is crypto not taxed in Spain?

Buying crypto with EUR is not the taxable disposal identified in Agencia Tributaria's virtual-currency sale and swap guidance. It is an acquisition. Keep the date, EUR value, fees, exchange, and asset quantity because those records support the later gain or loss calculation.

Holding crypto is not an IRPF sale or swap. Holding can still matter for Wealth Tax, Modelo 721, large-fortune tax, and records.

Moving crypto between wallets you control is not a sale or swap if your records show that both wallets are yours and beneficial ownership did not change. Label self-transfers clearly so they are not mistaken for disposals.

Self-custody is also not counted for Modelo 721 where you control the private keys and no third-party custodian safeguards them on your behalf. That self-custody exclusion is only about Modelo 721. It does not remove income tax, Wealth Tax, or recordkeeping issues.

Receiving a return of principal may be non-income when properly documented. Lending, DeFi, and yield products need a separate facts-and-records review because a deposit, token receipt, reward, or withdrawal may have its own tax character.

Which crypto transactions are taxable in Spain?

Agencia Tributaria directly addresses sales for fiat and swaps between different virtual currencies. Other transactions use those rules plus general IRPF principles.

Crypto-to-crypto swaps

Spain's crypto-to-crypto rule is more specific than "trades are taxable."

Agencia Tributaria says an exchange between different virtual currencies is a barter transaction because different virtual currencies are different goods. The gain or loss is measured by comparing the acquisition value of the virtual currency delivered with the higher of:

1. The market value of the virtual currency delivered.
2. The market value of the asset or right received.

The received asset's acquisition value becomes the value used as the transfer value in the barter transaction.

How are gifts, donations, lost crypto, and inherited crypto taxed?

Gifts and losses need care because they can involve more than one tax.

Sending a gift of appreciated crypto can create donor-side IRPF gain. Losses from gratuitous inter vivos transfers are disallowed under Spain's IRPF loss restriction rules. The recipient may also have Inheritance and Gift Tax obligations.

Inheritance is different. Receiving crypto by inheritance does not create a decedent-side IRPF gain or loss, but the recipient side can involve Inheritance and Gift Tax and basis rules.

Donations need a targeted review. A qualifying charitable donation may have special treatment, but not every wallet transfer to a nonprofit or public-interest project meets the requirements. Get advice before relying on donation treatment for material crypto.

Lost, stolen, hacked, or failed-platform balances also need a careful record trail. Agencia Tributaria's Renta 2025 guidance says a platform's failure to return virtual currencies is not automatically a capital loss from a transfer while the taxpayer keeps a claim against the platform. Private-key loss, hacks, scams, and wrong-address sends are fact-specific.

How are staking, mining, airdrops, and DeFi taxed in Spain?

Spain has clearer official crypto guidance for sales and swaps than for many reward and DeFi categories. Track each receipt and transaction, but do not force every activity into one rule.

Getting paid in crypto

Crypto paid for employment, services, freelance work, or a business activity follows the underlying income category. Track the EUR value at receipt. If you later sell or swap the crypto, that later disposal can create a separate capital gain or loss.

Mining rewards

Mining rewards are generally taxable in Spain. How they are taxed depends on how you mine. When you organize production means or staff on your own account, mining is economic-activity income (rendimientos de actividades económicas). Hobby, incidental, or small-scale mining that does not reach that level is still taxable, but the category is less settled in official guidance, so review the treatment rather than assume the rewards are tax-free. Keep records of mining rewards, EUR values at receipt, costs, equipment, pool statements, and whether the activity was organized as a business.

Staking and lending rewards

Passive staking and lending rewards are generally taxable. Based on general capital-income rules, passive staking or lending rewards may fit rendimientos del capital mobiliario when the return comes from assets, goods, or rights not used in an economic activity.

