How Spain taxes cryptocurrency and NFTs

Where cryptocurrencies are sold by individuals acting as private investors, any gain or loss would be subject to Personal Income Tax (PIT) as a capital gain taxable at the same PIT rates for financial income, ie ranging from 19 per cent up to 30 per cent for taxable income exceeding €300,000.

Individuals acting in the context of a business activity (not as investors) are subject to different rates and business taxes as well as social security contributions. In particular, any gain on the sale of cryptocurrencies in the context of a business activity would be subject to the general business income tax rates which vary depending on each Spanish region (with the highest marginal rates ranging from 45 per cent up to 54 per cent depending on the region of residence of the individual). Such rates are levied on net profits derived from the business activity.

Following a ruling issued by the Spanish accounting regulator (the Institute of Accounting and Auditing), cryptocurrencies may be accounted for as stock if these are held for sale in the ordinary course of business, otherwise these should be accounted for as intangible assets. Accordingly, in both cases, the holding of cryptocurrencies should not be subject to yearly mark to market valuation for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) purposes.

Gains/losses deriving from the sale of cryptocurrencies must be included as taxable income of Spanish corporate investors, being typically subject to the standard CIT rate of 25 per cent, with lower or higher rates applicable to certain categories of taxpayers (eg 1 per cent for collective investment funds).

Yes.

Income derived from mining is likely to be treated as business income subject to the PIT progressive rates for general business income (highest marginal rates ranging from 45 per cent up to 54 per cent depending on the region of residence of the individual). The Spanish tax authorities (STA) have expressly confirmed that it is a business activity for Business Activity Tax purposes (a different tax levied by each municipality). More generally, carrying out the activity of mining cryptocurrencies as a self-employed individual will involve a number of tax related obligations, including registration for Social Security, filing periodic tax returns, etc.

For corporates, the market value of cryptocurrencies received from mining should be taxable income for CIT purposes. Corporate investors must also register for Business Activity Tax purposes (where annual revenue is of at least €1m) in connection with this activity, following STA guidance.

The STA state that, as long as the receipt does not derive from a business activity or employment income, cryptocurrencies received by airdrop will be taxed as a capital gain subject to the general PIT rates from 45 per cent up to 54 per cent depending on the region of residence of the individual (i.e. not subject to the lower rates for financial income and capital gains from the transfer of assets).

For corporates, our understanding is that any gain derived from an airdrop would be considered as any other taxable corporate income or gain (hard forks, staking, remuneration obtained from lending cryptocurrencies, etc.) derived from cryptocurrencies. From a CIT perspective there should not be material differences in the tax treatment for different sources of income or gain (eg gains not derived from the transfers of assets, gains derived from the transfer of assets, interest, remuneration, etc) in relation to taxable events on cryptocurrencies other than the specific accounting or valuation rules applicable to each transaction, being typically subject to the standard rate of 25 per cent, with lower or higher rates applicable to certain categories of taxpayers.

The STA will generally consider any income obtained from “staking” as interest, subject to the lower PIT rates for financial income, ranging from 19 per cent up to 30 per cent for taxable income exceeding €300,000. This view may change in certain scenarios where there are sufficient human or material resources to amount to a business activity, when the receipt would be subject to the PIT progressive rates for general business income (highest marginal rates ranging from 45 per cent up to 54 per cent depending on the region of residence of the individual).

For CIT, see the previous question.

Remuneration obtained for lending cryptocurrencies (not in the context of an economic activity) should be treated as interest, subject to the lower PIT rates for financial income, ranging from 19 per cent up to 30 per cent for taxable income exceeding €300,000.

For CIT, see the previous question on airdrops.

Currently there is no official guidance on the tax treatment of a hard fork.

Despite being a far from clear cut issue, our current (and provisional) view is that a hard fork could potentially give rise to a capital gain in certain scenarios. Depending on whether a new or different cryptocurrency was deemed to be obtained as consequence of the hard fork, there may be a capital gain (i) derived from the transfer of assets (eg if the hard fork was considered equivalent to an exchange of cryptocurrencies) or alternatively (ii) not derived from the transfer of assets (eg if it was treated in the same way as an airdrop or similar transactions).

For CIT, see the previous question on airdrops.

