Country guide
Spain for nomads: banking, Beckham law and crypto tax
By DmytroLast checked
- Currency
- EUR
- Crypto tax
- Savings scale 19%–30%; Modelo 721 above EUR 50,000
- Tax residence test
- More than 183 days in a calendar year
Short answer
In Spain you can pay rent and bills from any eligible EU euro account: Banco de España treats refusing an EU IBAN as IBAN discrimination. Once you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain, crypto gains fall into the 19%–30% savings scale, and the Beckham (impatriate) regime is a separate election with its own 24% rate.
Banks and cards
A Spanish IBAN is optional for rent, salary and bills. Check whether your euro-account provider is a bank or a payment institution, since the protections differ.
Spanish banks apply separate resident and non-resident account rules and run compliance checks on each application. Ask for the document list for your status (identity, tax residence, income) and compare tariffs.
Crypto rules
Under the ordinary IRPF regime of the common territory, gains from private crypto disposals go into the savings base. The bands in force from 2025 are 19%, 21%, 23%, 27% and 30%, with boundaries at EUR 6,000, 50,000, 200,000 and 300,000. They apply to the gain, not to gross proceeds.
Modelo 721 reports crypto held in custody by third parties abroad, once the total exceeds EUR 50,000 on first filing; later years add rules for increases and for leaving the reporting duty. Self-custodied crypto is outside this form, and its gains stay subject to income tax. The filing period runs from January to March.
Tax and residency
The usual test is more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, and sporadic absences count towards it. Your centre of economic interests and family presumptions also count. Where two countries treat you as resident, the tax treaty decides.
The impatriate (Beckham) regime applies once you meet its conditions and elect it. Employment income is taxed at 24% up to EUR 600,000 and 47% above, and during the regime it counts as Spanish-source even when a foreign company pays it.
You opt in on Modelo 149 within six months of the start-of-activity date in your Spanish Social Security registration, and file returns under the regime on Modelo 151. A foreign platform address on its own does not make crypto gains tax-free in Spain.
Checklist
- Get your NIE early: most bank and tax steps in Spain depend on it.
- Choose a Spanish bank account or an EU euro account by how long you will stay.
- If you want the Beckham regime, put the Modelo 149 deadline in your calendar.
- Count your days in Spain each calendar year.
- Keep cost and proceeds for every crypto disposal, and track the value of crypto held with foreign custodians.
Backup setup
- Papers: your NIE, a passport copy and proof of address, saved offline for bank checks.
Sources
- Residente fiscal en España — Agencia Tributaria
- Novedades de normativa 2024 — Agencia Tributaria
- Preguntas frecuentes sobre el modelo 721 — Agencia Tributaria
- Plazo de presentación del modelo 721 — Agencia Tributaria
- Régimen especial impatriados art. 93 Ley IRPF — Agencia Tributaria
- Modelo 149: instrucciones para cumplimentar la comunicación — Agencia Tributaria
- Discriminación de IBAN: ¿Qué es y cómo actuar si me ocurre? — Banco de España
- Solicitud de apertura de cuentas de pago — Banco de España
Tax, visa and residence rules depend on your situation, so confirm them with the official authority. How we compare