The exact category still depends on the facts, and the official crypto-specific source base is thinner than for sales and swaps. Organized activity can point toward economic-activity treatment. Later disposal of reward tokens can create a separate capital gain or loss.

Airdrops, referral rewards, and forks

Task-based airdrops, referral rewards, and promotional rewards are generally taxable as income, because you receive crypto in exchange for an action, service, or relationship with a platform. Track the EUR value at receipt and the later basis. Passive holder airdrops and hard forks are barely addressed in Spain's official guidance, so their treatment is unsettled.

DeFi, liquidity pools, wrapping, and bridging

DeFi is fact-specific. Agencia Tributaria's clearest rule is the barter rule for exchanges between different virtual currencies. If a DeFi transaction gives up one token and receives a different token, claim, or right, that barter framework is the closest authority-backed starting point.

If the action is only a matched movement of the same beneficially owned asset, transfer treatment may be arguable. Records matter.

Large or repeated DeFi activity should be reviewed with an asesor fiscal.

NFTs

Buying an NFT with crypto can dispose of the crypto used for the purchase. Selling an NFT can create a capital gain or loss. Creator royalties, minting businesses, game assets, and repeated NFT activity need a facts-and-records review.

How do you calculate crypto gains and losses in Spain?

For a fiat sale, start with this basic formula:

Gain or loss = transfer value - acquisition value

• Transfer value generally means your EUR sale proceeds, reduced by directly related transfer expenses where allowed.
• Acquisition value generally means the EUR amount paid for the crypto, plus directly related acquisition expenses and taxes where allowed.
• If the sale price is below normal market value on the sale date, market value prevails.

For a crypto-to-crypto swap, compare the acquisition value of the virtual currency delivered with the higher of the market value of the virtual currency delivered or the market value of the asset received.

FIFO

Spain uses FIFO for homogeneous virtual currencies acquired at different dates and values when only part of the position is sold or swapped. FIFO means the oldest units are treated as disposed of first.

Example:

Under FIFO, the 0.40 BTC sold comes from the January 10th lot. If that 0.40 BTC had EUR 16,000 of acquisition value, the capital gain is EUR 12,000 before any directly related transfer expense adjustments.

Crypto-to-crypto swap example

Assume Elena bought 10 ETH for EUR 18,000. She later swaps all 10 ETH for SOL. At the time of the swap:

The SOL acquisition value is EUR 25,000 because that is the value used as the transfer value in the barter transaction.

Losses

Capital losses from crypto disposals can offset capital gains in the savings base, and any remaining net loss carries forward for four years. Two limits apply. A loss on crypto you give away as a gift is disallowed (article 33.5.c). And if you sell crypto at a loss and buy the same crypto back within a year, Spain can defer that loss (article 33.5.e), so it may not count in the year of sale. These reacquisition rules were written with securities in mind, so their application to crypto is unsettled. Get advice before claiming a loss when you have rebought the same asset.

How do you report crypto taxes in Spain?

Most consumer investors start with Modelo 100 (Form 100), Spain's annual IRPF return. Agencia Tributaria's Renta 2025 guidance says gains and losses from virtual-currency transfers and swaps by individuals are reported in the specific section titled "Ganancias y pérdidas patrimoniales derivadas de la transmisión o permuta de monedas virtuales por particulares."

Other forms can matter depending on wealth, foreign custody, and provider facts.

You file electronically through Agencia Tributaria's Renta Web or the AEAT app, which include the virtual-currency section for gains and losses. Box numbers and screens change from year to year, so follow the current form.

For crypto held abroad, the form is Modelo 721, not Modelo 720, and crypto you hold in self-custody is not reported on Modelo 721 even if it is worth more than EUR 50,000.

What is Modelo 721 for crypto?

Modelo 721 (Form 721) is Spain's information return for certain virtual currencies located abroad. It is not a tax payment form by itself.

