Modelo 720: report what you hold abroad
Modelo 720 is not a payment return. You pay no tax with it. You use it to report assets held abroad. The obligation is set by additional provision 18 of the General Tax Law (Ley 58/2003, LGT) and developed by the order Orden HAP/72/2013. Under the text of the order, it must be filed by "personas físicas y jurídicas residentes en territorio español", that is, "individuals and legal entities resident in Spanish territory". Residence here means tax residence, not the residence card.
The return covers three blocks: accounts in banks abroad; securities, shares in companies, foreign life and disability insurance, and annuities; and real estate and rights over it. The law also names cryptocurrencies held with foreign custodians separately. A separate return, modelo 721, is provided for them (Orden HFP/886/2023).
The obligation is not limited to owners. Under the text of the regulation, it also applies to those named as a representative, authorised person or beneficiary of an account, who have the right to dispose of it, and to the "titular real", the actual beneficial owner. So an authorisation over a relative's account in a Russian bank may matter. This is decided on the details, not by a general rule.
The threshold is calculated separately for each block. You do not have to report accounts if neither the balances on 31 December nor the average balance for the last quarter exceeds €50,000 in total. If either of the two figures is exceeded, you report all accounts. For securities and for real estate, the same €50,000 threshold applies within their own blocks. In later years you need to file only if the total has grown by more than €20,000 compared with the last return filed. There is an exception: if the right to an asset ended during the year, you must file in any case.
The form is filed electronically, and a digital certificate is needed. Under the order, the filing period falls in the first quarter of the year after the reporting year (from 1 January to 31 March). Check the details of the current campaign at sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es.
What changed after the EU Court ruling in case C-788/19
On 27 January 2022 the EU Court of Justice heard the European Commission's action against Spain. The Commission challenged three elements of the regime: no limitation period for "unjustified increase in assets" where modelo 720 was not filed or was filed late, the automatic proportional penalty of 150%, and fixed fines that were heavier than the general ones. In the preamble to Ley 5/2022 the legislator refers directly to this ruling and admits that some aspects of the regime breach EU law.
Before the reform the law was strict. Article 39.2 of the IRPF law (Ley 35/2006) provided: "En todo caso tendrán la consideración de ganancias de patrimonio no justificadas..." ("In every case the following are treated as unjustified capital gains...") assets that were not reported on time. They were allocated to the oldest period not yet closed by limitation. A separate provision of Ley 7/2012 introduced a penalty of 150% of the tax amount, and provision 18 of the LGT itself set fines of €5,000 for each data set with a minimum of €10,000.
Ley 5/2022 (in force from 11 March 2022) changed this. Provision 18 of the LGT now contains only the list of information to be reported, with no special penalty regime. Additional provisions 1 and 2 of Ley 7/2012 were repealed. Article 39 of the IRPF law was rewritten: it no longer contains an automatic rule about failing to file modelo 720. An unjustified increase in assets arises when assets do not match declared income, and it is allocated to the period in which they were discovered, unless ownership from a date before the limitation period is proved. The obligation to file modelo 720 itself remains. Provision 18 no longer has a special penalty regime for modelo 720, and the general LGT rules apply, for example art. 198 on failure to file returns on time.
Modelo 210: for non-residents with Spanish income
Modelo 210 is filed for non-resident income tax (IRNR). It is completed by individuals who are not tax residents but receive income in Spain without a permanent establishment (Orden EHA/3316/2010). Typical cases are renting out a Spanish flat, selling property, and income from which no tax was withheld at source.
There is a separate case that people often do not know about. A non-resident who owns urban property in Spain that is not used for a business activity is taxed on the "renta imputada", a notional income from ownership alone. The order expressly makes such returns mandatory. Deadlines depend on the type of income, and they differ for rental income, for a sale and for notional income from ownership. Check the current details at sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es.
If you are a resident, you do not file modelo 210. You report under IRPF. Status is determined for the whole calendar year, so in the year of your move the question of status is key.
Returns for past years
The administration's right to determine a tax debt through a liquidación (an assessment of additional tax) lapses after four years (art. 66 LGT). We do not look here at how the period is counted.
If a return is filed late on your own initiative, before any request from the administration, a recargo por declaración extemporánea (a surcharge for late filing) applies (art. 27 LGT). It is 1% plus 1% for each full month of delay. After 12 months the recargo is 15%, and late-payment interest is added. The recargo rules out penalties. The law treats as a "request" any action of the administration, known to the taxpayer, aimed at checking or assessing additional tax. After such a request the ordinary procedure with penalties applies. For a late information return under art. 198 LGT, if it is filed before a request, the penalty is halved.
What applies in your situation depends on the years, the types of income and the assets. We do not assess individual cases and do not replace a calculation based on your documents.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to file modelo 720 if my accounts are only in Russia and hold less than €50,000?
Under the text of the regulation there is no obligation if the balances on 31 December and the average balance for the last quarter, across all accounts, do not exceed €50,000 in total. If either of the two figures is exceeded, all accounts go into the return.
I am a non-resident. Do I file modelo 720?
The order places the obligation on residents. A non-resident with Spanish income or property should look at modelo 210.
Is the 150% penalty for not filing modelo 720 still there?
The special rule on the 150% penalty was repealed in 2022. The automatic treatment of assets as unjustified increases was also removed from the law. This does not cancel the obligation to file the return itself.
Was the deadline for modelo 720 changed after the EU Court ruling?
In the current text of the order, the filing period remains 1 January to 31 March of the following year. Check the campaign details at sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es.
I am named as an authorised person on my parents' account in a Russian bank. Is that my return to file?
Under the regulation, the obligation extends to those named as authorised persons or who have the right to dispose of the account. How it applies to a specific case depends on the form of the authorisation and the balances.
What happens if I find that I filed nothing for past years?
The law distinguishes between filing before the administration's request and after it. In the first case the recargo under art. 27 LGT applies, in the second the ordinary procedure with penalties. Dates and documents show which case you are in.
If you need clarity on your situation
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