There is currently no specific guidance for employment remuneration paid in cryptocurrencies. Our preliminary understanding is that it should be considered as a remuneration in kind.

Any gift or reward obtained by individuals would be considered as a capital gain that does not derive from the transfer of assets. It would therefore be included in the general PIT tax base, with highest marginal tax rates from 45 per cent up to 54 per cent depending on the region of residence of the individual.

For CIT, see the previous question on airdrops.

No.

No transfer taxes apply to the acquisition for consideration of cryptocurrencies.

Spanish individuals holding cryptocurrencies will be subject to the same reporting obligations applicable in relation to the holding of assets and rights or any income derived from them, including general Wealth Tax reporting obligations if the worldwide net worth exceeds €700,000. Tax penalties in case of non-declaration may generally vary from 50 per cent to 150 per cent of the unpaid taxes depending on the specific circumstances and subject to reductions in certain scenarios.

Corporate investors are subject to the general accounting and CIT reporting obligations. Tax penalties for accounting infringements generally vary between €150 and €6,000 whereas penalties for non-declaration generally vary from 50 per cent to 150 per cent of the unpaid taxes depending on the specific circumstances and subject to reductions in certain scenarios.

Additionally Form 721 must be filed annually if the value of offshore assets exceeds €50,000. This obligation must be fulfilled between 1 January and 31 March of the year following the year to which the information pertains. Filing the form in subsequent years is only mandatory if the overall balance has increased by more than €20,000 compared to the last submitted form. Non declaration penalties have been significantly reduced from the initial approach and may now amount to:

•€300. Additionally, there are other minor penalties applicable for undeclared or incorrectly declared information, as well as for missing data.

Individuals and corporates which carry out a business activity and keep the cryptocurrencies in their accounts duly identified would be exempted from this obligation.

The EU Council has adopted a Directive amending EU rules on administrative cooperation dealing with the reporting and automatic exchange of information in relation to transactions in crypto-assets (DAC 8). DAC8 imposes new tax transparency rules for all services providers facilitating transactions in crypto-assets for customers resident in the EU. The rules, which will come into effect in 2026, will require all service providers, of whatever size and wherever located, to report on crypto-asset transactions carried out by clients residing in the EU.

The obligations under DAC8 are scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2026. In Spain, the legislation implementing the directive is still in draft form, with the consultation period having concluded in October 2024. Until DAC8 is transposed and enforced, there are existing tax reporting obligations specific to cryptocurrency transactions in Spain. In this regard, businesses may be subject to these obligations if they:

• Provide services on behalf of third parties to safeguard private cryptographic keys that enable the holding and use of cryptocurrencies, including exchange service providers that also offer holding services (Form 172).

• Offer exchange services between cryptocurrencies and actual currencies or between different cryptocurrencies, intermediate in such transactions, or provide services for safeguarding private cryptographic keys on behalf of third parties for holding, storing, and transferring virtual currencies (Form 173). Individuals conducting Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are also required to file Form 173.

The current draft bill incorporates additional measures, including authorising the Spanish Tax Agency to seize crypto-assets in instances of outstanding debts, mandating the reporting of cross-border arrangements involving high-net-worth individuals with crypto-asset investments exceeding €1.5m, and requiring the retention of relevant information for five years. It will be essential to monitor final implementation to ascertain the definitive obligations arising from the enactment of DAC8 in Spain.

The STA have confirmed that the exchange of a cryptocurrency for any other cryptocurrency, or for a currency that constitutes a legal means of payment, is a transaction excluded from the scope of VAT as long as the value of what is received is equal to the value exchanged, regardless of any additional services associated with such exchange.

Financial services related to cryptocurrencies should be exempt from VAT in accordance with article 20.1.18 of the VAT Law. However, the STA consider that services provided by platforms to cryptocurrency holders enabling them to engage in cryptocurrency investment (eg in staking activity) should be subject to and not exempt from VAT. Similarly, any service such as discretionary management, advisory, administrative or deposit services related to cryptocurrencies are not of a financial nature and therefore should not benefit from the VAT exemption.

The STA have confirmed that mining does not involve the making of any supplies for a consideration. In the absence of a direct link between the service provided and the consideration received, the mining activity should not lead to supplies of services subject to VAT.