For crypto investors, the key question is custody. For consumer readers, the common case is a Spain-resident taxpayer with crypto on a foreign exchange. Modelo 721 applies to qualifying foreign third-party-custodied virtual currencies. The first filing threshold is combined foreign-custodied virtual-currency balances above EUR 50,000 at 31 December. In later years, filing generally applies when the balance increases by more than EUR 20,000 from the last reported threshold balance.

The filing window is 1 January through 31 March of the following year.

Agencia Tributaria's FAQ states that hot or cold wallets controlled by the taxpayer are not counted for Modelo 721 when no third-party custodian safeguards the private keys on the taxpayer's behalf.

Modelo 721 does not replace Modelo 100, Modelo 714, or Modelo 718. A taxpayer can have no Modelo 721 filing and still have IRPF or Wealth Tax obligations.

When should you work with an asesor fiscal?

Work with a Spanish tax advisor when the amount is material, the records are incomplete, or the transaction does not fit a simple sale, swap, or self-transfer.

Advisor review is especially useful for:

• DeFi lending, liquidity pools, wrappers, bridges, and liquid staking.
• Staking or mining that may be business-like.
• Airdrops, hard forks, creator NFTs, game assets, and royalties.
• Foreign exchanges above the Modelo 721 threshold.
• Wealth Tax or large-fortune tax exposure.
• Gifts, donations, inheritance, or cross-border transfers.
• Platform bankruptcy, theft, hacks, scams, and wrong-address sends.
• Prior-year omissions or corrections.
• High transaction volume or missing basis.

What crypto tax records should you keep?

Keep records that let you trace every acquisition, receipt, disposal, transfer, and year-end balance in euros.

Common Spain crypto tax mistakes

• Assuming crypto becomes tax-free after holding it for one year, as it can in Germany and Portugal.
• Ignoring crypto-to-crypto swaps.
• Using the old 28% top savings-base rate for the 2025 return filed in 2026.
• Reporting crypto on Modelo 720 instead of checking Modelo 721.
• Treating self-custody as Modelo 721-reportable solely because the value is above EUR 50,000.
• Forgetting Wealth Tax and 31 December valuation.
• Claiming a loss after selling crypto and buying the same crypto back soon after, when the reacquisition rule may defer it.
• Treating every DeFi step the same way.
• Treating every lost, stolen, or failed-platform balance as an immediate capital loss.
• Losing FIFO records.

How can you reduce crypto tax mistakes in Spain?

Good records reduce surprises. They also make advisor review faster.

1. Track sales and swaps before filing.
2. Keep FIFO lot history.
3. Separate sales, swaps, rewards, gifts, transfers, and DeFi steps.
4. Track EUR values at transaction time.
5. Check Modelo 721 before March 31st if you hold crypto on foreign exchanges.
6. Check 31 December balances for Wealth Tax and large-fortune tax.
7. Keep self-custody evidence.
8. Review same-asset loss reacquisitions under Spain rules.
9. Get advice before gifts, donations, inheritance, DeFi, staking businesses, or prior-year corrections.

How CoinTracker helps with Spain crypto taxes

CoinTracker brings your wallet and exchange activity into one place and organizes buys, sells, swaps, transfers, fees, rewards, and income. It calculates gains and losses, tracks income, and produces end-of-year balances, so your records are ready to file on a Spanish return or hand to an asesor fiscal. It does not file Modelo 100, 714, 718, or 721 for you.

Get started with CoinTracker.

Disclaimer: This post is informational only and is not intended as tax advice. For tax advice, please consult a tax professional.

Spain crypto tax FAQ

Is crypto taxed in Spain in 2026?

Yes. Spain taxes crypto sales and swaps by ordinary investors as capital gains or losses in IRPF. Other crypto activity can involve income tax, Wealth Tax, Inheritance and Gift Tax, Modelo 721, or large-fortune tax depending on the facts.

What is the crypto tax deadline in Spain for 2026?

