In Spain the person who receives a gift pays the tax, not the person who gives it. On paper the rates run from 7.65% to 34% and, unlike heirs, people receiving a gift get no state tax-free allowance. In practice most regions cut the bill for children, spouses and parents by 99% or more. The catch is the paperwork: sign the gift the wrong way, or file late, and the discount is gone.
Here is how it works in 2026, region by region, for residents and for families who live in the US or the UK.
How gift tax works in Spain
Gifts are taxed under the same law as inheritances, the Inheritance and Gift Tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones). The state sets the default rules and each region can replace them with its own scale, reductions and discounts. That is why the same €100,000 gift to a daughter can cost about €124 in Madrid, €5,000 in Catalonia, and more than €12,000 in Madrid itself if one condition is missed.
- A Spanish resident who receives a gift pays on it wherever the asset is: a transfer from a parent in Texas counts.
- A non-resident only pays on assets in Spain: a flat in Alicante, money in a Spanish bank, shares in a Spanish company.
- Close family (children, grandchildren, spouse, parents, grandparents) are Groups I and II. Siblings, nephews, nieces, uncles and aunts are Group III, and under the state rules so are in-laws and stepchildren. Cousins, friends and everyone else are Group IV, and so is an unmarried partner unless your region treats the couple as spouses.
Gift tax in Spain by region (2026)
This is the discount for close family in each region. Read the right-hand column before any money moves: miss one condition and the gift is taxed on the full scale.
| Region | Discount for close family | Conditions that catch people out |
|---|---|---|
| Andalusia | 99% off the tax | Notarial deed, with the asset handed over at signing, once gifts from the same giver pass €5,000 in 3 years. Cash: deed within 1 month, stating where the money came from. |
| Aragon | 99% off the tax. From age 21, only while gifts received in the last 5 years total €500,000 or less | Return filed within the deadline. Separate €100,000 reduction for gifts to a spouse or children. |
| Asturias | No general discount. Lower rates instead: 2% on the first €150,000, then 15% to 36.5% | Public document signed before the filing deadline, and the recipient’s existing wealth no higher than €402,678.11, not counting their home. |
| Balearic Islands | 100% off the tax | For a property, the value in the deed cannot be more than the official reference value plus 20% (or market value if there is none). Cash: notarial deed stating where the money came from. |
| Canary Islands | 99.9% off the tax | Public document. Not available again for a gift that already used it in the previous 3 years. |
| Cantabria | 100% off the tax | No deed or source-of-funds rule in the regional law, but the return still has to be filed within 30 working days. |
| Castilla-La Mancha | 95% if the taxable amount is under €120,000, 90% up to €240,000, 85% above | Notarial deed stating the origin of what is given. Anything other than money must be kept for 5 years. |
| Castilla y León | 99% off the tax | Public document. For cash, the origin of the money stated in it. |
| Catalonia | Lower rates: 5% up to €200,000, 7% up to €600,000, 9% above | Notarial deed. If the gift does not need one to be valid, it must be signed within 1 month of the handover. |
| Extremadura | 99% on a taxable amount up to €300,000 and 50% on the part above, with a €600,000 limit | Public document above €10,000 in 3 years. Cash only by bank transfer, card or cheque, filed within 1 month with the bank proof. |
| Galicia | Lower rates: 5% up to €200,000, 7% up to €600,000, 9% above | Notarial deed. Without it, the general scale applies. |
| La Rioja | 99% off the tax | Notarial document. A cash gift by bank transfer can use a private document if the return goes in within 30 working days with the transfer proof. |
| Madrid | 99% off the tax, and 100% on gifts up to €1,000 | Public document once gifts pass €10,000 in 3 years. Cash: origin of the funds stated in it. Only on what you declare before the tax office asks. |
| Murcia | 99% off the tax, also for siblings, nephews, nieces, uncles and aunts | Public document and the origin of the funds justified. |
| Valencian Community | €100,000 off the value (up to €156,000 for children under 21), then 99% off the tax | Public document within the filing period. Cash or cars up to €4,000 can use a qualified e-signature instead. |
Brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts and uncles (Group III) get a gift tax discount in only four regions, plus Ceuta and Melilla, where the tax is halved if the person receiving the gift lives there, or on property located there. Murcia gives them 99%, in-laws included. The Balearic Islands give 60% to blood relatives and 35% to in-laws, since 25 July 2025. Madrid gives the whole group 50%, also since July 2025. Valencia added 25% for blood relatives on 1 June 2026 and it rises to 50% from 1 June 2027. The same paperwork rules as for close family apply.
Which region’s rules apply to your gift
- A gift of property follows the region where the property is, whoever gives it and wherever the recipient lives.
