Page updated: October 29, 2026.
Understand your Spanish reporting obligations for assets abroad
Form 720 (Modelo 720) is a Spanish information return covering specified assets and rights held outside Spain. It is separate from your income tax return and does not itself create a tax charge.
AlbeaTax helps individuals and families assess whether a return is required, review the information and prepare the filing within the agreed scope. We also help review earlier filings where errors or inconsistencies have been identified.
Who needs to consider Modelo 720?
Spanish tax residence is an important starting point. Individuals resident in Spain may have a reporting obligation where they hold specified foreign assets or rights and the applicable thresholds and conditions are met.
The review is not limited to assets in your sole name. Joint ownership, beneficial ownership and certain forms of authority over accounts can also be relevant. Exceptions and special tax circumstances need to be considered before deciding whether to file.
If you are moving to Spain, review reporting alongside your residence position and the year of your move. See Before Moving to Spain and Living in Spain.
Which assets are covered?
Modelo 720 brings together three separate reporting categories:
- Foreign bank accounts: including the relevant account balances and details of your relationship to the account.
- Specified securities, rights, insurance and annuities abroad: the product and the rights you hold need to be identified.
- Foreign real estate and rights over it: including the information and valuation required for the relevant property or right.
The €50,000 threshold applies by category
The initial reporting threshold is assessed for each category as a whole, subject to the applicable rules and exceptions. It is not a separate €50,000 allowance for every account or asset.
For bank accounts, both year-end balances and average balances for the final quarter can matter. Joint ownership does not automatically mean that the full value is divided before testing the threshold.
Retirement accounts, insurance products and investment structures should be reviewed from their documents. A product’s name or tax treatment abroad does not, by itself, settle its Spanish reporting classification. See Retiring in Spain.
When do you file, and what happens in later years?
The standard filing period is January 1 to March 31 of the following year. Your information should be gathered and reviewed before the applicable deadline.
Filing once does not necessarily mean filing every year. A further return may be required where the aggregate value for a reporting category increases by more than €20,000 compared with the value that triggered the last filing for that category.
Closures, disposals and the end of previously reported rights can create reporting obligations independently of that increase. We review changes against your previous returns rather than relying only on a current-year balance.
What if an earlier return contains an error?
Check the original return, the supporting documents and any related income tax reporting. The appropriate correction depends on the information concerned and whether the Spanish Tax Agency has already contacted you.
Tell us if you have received a notice so that its response deadline can be considered. Our Spanish Tax Agency Communications (AEAT) service covers the review of notices within an agreed scope.
What information should you prepare?
- Copies of earlier Modelo 720 filings, where applicable.
- Bank statements showing the relevant year-end and final-quarter figures.
- Investment statements identifying the assets, ownership and relevant values.
- Property acquisition documents and details of ownership, transfers or disposals.
- Insurance or retirement-product documents that explain the rights attached to the product.
- Details of accounts closed, assets sold and changes in ownership or authority.
We explain which documents are relevant to your case and review the applicable classification, valuation and currency conversion.
How does this relate to your tax returns?
Reporting an asset on Modelo 720 does not replace any requirement to declare the income it generates. Income tax and wealth taxation have their own rules and valuation questions.
Review the consistency of your Spanish Tax Return (Renta / IRPF) and any Wealth Tax (Patrimonio) and Solidarity Tax obligations.
If you also file in the United States
Modelo 720, FBAR and Form 8938 are separate reporting obligations. A US filing does not replace a Spanish filing, and their scope and conditions should not be assumed to match.
With your authorization, we can coordinate the Spanish reporting questions with your CPA and explain the Spanish filings within our agreed scope.
How AlbeaTax can help
We can assess the obligation to file, review your documents, prepare the return and consider subsequent-year reporting or corrections. The initial briefing helps us agree the relevant work and any international coordination needed.
Our work in practice
Correcting foreign-property reporting
An incorrect property value reported on Modelo 720 led to discrepancies in a client’s Spanish income tax return. We helped correct the reporting and respond to the resulting tax assessment. The issue was resolved.
Anonymized example. Each case depends on its own facts and circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
Is Modelo 720 a tax payment?
No. It is an information return. Income from an asset, and any income-tax or wealth-tax obligation, must be assessed separately.
Does the €50,000 threshold apply to each account?
No. The relevant values are aggregated within each reporting category, applying the rules and exceptions for that category. Bank-account testing can involve both year-end and final-quarter average balances.
Do I have to file every year?
Not automatically. Subsequent-year obligations depend on changes since the last relevant filing, including the €20,000 increase test and events such as disposals or account closures.
Does filing FBAR or Form 8938 replace Modelo 720?
No. US and Spanish information returns are separate. Your CPA can review the US side while we review the Spanish obligations within our agreed scope.
Does the Beckham Law affect reporting?
Special tax status can affect your reporting position. Tell us whether you have opted for the Special Tax Regime and provide the supporting documents so that we can assess the obligations applicable to you.
Can you help correct a previous filing?
Yes. We can review the original filing and the supporting information, consider the relevant correction and address any related Spanish Tax Agency notice within the scope agreed with you.
Sources & further guidance
This overview is general guidance. Your residence, assets, previous filings and any applicable exceptions need to be considered together.
AEAT: Modelo 720 · AEAT: reporting thresholds · AEAT: subsequent-year reporting · Order HAP/72/2013
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Discuss your circumstances with AlbeaTax
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