The standard deadline for 2025 Spanish income tax returns is Tuesday, June 30th, 2026, or Thursday, June 25th, 2026, if you pay the first or sole payment by direct debit. Modelo 721 for covered 2025 foreign-custodied virtual currencies was due by Tuesday, March 31st, 2026. Modelo 718 for 2025 large-fortune tax cases is due by Friday, July 31st, 2026.

What tax year am I filing in 2026?

In 2026, Spanish taxpayers file for the 2025 tax year. Spain uses a calendar tax year for individual income tax.

What crypto tax rate applies in Spain?

Ordinary investor crypto sale and swap gains generally belong in the savings base. For the 2025 tax year filed in 2026, savings-base rates are 19%, 21%, 23%, 27%, and 30%. Some crypto income can fall outside that framework depending on the activity.

Is crypto tax-free after one year in Spain?

No. Spain has no holding-period exemption like Germany's, where crypto held longer than a year can be tax-free. Holding crypto is not itself a taxable event, but when you later sell or swap it, the gain or loss is taxable no matter how long you held it.

Are crypto-to-crypto trades taxable in Spain?

Yes. Agencia Tributaria says swaps between different virtual currencies are barter transactions. The swap can create a capital gain or loss even if no euros are received.

What cost basis method does Spain use for crypto?

Spain uses FIFO for homogeneous virtual currencies acquired at different dates and values when only part of the holding is sold or swapped.

Do I report crypto on Modelo 100 (Form 100)?

Yes. Modelo 100 is Spain's annual IRPF return, and crypto sale and swap gains and losses go in its dedicated virtual-currency section when you file.

What is Modelo 721 (Form 721) for crypto?

Modelo 721 is an information return for crypto held abroad. You file it when your foreign-custodied virtual currencies are worth more than EUR 50,000 combined at 31 December. It is informational only and does not by itself create any tax to pay.

Do I file Modelo 721 for a self-custody wallet?

Agencia Tributaria says taxpayer-controlled hot or cold wallets are not counted for Modelo 721 when no third-party custodian safeguards the private keys on the taxpayer's behalf. Self-custody can still matter for Wealth Tax and recordkeeping.

Do I report crypto on Modelo 720 or Modelo 721?

Modelo 721 is the crypto-specific foreign virtual-currency information return when the foreign-custody rules apply. Do not use Modelo 720 for covered foreign-custodied crypto solely because the balance is above the reporting threshold.

Do I still need Wealth Tax if I do not sell crypto?

Possibly. Holding crypto is not an IRPF disposal, but crypto balances can be part of Wealth Tax if you are required to file. Agencia Tributaria's Patrimonio 2025 guidance says virtual currencies are valued in euros at 31 December.

Is staking, airdrop, mining, or DeFi income taxed in Spain?

Many reward receipts and some DeFi transactions can be taxable, but the exact category depends on the facts. Based on general capital-income rules, passive staking and lending rewards can fit capital-income analysis, while organized mining or business-like activity can point to economic-activity income. Airdrops, forks, and DeFi need careful records and advisor review for material amounts because Spain's available crypto-specific guidance is clearer for sales and swaps than for these categories.

Can crypto losses reduce taxes in Spain?

Yes. Capital losses from crypto disposals offset capital gains in the savings base, and any unused loss carries forward for four years. One caveat: if you sell at a loss and buy the same crypto back soon after, Spain can defer that loss, so it may not count in the year of sale.

What if an exchange goes bankrupt and does not return my crypto?

Agencia Tributaria's Renta 2025 guidance says platform non-return is not automatically a capital loss from a transfer while the taxpayer keeps a claim against the platform. Keep legal, platform, and account records and get advice for material balances.

Can CoinTracker file my Spanish tax return?

No. CoinTracker can help organize crypto activity, calculate gains and losses, track income and end-of-year balances, and export records. It does not file Modelo 100, Modelo 714, Modelo 718, or Modelo 721, and it does not replace an asesor fiscal.