This is not a clear cut issue and no official administrative guidance is available from the STA at the moment. However, following a ruling issued by the Spanish accounting regulator (the Institute of Accounting and Auditing), cryptocurrencies issued by a company which intends to use the sale of this cryptocurrency to obtain financing for its projects would be accounted for as stock if these are held for sale in the ordinary course of business, otherwise these should be accounted as intangible assets. In this context, our understanding is that ICOs should not have direct tax implications for the issuers until the sale.

Furthermore, the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (“Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores” or “CNMV”) and the Bank of Spain (“Banco de España” or “BE”) consider that many of the operations carried out as ICOs should be treated (for regulatory purposes) as issues or public offerings of negotiable securities (IPOs) if:

• the tokens grant rights or expectations of participation in the potential revaluation or profitability of businesses or projects or, in general, grant rights equivalent or similar to those of shares, debentures or other financial instruments; or
• in the case of tokens giving the right to access services or to receive goods or products, which are offered with explicit or implicit reference to the expectation that the purchaser or investor will obtain a benefit as a result of their revaluation or some remuneration associated with the instrument or mentioning their liquidity or possibility of trading on markets equivalent or purportedly similar to regulated securities markets.

There is no official guidance from the STA on this matter to date. However, we understand that it is likely that ICOs should be either VAT exempt or not subject to VAT.

Although there is no official guidance from the STA to date, ICOs should not be liable to any stamp duty.

Individuals acting in the course of a business activity should not be subject to any taxation on the creation of NFTs, aside from Business Activities Tax if the net turnover is over €1m. Any gain or loss on the creation or purchase and sale of NFTs should be subject to the general PIT business income tax rates which may vary depending on the relevant Spanish region where the individual resides (with highest marginal rates ranging from 45 per cent up to 54 per cent depending on the region). It is possible to deduct from gross business income all expenses associated with the creation of an NFT. This includes the depreciation of the property where the economic activity takes place and the mining expenses of the NFT as required by digital platforms.

If the creation of NFTs does not occur within the context of a business activity, there should be no taxable event at the time of creation. Any gain or loss upon sale should be subject to PIT as a capital gain, taxed at the same rates applicable to financial income, which range from 19 per cent to 30 per cent for taxable income exceeding €300,000.

The costs associated to the creation of the NFTs should form the tax basis of such assets (following accounting rules and where applicable any specific CIT rules), for the purposes of calculating the taxable profit on the sale of NFTs.

The tax treatment of gains/losses on the sale of NFTs should not differ in general terms from the gains/losses on the sale of cryptocurrencies.

The STA have not clarified this point yet, but given that the transferred asset on the sale of an NFT is the digital file of the underlying asset and not the asset itself we are of the view that the tax treatment should not depend on the nature of the underlying asset.

No.

An exchange of NFTs for other cryptoassets should be subject to CIT given that specific mark to market rules apply for CIT purposes on top of accounting principles applicable to the exchange of assets.

A gift (including as a reward in a game) should give rise to a capital gain not derived from the transfer of assets and therefore included in the general PIT tax base, with highest marginal tax rates from 45 per cent up to 54 per cent depending on the region of residence of the individual.

The tax treatment of NFT transactions will primarily depend on the status of the transferor. If the transferor is classified as a business or professional entity for VAT purposes, the transaction will be subject to VAT. Conversely, if the transferor does not hold such status, the transactions involving NFTs will fall within the scope of Transfer Tax (the effective rates will vary depending on the relevant Spanish region, e.g. 4% in Madrid).

The holding of NFTs is subject to the same general tax reporting and subsequent payment obligations and sanctions explained in Q14 (except for the specific disclosure obligations under Form 721 only applicable to cryptocurrencies). However, it is uncertain if current disclosure obligations for the assets held abroad (Form 720) impact on NFTs. Further clarifications from the STA should be expected on this regard, though our current view is that there should be arguments to consider that, to date, NFTs may be outside the scope of such disclosure obligations.

No.

From a VAT perspective, NFTs cannot be considered as cryptocurrencies or other kinds of digital currencies, given inter alia their non-fungible character. Accordingly, the sale of an NFT in the context of a business activity should generally qualify as electronically supplied services which, if deemed to take place in Spain, would be taxed at the general VAT rate of 21 per cent.