Investor rules in Spain (España)

Official wording: 'el FGD garantiza hasta 100.000 € por titular y entidad'. In certain cases, the FGD can also cover amounts above this. That higher cover applies only to deposits made in the three months before the bank failed, and only for specific types of transactions.

FGD: shares and other financial instruments held at a bank are covered up to €100,000. This cover is separate from the €100,000 cover for cash deposits ('independiente'). FOGAIN covers clients of investment firms authorised in Spain: sociedades de valores, agencias de valores and sociedades gestoras de carteras. It also covers some fund managers when they provide portfolio management. Both schemes pay only if the firm fails and cannot return your cash or securities. Neither covers investments losing value on the market.

Applies to tax years 2025 and 2026. The top band (above €300,000) was raised from 1 January 2025 by Ley 7/2024. The consolidated law text (BOE, checked 25 Oct 2026) shows no later change to either scale. The tax agency's guide states both scales 'Para 2025'; no 2026 guide was found. We list the two official scales as published. We do not add them together into a combined rate. The savings base includes gains from selling shares and funds, dividends and interest. If the general personal allowance (mínimo personal y familiar) is larger than your general income, the unused part reduces the savings base (see taxFreeAllowance). Not checked: the separate rules for residents of the Basque Country and Navarre, who have their own tax systems (régimen foral).

Traspaso conditions: the money must go directly from one collective investment fund (institución de inversión colectiva, IIC) into another, without being paid out to you. Investment companies (forma societaria) must have more than 500 shareholders, and you must not have held more than 5% of the company in the previous 12 months. Foreign EU UCITS funds can also qualify if two conditions are met: the fund is registered with the CNMV for marketing in Spain, and you buy and sell it through a distributor registered with the CNMV. Transitional rule: foreign ETFs bought before 1 January 2022 can still use the deferral, but only if the money goes into a fund that is not an ETF. The tax agency also lists gains on ETFs (fondos cotizados) among gains that are not subject to withholding. No official source we opened says in plain words that accumulating funds are taxed only when sold. We infer it from the rule that gains are taxed on sale or redemption.

Art. 66 and art. 76 tax 'the part of the savings base that exceeds, where applicable, the personal and family minimum'. Under art. 56, that minimum is applied first to the general base, so most people with a salary use it up there. We found no other investment allowance in the official sources. The tax-free wrappers are covered under wrapperAccounts. Our reading that the minimum is used first against the general base comes from art. 56 as cited in arts. 66/76; we did not open art. 56 itself.

Withholding: the tax agency's 2026 tables give 19% for dividends ('participación en fondos propios', art. 101.4 LIRPF, art. 90 RIRPF) and for interest ('cesión a terceros de capitales propios'). They also give 19% for 'Transmisión de acciones y participaciones en Instituciones de Inversión Colectiva' (art. 101.6 LIRPF). The table for 1 January to 9 September 2026 and the table from 10 September 2026 give the same rates. Modelo 720 is an information return, not a tax. It has three categories: accounts at foreign banks; foreign securities, rights and insurance; and real estate abroad. You must file a category when its total value exceeds €50,000. After that, you file again only if that category's value has risen by more than €20,000 since your last return. The filing window is 1 January to 31 March of the following year. Status (AEAT page updated 23 Oct 2026): the return still exists. Ley 5/2022 changed the penalty rules after the EU Court of Justice ruling of 27 January 2022 (case C-788/19). Penalties now follow the general rules in arts. 198/199 of the General Tax Law (Ley General Tributaria). Crypto-assets held abroad are reported on a separate form (Modelo 721), not on Modelo 720.

PALP: positive returns are exempt (art. 7.ñ LIRPF) if you make no withdrawal before 5 years from opening. Going over the €5,000 yearly limit, or withdrawing early, ends the plan and the exemption. Cuenta de Ahorro e Inversión Financia Europa (new art. 95 ter LIRPF, RDL 29/2026 of 6 Oct 2026, in force 8 Oct 2026): one account per taxpayer, with a single holder. You pay in cash. Total contributions not yet withdrawn are capped at €150,000. Gains are taxed only when you withdraw. For contributions held more than 5 years, gains are excluded from tax: 100% up to a lifetime maximum of €10,000 per taxpayer, plus 20% of the remaining gain. Only assets eligible under art. 348 of Ley 6/2023 may be held. As of 25 Oct 2026 the account cannot be sold or opened until a ministerial order is in force. Personal pension plans (planes de pensiones) were not researched for this entry.

The CNMV supervises investment firms (sociedades and agencias de valores, portfolio managers), investment funds and their managers, and the securities markets. It publishes the official registers of authorised firms. It also publishes warnings about unauthorised firms ('chiringuitos financieros') and warnings received from foreign regulators. Banks are supervised by the Banco de España (and the ECB). Before investing, check that a firm is in the CNMV register and authorised for the specific service you want.