When the person receiving a gift lives outside Spain, or the assets are abroad, two questions come first: which Spanish region’s rules apply to the gift tax (Impuesto sobre Donaciones), and which office takes the return. This tax map answers both, case by case.
Each example links to the binding ruling (consulta vinculante) of the Dirección General de Tributos, the DGT, that settles it. There are 34 rulings.
In the tables, “Spanish Tax Agency” means its national office, the Oficina Nacional de Gestión Tributaria, where Form 651 is filed. “Region” means a Spanish comunidad autónoma. These are the rules for most of Spain: the Basque Country and Navarre have their own.
Which rules apply and where to file
| Situation | Rules | Where to file |
|---|---|---|
| Property in Spain. Recipient lives in Spain | Region where the property is located | Region where the property is located |
| Property in Spain. Recipient lives abroad | Region where the property is located | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) |
| Property abroad. Recipient lives in Spain | Region where the recipient lives | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) |
| Property abroad. Recipient lives abroad | Not subject to the tax | — |
| Other assets, wherever they are. Recipient lives in Spain | Region where the recipient lives | Region where the recipient lives |
| Other assets in Spain. Recipient lives abroad | Region where the money has been held for the most days in the previous five years | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) |
| Other assets abroad. Recipient lives abroad | Not subject to the tax | — |
These rules come from the second additional provision of Act 29/1987 and article 32 of Act 22/2009.
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Gifts of property
Property in Spain
The rules of the region where the property is located apply. If the recipient lives in Spain, the return is filed in that region; if not, with the Spanish Tax Agency. The same rule covers shares in companies that the law treats as property.
| Case | Rules | Where to file | Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property, or a limited company holding property, in Andalusia. Resident recipient. | Andalusia | Andalusia | V0342-20 |
| Company property in several regions. Resident recipient. | Regions where the property is located | Regions where the property is located | V2873-21 |
| Property in Madrid to a recipient resident in Luxembourg. | Madrid | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V0149-20 |
| Property in Marbella to a recipient resident in Lebanon. | Andalusia | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V0282-20 |
| Main home and second home in Granada and Málaga to a recipient who does not live in Spain. | Andalusia | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V2333-21 |
Property abroad
If the recipient lives in Spain, the rules of the recipient’s region apply and the return goes to the Spanish Tax Agency. If not, there is no Spanish tax (article 7 of the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act).
| Case | Rules | Where to file | Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property in Greece to a recipient resident in Madrid. | Madrid | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V0851-16 |
| Property in France to a recipient resident in Andalusia. | Andalusia | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V0382-22 |
| Property in Lisbon to a recipient resident in Galicia. | Galicia | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V1046-24 |
| Property in London to a daughter resident in Spain, from her non-resident father, coming from a Jersey trust that the DGT disregards. | Region where the recipient lives | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V1067-26 |
| Property abroad to a non-resident recipient. | Not subject to the tax | — | — |
Gifts of money, shares and other assets
The recipient lives in Spain
The recipient is taxed on everything received, wherever it is. The rules of the region where the recipient lives apply, meaning the region where the recipient spent the most days in the five years before the gift, and the return is filed there.
| Case | Rules | Where to file | Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money to a recipient resident in Madrid. | Madrid | Madrid | V1255-19 |
| Money to a recipient living in Madrid since April 2018 who had always lived in Andalusia before. Her residence appears to be in Andalusia, where she has spent most of the last five years. | Apparently Andalusia | Apparently Andalusia | V3100-19 |
| Money to a recipient living in the Balearic Islands for work, to buy a home in the Valencia region. Her parents live in the Valencia region. | Region where she has spent the most days in the previous five years (the ruling does not name it) | The same region | V0595-24 |
| Son resident in the Canary Islands since 2025 receiving money from his father, resident in Belarus. | Canary Islands | Canary Islands | V5102-26 |
| Recipient resident in the Canary Islands under the special regime for posted workers, receiving money from a non-resident friend. | Canary Islands | Canary Islands | V2345-24 |
| Money from a person resident in France to a recipient resident in Andalusia. | Andalusia | Andalusia | V2331-21 |
| Donor resident in Switzerland. Balances in Swiss accounts to children resident in Catalonia. | Catalonia | Catalonia | V1407-16 |
| Shares in a Peruvian company holding property in Peru to recipients resident in Madrid. | Madrid | Madrid | V0857-15 |
| Money located in Germany to recipients resident in Madrid. | Madrid | Madrid | V0295-16 |
| Money located in Argentina to a recipient resident in Madrid. | Madrid | Madrid | V1903-23 |
| Money in a Polish account, from a father resident in Poland, to a recipient resident in Andalusia. | Andalusia | Andalusia | V0085-26 |
The recipient lives abroad and the assets are in Spain
The rules of the region where the assets have been held for the most days in the five years before the gift apply. The return goes to the Spanish Tax Agency.
