Cryptocurrency tax in Spain: 2026 guide

Since 1 January 2026 the exchanges operating in the European Union report your transactions automatically to the Agencia Tributaria, the Spanish tax authority: that is the DAC8 directive, and with it the era in which declaring cryptocurrencies was, in practice, voluntary came to an end. The good news is that the rules are clearer than they have ever been. This guide explains how cryptocurrencies are taxed in Spain, with examples and deadlines, so that the shock does not arrive in April.

When your cryptocurrencies are taxed (and when they are not)

Under the IRPF, Spain's personal income tax, cryptocurrencies are taxed when there is an alteración patrimonial — a change in your assets. In plain terms: when you move them with an economic effect.

• Selling for euros is taxed (or for any other fiat currency), at a gain or at a loss.
• Swapping one crypto for another is taxed. It is the most expensive and the most common mistake: going from Bitcoin to Ethereum is a permuta, a swap, and the Agencia Tributaria treats it as though you had sold the Bitcoin. Even if you have not seen a euro, the gain exists and it is declared.
• Paying with cryptocurrencies is taxed when you buy a good or a service: that too is a disposal (transmisión).
• Buying with euros and holding is not taxed. You can accumulate for years without declaring any gain at all: there is no disposal.
• Moving crypto between wallets of your own is not taxed, from the exchange to your cold wallet or between two wallets of yours. Keep the receipts: before the Agencia Tributaria you will have to be able to show that both ends were yours.

How the gain is worked out: the FIFO rule

The gain or loss is the difference between the transfer value (what you get on selling, less fees) and the acquisition value (what you paid, plus fees). When you have bought the same coin several times at different prices, Spain requires the FIFO criterion (first in, first out): the oldest units are the ones deemed sold first.

An example: you bought 0.1 BTC for €3,000 in 2023 and another 0.1 BTC for €6,000 in 2025. If you sell 0.1 BTC today for €8,000, the gain is not worked out against whichever purchase you would prefer: "the first ones" are sold, the €3,000 ones, and the declarable gain is €5,000.

With two purchases the sum can be done by hand; with two hundred, it cannot. Our tax calculator applies FIFO to your transaction history and returns the gain on each sale and the tax that comes out of the savings bands.

How much you pay: the savings bands

Gains from a sale or a swap go into the base del ahorro (the savings tax base) of the IRPF, with these bands in force in 2026 (always check the figures for the tax year on the website of the AEAT, the Agencia Tributaria):

The bands are progressive: on a gain of €10,000 you would pay 19% on the first €6,000 and 21% on the remaining €4,000 — €1,980, not 21% of the lot.

Losses count too (in your favour)

A bad year has its tax consolation. Losses are offset against the gains of the same tax year; if the balance is still negative, it can be set against investment income (rendimientos del capital mobiliario) up to 25% of that income, and whatever is left over is carried forward for the next four years. Declaring losses is not optional if you want to use them: if they do not appear on the Renta, the annual income tax return, they do not exist.

Staking, airdrops and mining: each with its own rule

• Staking and lending: the rewards are rendimientos del capital mobiliario, investment income — like the interest on a deposit account — and they are taxed in the base del ahorro at their value in euros on the day you receive them. That value then becomes their acquisition price for when you sell them.
• Airdrops: a capital gain without a prior disposal, which goes into the base general (the general tax base, the one your salary sits in), valued at market on the day of receipt.
• Mining: this is an economic activity: registration with the tax authorities, income from whatever is mined and deductible expenses (equipment, electricity). A different sport altogether.

Form 721: if you keep it abroad, report it

If on 31 December you hold more than €50,000 in cryptocurrencies held in custody by non-Spanish entities, you must file form 721 (the modelo 721) between 1 January and 31 March (check here whether it applies to you). It is purely informative — nothing is paid — but failing to file it carries penalties. Crypto in your own cold wallet, whose keys you control, and crypto held by Spanish entities fall outside this obligation; large balances may also have to be declared in the wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) depending on your autonomous community.

