Modelo 721 Spain: Crypto Declaration for Tax Residents in 2026

Who must file Modelo 721

You must file if you meet all of the following:

• You are a Spanish tax resident (183 or more days per calendar year in Spain, or your main economic interests are in Spain).

• You hold cryptocurrency on custodial platforms (exchanges) that are registered outside Spain.

• The combined fiat equivalent value of all crypto held on those foreign platforms exceeds 50,000 euro as of 31 December.

Non residents do not file. If you are under the Beckham Law, you are generally exempt while the regime applies.

What counts as a foreign exchange

Any centralised exchange that is not registered with the Banco de España counts as a foreign platform. This includes Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, KuCoin, and similar platforms headquartered or registered outside Spain. If your crypto is on a Spanish registered exchange such as Bit2Me, you do not need to report it on Modelo 721 because the exchange reports directly to the Agencia Tributaria.

Custodial versus non custodial wallets

This distinction matters for Modelo 721. The General Directorate of Taxes (Dirección General de Tributos) has issued binding consultations clarifying the treatment:

Important: even if your non custodial holdings do not trigger Modelo 721, the crypto itself is still subject to Spanish income tax and wealth tax rules. Moving crypto off an exchange to a personal wallet does not eliminate your tax obligations. It only changes whether Modelo 721 applies.

What you report

For each type of cryptocurrency held on a foreign exchange, you declare:

• The name of the exchange (managing entity).

• The type of digital asset (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and so on).

• The number of units held as of 31 December.

• The fiat equivalent value in euros at market price on 31 December.

You file online through the Agencia Tributaria website using your Certificado Digital or Cláve. The deadline is 31 March, the same as Modelo 720.

The 50,000 euro threshold and re filing

The threshold works the same way as Modelo 720. You file the first time the combined value on foreign exchanges exceeds 50,000 euro as of 31 December. After your first filing, you only re file if the total value has changed by more than 20,000 euro compared to your last declaration, or if you have moved crypto to or from a foreign exchange in a way that crosses the threshold.

DAC8 and automatic exchange reporting

The European DAC8 directive requires centralised crypto exchanges to automatically report user balances and transactions to tax authorities across the EU. Once DAC8 is fully implemented, the Agencia Tributaria will receive your exchange data directly. This does not eliminate the Modelo 721 obligation, but it means that inconsistencies between what you declare and what the exchange reports will surface faster.

Penalties

The penalty structure mirrors the reformed Modelo 720 penalties since both fall under the same legislative framework:

• 20 euro per missing data item. Minimum 300 euro, maximum 20,000 euro.

• 50% reduction for voluntary late filing before receiving a tax authority notification.

• Penalties doubled for assets held outside the EU.

Modelo 721 versus Modelo 720

Modelo 720 covers traditional foreign assets: bank accounts, securities, and real estate. Modelo 721 covers crypto on foreign exchanges only. They are separate forms with separate filings, but share the same 50,000 euro threshold logic and the same 31 March deadline. For a full explanation of Modelo 720, see our Modelo 720 Spain page.