| Case | Rules | Where to file | Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Son resident in Germany receiving €10,000 from his father, resident in Spain. | Region where the money has been held for the most days in the previous five years | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V5065-26 |
| Son resident in the United Kingdom. Money transferred to an account in La Rioja. Form 651. | Region where the money has been held for the most days in the previous five years | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V2129-25 |
| Money from the sale of a property in Madrid, held in an account in Madrid, to a recipient resident in Australia. | Region where the money has been held for the most days in the previous five years | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V1515-25 |
| Money located in Spain to a recipient resident in Luxembourg. | Region where the money has been held for the most days in the previous five years | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V0149-20 |
| Money from a fund managed for over five years in Madrid, moved this year to Castilla-La Mancha, to a recipient resident in the United Kingdom. | Madrid | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V0418-20 |
| Parents resident in the Valencia region sell funds held at a bank with all its offices in Madrid and give the money to their daughter, resident in the United Kingdom. | Apparently Madrid | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V2011-24 |
| Money located in Andalusia to a recipient resident in the United Kingdom. | Andalusia | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V3114-20 |
| Money located in Andalusia to a recipient resident in the United States. | Andalusia | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V3059-19 |
| Money from parents resident in Andalusia to a recipient resident in Germany, to buy a home in Madrid. | Apparently Andalusia | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V0837-23 |
| Money in a current account in Zaragoza to a recipient resident in the Netherlands. | Aragon | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V3313-20 |
| Shares in a limited company to a recipient resident in the Netherlands. | Region where the shares have been located for the most days in the previous five years | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V0505-21 |
| Money in Spain to a recipient resident in the United Kingdom. | Region of the bank branch where the money has been held for the most days in the previous five years | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V3303-15 |
| Money from the sale of a property in Castile and León to a recipient resident in Canada. | Castile and León, if the money has been there for the most days in the previous five years | Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) | V2538-23 |
The recipient lives abroad and the assets are outside Spain
There is no Spanish tax (article 7 of the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act).
| Case | Rules | Where to file | Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money from the donors’ account in Germany to a recipient resident in Germany. | Not subject to the tax | — | V1071-08 |
| Couple resident in Belgium giving their children, also resident in Belgium, shares in Belgian companies. The property in Alicante sits inside a Belgian holding company. | Not subject to the tax | — | V2365-25 |
Frequently asked questions
Is money I give to my child abroad taxed in Spain?
Yes, if the money is in Spain when the gift is made (V5065-26).
Which region applies to a gift of money to a non-resident?
The region where the money has been held for the most days in the five years before the gift.
Where do I file if the recipient lives abroad?
With the national office of the Spanish Tax Agency, on Form 651 (V2129-25). The deadline is thirty working days from the day after the gift.
I live in Spain and receive money from abroad. Where do I pay?
In the region where you live, under its rules. You can deduct tax paid abroad within the limits of article 23 of Act 29/1987 (V0085-26). More in money from your parents abroad.
What if the property given is abroad?
If you live in Spain, you are taxed here under your region’s rules and file with the Spanish Tax Agency (V1046-24). If you do not, there is no Spanish tax.
I am Alberto Valiño, a Spanish lawyer and tax adviser (Valencia Bar no. 15042). I have spent almost twenty years on the tax side of transactions signed before a Spanish notary, and I am the author of Paga menos por tu herencia (Sepín). I work in English.
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