Wealth and inheritance tax

Key facts

Wealth tax: how the exemptions work

The Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio taxes your net wealth — assets minus deductible debts — on 31 December each year. Two state-level exemptions do most of the work:

• €700,000 minimum exemption (art. 28 of Ley 19/1991). The state default applies wherever a community has not set its own figure, and under art. 28.3 it also applies to non-residents taxed on their Spanish assets — a point many guides get wrong.
• Up to €300,000 for your habitual home (art. 4.Nueve). It is tied to the home you actually live in — a non-resident, whose habitual residence is outside Spain, in practice relies on the €700,000 minimum alone.

Above the exemptions, what you actually pay is decided by the regional layer — and by the solidarity tax that now sits above it.

The Madrid and Andalucía myth

For years the standard advice was "move to Madrid or Andalucía and pay no wealth tax". That is no longer accurate — and repeating it in 2026 can cost real money.

When the state introduced the solidarity tax on large fortunes (ITSGF), a 100% regional rebate stopped protecting wealthy taxpayers — it merely rerouted their money to the state. Both regions reacted the same way:

• Madrid (Ley 12/2023 of the Comunidad de Madrid) temporarily replaced its 100% bonificación with a variable rebate for as long as the ITSGF applies: taxpayers affected by the ITSGF now pay Patrimonio to Madrid (the revenue stays regional); those below the ITSGF threshold continue to pay nothing.
• Andalucía did the equivalent through its budget laws (Ley 12/2023 for 2024, Ley 7/2024 for 2025): only the variable bonificación applies while the ITSGF is in force; the suspended regional scale gives way to the state scale of art. 30 Ley 19/1991.

The net position: below the ITSGF threshold, the 100% rebate remains effective and nothing is paid; above it, wealth tax is payable in Madrid and Andalucía too.

The solidarity tax (ITSGF) in 2026

The Impuesto Temporal de Solidaridad de las Grandes Fortunas was introduced by Ley 38/2022 for "the first two years" — but RDL 8/2023 extended it indefinitely. The Constitutional Court upheld it (STC 149/2023 and 170/2023), its form Modelo 718 was updated in June 2026 (Orden HAC/652/2026), and it is fully in force for 2026.

A €700,000 minimum exemption applies for personal obligation, and wealth tax paid to a region is deducted from the ITSGF bill — exactly why Madrid and Andalucía switched to variable rebates: the tax is paid either way, and the variable rebate keeps it at home.

Inheritance: Modelo 650 and the six-month clock

Spanish inheritance tax (Impuesto de Sucesiones) is due where you inherit assets located in Spain. Non-resident heirs (and other cases not attached to a region) file Modelo 650 with the AEAT; resident cases go to the autonomous communities, whose reliefs vary widely. The deadline mechanics are unforgiving:

1. 6 months from the date of death to file and pay.
2. One further 6-month extension — only if requested within the first 5 months.
3. The extension is not free: it accrues late-payment interest (intereses de demora).

Because probate releases assets only once the tax is settled, and heirs abroad routinely need apostilles, translations and — first of all — a Spanish tax ID (NIE), the six months disappear fast. Where the estate straddles both countries, the UK–Spain double taxation rules decide the income-tax side, and your own status turns on becoming a Spanish tax resident.

⚠ Scams and bad advice to avoid

• ✗ "Re-register your wealth in Madrid and pay zero." Above the €3M solidarity-tax threshold, Madrid’s rebate is variable, not 100% — the tax is paid either way.
• ✗ "Wealth tax was abolished." Neither the state tax nor the ITSGF is gone — the ITSGF was extended indefinitely by RDL 8/2023, its form updated in 2026.
• ✗ Paid inheritance "fast-tracks". There is no official express procedure for Modelo 650 — only the 6-month extension, requested free of charge within the first 5 months, at the cost of interest.