2026: the tax authority already knows

Spanish exchanges have been reporting on their customers for years (forms 172 and 173). What is new is DAC8: since 1 January 2026, any crypto-asset service provider operating in the EU reports its users' transactions, and the tax authorities exchange that data automatically. Cross-checking what the exchange declares against what you declare is an algorithm, not an inspection. The "I will leave it out and see if it slips through" strategy has gone from risky to mathematically losing: surcharges of up to 1% a month if you correct it late, and penalties of 50% to 150% of the amount not paid if the Agencia Tributaria finds it first.

With one exception that is worth understanding the other way round from the way it is usually told: a platform without an EU licence reports to nobody, and that does not release you from declaring — the obligation is yours, not theirs. It is the situation Spanish users of Binance were left in on 1 July 2026, which is why moving to another platform has its own list of what is taxed and what is not in Binance alternatives in Spain.

How to keep on top of it without going mad

• Export the transaction history (CSV) from each exchange at least once a year. If the exchange shuts down, that history goes with it — the obligation to justify your purchase prices does not.
• Note down the swaps with their value in euros on the date of each transaction: it is the figure nobody remembers in April.
• If you make few transactions a year, a spreadsheet is enough. If you make many, crypto tax software pays for itself.
• The strategy that is taxed best is still the dullest one: buying and holding does not generate a single euro of tax until you sell. If you want to see what the long term does for you, play with our compound interest calculator; and if you are starting out, read how to invest in cryptocurrencies first.

Frequently asked questions about crypto tax

Do I have to declare it if I swap one cryptocurrency for another?

Yes, and it is the most expensive and the most common mistake. Going from Bitcoin to Ethereum is a permuta, a swap, and the Agencia Tributaria treats it as though you had sold the Bitcoin: even if you have not seen a euro, the gain exists and it is declared. Note down the value in euros of each swap on the date of the transaction, because it is the figure nobody remembers in April.

Do I pay tax if I only buy and hold?

No. Buying with euros and holding does not generate any declarable gain, because there is no disposal: you can accumulate for years without declaring anything for it. Nor is it taxed to move your cryptocurrencies between wallets of your own, from the exchange to your cold wallet or between two wallets of yours. Do keep the receipts, though: before the Agencia Tributaria you will have to be able to show that both ends were yours.

What is the FIFO rule, and why does it make me sell the oldest coins?

FIFO stands for first in, first out: when you have bought the same coin several times at different prices, the oldest units are deemed sold first, and you cannot choose which purchase the gain is measured against. If you bought 0.1 BTC for €3,000 and another 0.1 BTC for €6,000, selling 0.1 BTC takes out the €3,000 ones.

How much is paid on cryptocurrency gains?

It depends on the total gains for the year, which go into the base del ahorro of the IRPF: the first band is €6,000 at 19% and the next runs to €50,000 at 21%, and from there the rates climb in steps. As they are progressive, on a gain of €10,000 you would pay €1,980, not 21% of the lot.

How is staking taxed?

Staking and lending rewards are rendimientos del capital mobiliario, investment income, like the interest on a deposit account, and they are taxed in the base del ahorro at their value in euros on the day you receive them. That same value becomes their acquisition price, so when you sell those coins the gain is worked out against it.

Is there any point in declaring losses?

Yes, quite a lot: losses are offset against the gains of the same tax year and bring down what you pay. If the balance is still negative, it can be set against investment income up to 25% of that income, and whatever is left over is carried forward for the next four years. But only if they appear on the return: if you do not declare them, they do not exist.

When does form 721 have to be filed?

Only if on 31 December you hold more than €50,000 in cryptocurrencies held in custody by non-Spanish entities; in that case it is filed between 1 January and 31 March. It is purely informative and nothing is paid, but failing to file it carries penalties. What you keep in your own cold wallet, and what is held by Spanish entities, falls outside.

This content is for information only and does not constitute tax advice. For your own situation — residence, autonomous community, volumes — consult a registered tax adviser.