Modelo 720 Spain: reporting foreign assets and deadlines
Anyone tax-resident in Spain who holds substantial assets abroad has to report them annually, whether or not any tax is due on them. The obligation is frequently confused with wealth tax, but it is a self-standing reporting duty carrying no tax payment of its own.
Is the Modelo 720 a tax or a report, and who has to file it?
The Modelo 720 is a report, not a tax: it is filed only by Spanish tax residents who hold foreign assets above 50,000 euros in any of three categories, between 1 January and 31 March each year. Non-residents with only a property in Spain are not affected; for them wealth tax may apply instead.
How does the Modelo 720 report differ from the wealth tax?
The Modelo 720 is purely a reporting requirement for assets held abroad; it is not a tax in its own right. The wealth tax is a separate tax on Spanish assets.
In the event of errors, the general penalty regime applies — no more fixed penalties: Since the enactment of Ley 5/2022, the general penalty regime of the LGT (Articles 198/199) has applied — rather than the fixed penalties of up to 150 %, which the ECJ ruled in 2022 (C-788/19) to be disproportionate.
Do I have to declare overseas assets to the Spanish tax authorities (Modelo 720)? You only need to submit the Modelo 720 if you are a tax resident in Spain — purely non-residents who own a property in Spain are not affected.
If you are resident for tax purposes in Spain and hold foreign assets worth more than €50,000 in one of three separate categories (bank accounts, securities/insurance policies/pensions or property), you must submit Modelo 720 annually between 1 January and 31 March.
Once reported, a block of assets need only be reported again if its value increases by more than €20,000 compared with the last report. Persons covered by the Spanish special scheme for inbound workers (Article 93 of the LIRPF) are exempt, as they are not taxed on their worldwide income — however, this exemption does not automatically apply to spouses or children who are themselves regularly resident in Spain for tax purposes.
The wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) is often confused with the Modelo 720 — but this is a different obligation. Modelo 720 is purely a reporting requirement for assets held abroad (bank accounts, property, securities) above certain thresholds; it is not a tax in its own right. It applies to persons resident in Spain for tax purposes who hold assets outside Spain — not to non-residents with a property in Spain, to whom the wealth tax applies.
Late or incorrect Modelo 720: which general penalty regime applies?
Since Ley 5/2022 the general LGT penalty regime applies (arts. 198/199) — no longer the flat penalties up to 150% the CJEU struck down in 2022 (C-788/19).
See wealth tax in Spain.
What has to be reported from €50,000 per category?
Reportable are accounts held abroad, securities, insurance and pensions, and property held abroad, each from €50,000. The three categories are assessed separately.
- Accounts held abroad (Category 1): Current, savings and other accounts at foreign banks. Reportable once the year-end balance or the average balance of the final quarter together exceeds €50,000.
- Securities, insurance, pensions (Category 2): Shares, funds, life policies with a surrender value and pension rights held abroad — reportable together from €50,000.
- Property held abroad (Category 3): Real estate and rights over real estate outside Spain, again reportable from €50,000. The three categories are assessed separately — one may be reportable while the others are not.
Are incoming workers under the Beckham regime exempt from the reporting obligation?
Individuals covered by the Spanish special scheme for incoming workers (Article 93 of the LIRPF, often colloquially referred to as the ‘impatriate’ or ‘Beckham’ scheme) are, according to the Agencia Tributaria, exempt from the Modelo 720 obligation because they are not taxed on their worldwide income.
However, this exemption does not automatically apply to spouses and children — they may be subject to the reporting obligation independently if they themselves are regularly tax resident in Spain.
When is the Modelo 720 filed, and when does it have to be filed again?
The return is filed between 1 January and 31 March for the preceding calendar year. Once a category has been declared it does not have to be declared again every year: a further filing is due when the value of that category has grown by more than €20,000 against the last declaration, or when an asset in it has been disposed of.
The thresholds and the deadline are as of July 2026; the filing itself belongs with a Spanish gestor or tax adviser.
Does buying a Spanish property as a non-resident trigger the Modelo 720 obligation?
For most buyers on this site the answer is simply that the Modelo 720 does not apply: buying a Spanish property as a non-resident triggers no reporting duty.
It becomes relevant at the moment residency changes — someone who moves to Spain permanently and keeps accounts, securities or property at home moves into scope from that year on. Anyone planning that step is better served settling it before the move than in the March after it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Modelo 720 the same as wealth tax?
No. The Modelo 720 is a reporting obligation with no tax payment of its own — it informs the Agencia Tributaria about assets held outside Spain. Wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) is a separate tax on assets located in Spain. The two obligations are independent and affect different groups of people.
Who has to file the Modelo 720?
People who are tax-resident in Spain, and therefore taxed on worldwide income under IRPF, holding assets abroad above the thresholds. Pure non-residents who merely own a property in Spain are not affected — for them wealth tax on Spanish assets may apply instead.
I am under the special regime for inbound workers (art. 93 LIRPF). Do I still have to report?
No. According to the Agencia Tributaria, people falling under that special regime are exempt from the Modelo 720 obligation because they are not taxed on worldwide income. That does not automatically extend to spouses and children, who may be independently obliged to report if they are themselves tax-resident in Spain.
What happens if I file late or incorrectly?
Since Ley 5/2022 of 9 March 2022 the general penalty regime of the Ley General Tributaria applies (arts. 198/199 LGT) — no longer the earlier flat penalties of up to 150 % of the unreported value, which the Court of Justice of the EU held disproportionate on 27 January 2022 (case C-788/19).
Do I have to file again every year?
Only if something has moved. Once a category has been declared, it has to be declared again when its value grows by more than €20,000 against the last declaration — or when an asset in that category is disposed of.
Buying in Spain, or moving there?
A first consultation without obligation — in English, German, French, Spanish or Russian.
This is not tax advice.
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Content by Siegfried Perini — local brand representative since 2019, active in real estate since 1992, entered in the German intermediary register (§ 11a GewO) as a person directly involved in brokerage and advice. Point of contact for German-speaking buyers in Spain and Portugal. Brokerage by Olga Nikushkina, mortgage credit intermediary under § 34i German Trade Regulation (GewO); in Portugal through a locally licensed intermediary.