- A gift of money or other assets to a resident follows the region where the recipient has spent most days over the last five years.
- For a non-resident receiving money or other movable assets in Spain, it is the region where those assets were kept longest over the last five years.
Non-residents used to be stuck with the state rules and no regional discount at all. The EU Court of Justice struck that down in September 2014 (case C-127/12). Since July 2021 the Inheritance and Gift Tax Law (second additional provision) lets any non-resident, including Americans and Britons, use the rules of the region involved.
Gifts between Spain and the US or the UK
If your children live in the US or the UK and the money you give them is outside Spain, Spanish gift tax does not reach them. It does if the money sits in a Spanish account or the gift is a Spanish property: they file as non-residents and can use the regional discount. The reverse case catches more people. If you live in Spain and a parent abroad sends you money as a gift, you owe Spanish gift tax on it under the rules of your region, even though the money never touched Spain before.
Your home country may tax the same gift. In the US the gift tax falls on the giver, and in the UK a gift can come back into inheritance tax if the giver dies within seven years. Check both sides before the transfer, not after.
A worked example: €100,000 to a daughter in Madrid
A father gives his 30-year-old daughter, who lives in Madrid and has less than €403,000 of her own, €100,000 in cash. On the Madrid scale that is €12,407 of tax before any discount. With the 99% discount she pays about €124. To get it, the gift has to be signed in a public document (it is above €10,000), the document has to say where the money came from and be signed before the filing deadline, and she has to file before the tax office asks. Transfer the money with no deed and file later, and the full €12,407 is due.
The notarial deed: where most discounts are won or lost
Nearly every region ties its discount to a public document, usually a deed signed before a Spanish notary, and several set a time limit to sign it after the money moves (one month in Andalusia and Catalonia). For cash, the deed normally has to state the origin of the money. Some regions accept a private document for small or bank-traced amounts: La Rioja for cash sent by bank transfer, Valencia up to €4,000 with a qualified e-signature. A WhatsApp message and a bank transfer are not a deed.
Splitting a gift, and gifts made before death
Giving €30,000 a year instead of €90,000 at once does not lower the rate. Gifts from the same giver to the same person within three years are added together to set it. Gifts made in the four years before the giver dies are added to the inheritance to set the inheritance tax rate as well. Several regions also add up three or five years of gifts to decide whether a deed was needed or a cap has been reached.
Deadline and Modelo 651
- Under the state rules you have 30 working days from the day after the gift to file and pay. Several regions set their own deadline for residents: one month in Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Extremadura and Valencia, and two months in Andalusia. For inheritances it is six months, so do not mix the two up.
- Non-residents receiving Spanish assets file Modelo 651 with the Spanish Tax Agency. Residents file with the tax office of their region.
- Late filing brings surcharges and interest. In Andalusia and Madrid the 99% discount only covers what you declare before the tax office asks.
Gifting property or money: plusvalía and the giver’s capital gain
A gift of cash usually ends with the recipient’s gift tax. A gift of a home in a town or city brings two more bills. The municipal plusvalía is charged on the land value, and in a gift the recipient pays it. The giver may owe capital gains tax on the rise in value since they bought, because Spanish income tax treats a gift like a sale. An inheritance does not trigger that gain.
One exception matters for retirees: a giver over 65 who gives away their main home pays no capital gains tax on it. The recipient still pays gift tax and plusvalía. If the giver lives outside Spain, the gain is taxed through non-resident income tax instead, and the over-65 exemption needs a case-by-case check.
Gift tax questions we get asked
Is there a tax-free amount for gifts in Spain?
Not at state level: gifts get none of the allowances heirs get. Some regions add their own, such as Madrid’s 100% discount on gifts up to €1,000 or the €100,000 reduction in Valencia and Aragon. For everything else, the regional discount is what brings the tax close to zero.
Is gift tax the same as inheritance tax in Spain?
Same law, different rules. Gifts have their own regional discounts, a deadline of one month to 30 working days in most regions instead of six months, and no state allowance. Our guide to inheritance tax in Spain covers what happens on death.
Do I pay gift tax on money my parents send me from abroad?
If you are resident in Spain, yes, under your region’s rules. Close family usually gets the discount, but only with the right document and a return filed within your region’s deadline, one month or 30 working days in most regions.
Does a gift to my spouse count?
Yes. A spouse is Group II, so the close-family discount applies. Registered partners are treated as spouses in most regions, each with its own registration rules, but not under the state rules that apply in Ceuta and Melilla. Catalonia also counts stable couples who have lived together for two years or have a child together. Outside those rules, an unmarried partner is a stranger (Group IV) for this tax.
Our lawyers draft the deed so it meets your region’s conditions and file the 651 for you. Tell us who is giving what, where each of you lives and where the asset is, through the contact form.