Modelo 720 Spain: Foreign Assets Declaration for Tax Residents in 2026
If you are a Spanish tax resident and hold assets outside Spain worth more than 50,000 euro in any single category, you must file Modelo 720 each year by 31 March. The form does not create a tax bill. It is a purely informative declaration that tells the Agencia Tributaria what foreign assets you own. Getting it wrong or missing the deadline can still result in fines, even after the European Court of Justice struck down Spain's original penalty regime in 2022.
Who must file Modelo 720
You must file if you meet all of the following conditions:
You are a Spanish tax resident, meaning you spend 183 or more days per calendar year in Spain, or your main centre of economic interests is in Spain.
You hold assets outside Spain that exceed 50,000 euro in at least one of the three reporting categories.
You are the owner, beneficial owner, authorised signatory, or have disposal powers over the assets.
Non residents do not file Modelo 720. If you are under the Beckham Law (Special Tax Regime for Displaced Workers), you are generally excluded from filing while the regime applies.
The three asset categories
Modelo 720 groups foreign assets into three categories. Each category has its own independent 50,000 euro threshold. Exceeding the threshold in one category does not trigger reporting for the other categories.
Category | What it includes | Valuation method |
|---|---|---|
1. Bank accounts | Current accounts, savings accounts, deposit accounts at foreign financial institutions. Includes digital banks like Revolut, Wise and N26 if registered outside Spain. | Year end balance plus average balance over the last quarter (October through December). |
2. Securities and investments | Shares, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance with investment components, foreign pension products such as UK SIPPs or US retirement accounts. | Market value at 31 December. |
3. Real estate | Property or usufruct rights located outside Spain. | Acquisition value (purchase price plus costs), not current market value. |
Joint assets: if you co own a foreign bank account, you report the full value and indicate your ownership percentage. Each co owner files separately.
The 50,000 euro threshold
The threshold applies per category, not per individual asset. If you hold three foreign bank accounts with a combined year end balance of 55,000 euro, you must report all three in category 1. If your foreign shares total 40,000 euro but your foreign bank accounts total 60,000 euro, you only report the bank accounts.
Once you have filed Modelo 720 for a category, you only need to re file if the total value in that category has increased or decreased by more than 20,000 euro compared to the last filed declaration, or if you have acquired or sold assets that push the total past a threshold.
Deadline and how to file
The filing window runs from 1 January to 31 March each year. You file online through the Agencia Tributaria website using your Certificado Digital or Cláve. There is no automatic extension.
You need a Certificado Digital to file. Our Digital Certificate module walks you through obtaining one, including the in person identity verification.
Penalties for late or incorrect filing
In January 2022, the European Court of Justice ruled that Spain's original penalty regime for Modelo 720 was disproportionate and violated EU law (Case C 788/19). Spain reformed the penalties in March 2022. The current penalties are:
20 euro per data item that should have been included but was not. Minimum 300 euro, maximum 20,000 euro.
Penalties are reduced by 50% if you file voluntarily after the deadline but before receiving a notification from the tax authorities.
Penalties are doubled if undeclared assets are located outside the European Union.
The statute of limitations is four years for general cases and five years for tax offences. Filing correctly the first time remains the best strategy.
Modelo 720 vs Modelo 721
Cryptocurrency held on foreign exchanges is not reported on Modelo 720. Since the 2023 tax year, Spain introduced a separate form called Modelo 721 specifically for crypto assets held abroad. The same 50,000 euro threshold applies, and the same 31 March deadline. If your crypto is held on a Spanish registered exchange, you do not need to file Modelo 721 because the exchange reports it.
For a full overview of how Spanish tax forms fit together, see our Spanish Tax Forms overview.
Frequently asked questions
Get your Certificado Digital sorted first
You need a Certificado Digital to file Modelo 720 online. Our module takes you through the full process, from application to in person verification.
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