Modelo 720 in Spain: Who Must Declare Foreign Assets and When
Spain's foreign asset return explained: the three asset blocks, the €50,000 test, when you must file again, and how penalties changed after the 2022 EU court ruling.
Modelo 720 is an information return to Spain’s tax agency listing assets held abroad. Spanish tax residents must file it when foreign bank accounts, investments or real estate exceed €50,000 in any of the three asset blocks. It is filed online between 1 January and 31 March for the previous year, and no tax is paid with it.
Who has to file modelo 720?
The obligation falls on tax residents in Spain, which for most people means spending more than 183 days a year here or having their main economic interests here. Our guide to Spanish tax residency explains the tests. Companies resident in Spain and some people taxed as residents, such as Spanish diplomats posted abroad, are also covered.
One important exception: people taxed under the special regime for inbound workers in article 93 of the income tax law, known as the Beckham law, do not have to file it, according to the Agencia Tributaria (Spain’s tax agency). That exemption is personal; a spouse who is a tax resident under the normal rules may still have to file.
What counts toward the €50,000 threshold?
Modelo 720 covers three separate blocks, and each one is tested on its own:
| Block | What it includes | Value tested |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts | Bank accounts held with institutions abroad | Both the balance on 31 December and the average balance of the last quarter are tested; negative balances are netted against positive ones |
| Securities, insurance and income | Shares, bonds, investment funds, life insurance and annuities held or arranged abroad | Mainly the value on 31 December, such as a fund’s liquidation value |
| Real estate | Property abroad and rights over it | Combined value of the properties in the block |
You report a block only when its combined value is over €50,000. Someone with €60,000 in a UK bank account and a €30,000 share portfolio files for accounts but not for securities. Accounts count regardless of how many people hold them, so a joint account above the limit must be reported by each holder.
Cryptocurrency held abroad is not reported on modelo 720. It has its own return, modelo 721.
When is the deadline?
The filing window runs from 1 January to 31 March of the year after the one being reported, so assets held in 2026 are declared between 1 January and 31 March 2027. It is filed online, through the Agencia Tributaria’s electronic office, using a digital certificate or Cl@ve. The modelo 720 page has the online form and the deadlines.
To file the return:
- Work out the values for each block on 31 December, plus the fourth-quarter average for accounts.
- Get a statement from each foreign bank or broker showing those figures.
- Sign in to the Agencia Tributaria’s electronic office with a digital certificate or Cl@ve.
- Fill in the online form, one record per account, security or property, and submit it before 31 March.
- Keep the receipt and the statements, since the next filing depends on the values you declared.
Do you have to file every year?
No. After your first return, you file again for a block only if:
- its combined value has risen by more than €20,000 compared with the value that triggered your last return for that block; or
- you sold, closed or otherwise stopped holding an asset you had declared.
When the €20,000 increase is reached, you report the whole block again, not just the new money. The tax agency’s own example: someone who last filed for accounts in 2012 had no new obligation in 2013, when balances rose by €18,000, but had to file the whole block for 2014, when the increase over 2012 reached €28,000.
What changed after the 2022 EU court ruling?
Until 2022, modelo 720 carried its own penalty system, far harsher than for other information returns. On 27 January 2022 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in case C-788/19 that this system breached EU law on the free movement of capital. Spain responded with Law 5/2022 of 9 March, which removed the special penalties.
As of November 2026, the agency applies the general penalty rules of the General Tax Law (Ley General Tributaria) to each of the three blocks separately. For an information return filed late or not at all, article 198 sets a fine of €20 per item of data, with a minimum of €300 and a maximum of €20,000. If you file late but before the agency contacts you, the amounts are halved: €10 per item, minimum €150, maximum €10,000. Filing incorrectly is covered by article 199.
Bottom line
Ask your foreign bank for a statement showing both the 31 December balance and the October to December average each January, because those two figures decide whether you file. For a first return with many assets or a past missed filing, a Spanish asesor fiscal (tax adviser) can check your position before you submit.
FAQ
Do I pay tax when I file modelo 720?
No. It is an information return. Income from the assets, such as interest or rent, is declared in your annual income tax return.
I moved to Barcelona in 2026. Do I file in 2027?
Only if you are a Spanish tax resident for 2026 and a block exceeds €50,000. Residence is decided for the whole calendar year.
Does money in a Spanish branch of a foreign bank count?
The return covers accounts held in institutions located abroad. If you are unsure where an account is legally held, ask the bank or a tax adviser.
