Crypto Tax Legislation & Law in Spain

No. Taxation of crypto-assets is based on general principles included in the different tax laws in force within the Spanish legal framework. Due to the above, income or tenancy of crypto-assets is taxed by Personal Income Tax (PIT) or Net Wealth Tax (NWT), or the Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes by applying the general rules included in the corresponding tax laws. Notwithstanding so, there are some obligations of reporting crypto-assets held in Spain and abroad:

• Reporting obligations: Royal Decree 249/2023 of 4 April set out the obligations introduced by Law 11/2021 (Articles 39 bis, 39 ter and 42 quater of the RGAT), bringing the reporting requirements for crypto-assets into line with those for securities, accounts or property.
• MiCA regulatory framework: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) is fully applicable (its rules on crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) from 30 December 2024) with the CNMV being the competent authority in Spain. MiCA is a financial regulation, not a tax regulation, but it sets out definitions and applies to specific entities (e.g. the concept of a crypto-asset in Article 3.1.5).
• DAC8 / CARF: Directive (EU) 2023/2226 (DAC8) incorporates the OECD’s framework into the automatic exchange of information and is applicable from 1 January 2026. Its transposition into Spanish law is currently underway (draft bill amending the Spanish General Tax Law and draft royal decree and ministerial order implementing it), and it will replace a significant part of the reporting framework set out in Law 11/2021.

Exchange of crypto-assets for FIAT currency is taxed, in general terms, as a capital gain or loss for PIT purposes. Said gain or loss will be included in the PIT saving base, being taxed at rates ranging from 19%-28%. The taxable base will be determined by the difference between the sale proceeds and the acquisition value of the crypto-assets. However, if the taxpayer organises his/her own material and/or human means for carrying out a trading activity, said income could be taxed as income deriving from an economic activity.

Yes, taxation will be the same as the one disclosed in Q2 above.

In general terms, the criterion followed by the General Directorate of Taxes establishes that an individual exchanging/selling crypto-assets for himself/herself will be qualified as a casual trader, while a professional trader will render services such as buying/selling crypto-assets on behalf of third parties or mining. Under this scenario, for PIT purposes professional traders will obtain income deriving from a business activity taxed at general rates ranging from 17.50%-54%, while casual traders will obtain capital gains taxed at saving rates ranging from 19%-30%.

In general terms, losses generated by a PIT taxpayer from the exchange/sale of crypto-assets could be offset with other capital gains generated in the same fiscal year. The taxable excess, if any, could be offset with a positive net result obtained in said fiscal year from income derived from capital movable assets (e.g. dividends or interests) in a maximum amount of 25% of the taxable positive income. If there are capital losses after said offset, said losses can be offset within the subsequent  4 fiscal years applying the same rules.

Although there is currently no explicit regulatory provision on how capital gains obtained from cryptoassets must be offset, the GDT has issued some bining rulings related to the tax treatment of transactions involving crypto-assets. Among the most recent is binding ruling V0491-26, which confirms the need to determine capital gains and losses separately for each type of cryptocurrency.

In this regard, the GDT reiterates, in line with the criteria already established in binding ruling V0525-25, that cryptocurrencies of the same type constitute fungible intangible assets, as they originate from the same computer protocol and share identical economic and functional characteristics. As a result of this fungibility, all units of the same cryptocurrency are considered homogeneous and fully exchangeable with one another for tax purposes.

Furthermore, in accordance with the criteria reiterated by the GDT in binding rulings V1604-18, V0975-22 and V0525-25, when partial disposals are made of cryptocurrencies of the same class acquired at different times, the FIFO (first in, first out) method must be applied, with the units acquired earliest being deemed to have been disposed of first. Consequently, the calculation of capital gains or losses must be carried out individually for each cryptocurrency, identifying the corresponding acquisitions and transfers in accordance with this method.

In general terms, 4 fiscal years.

NFTs are, in general terms, taxed in the same way as crypto-assets. However, a case-by-case analysis should be made since accounting or tax differences could arise under certain circumstances.

In general terms, mining is taxed as an income deriving from an economic activity for PIT purposes. Said income is included in the PIT general base, being taxed at rates ranging from 19%-50%.

In general terms, income obtained from staking is taxed as movable capital income for PIT purposes. Said income is included in the PIT saving base, being taxed at rates ranging from 19%-28%.

No different tax returns are foreseen for said specific activities, but all of them could trigger Corporate Income Tax (CIT) or PIT if any income is obtained. For example:

• any income obtained in case of airdrops or hard forks, or as a consideration from professional activities or for playing games, should be taxed by PIT as a capital gain, as confirmed in binding ruling V0648-24 not deriving from a transfer of assets; said gains are included in the PIT general base, being taxed at general rates ranging from 17.50%-54%.
• farming, lending or yielding are taxed as staking, i.e. as movable capital income for PIT purposes, being taxed at saving rates ranging from 19%-30%.

As disclosed above, in general terms income obtained from crypto-assets, or the main tenancy of such assets, could be taxed using regular Spanish taxes (e.g. PIT, CIT or NWT). Thus no different tax obligations should arise in case of income/tenancy of crypto-assets in comparison with other assets.

Notwithstanding the above, the Spanish Government recently approved a Royal Decree establishing that PIT and CIT taxpayers should disclose (on a yearly basis) certain information related to crypto-assets held in Spain (only applicable for entities or professionals) or abroad if certain requirements are met (mainly when said crypto-assets jointly exceed EUR 50,000). Said information should be disclosed by filing a specific tax return (tax forms 171,172 and 721). In this sense, specific reporting obligations are established via three forms:

• Form 172, informative declaration on balances in virtual currencies (to be completed by resident providers/custodians).
• Form 173, information return on transactions involving virtual currencies (to be completed by resident supply/custodial service providers).
• Form 721, informative return on virtual currencies held abroad, for resident holders where the aggregate balance as at 31 December exceeds €50,000 (self-custody is generally not included)

In principle, we see no relevant tax implications different from those described in the questions above. However, certain consequences with regard to VAT or Business Activity Tax could arise from carrying out professional activity with crypto-assets (e.g. mining or sale to third parties).