Exit Tax (Spain)
A Spanish tax on unrealized gains when moving tax residency out of Spain (Article 95 bis of the IRPF law), potentially applicable to your cryptoassets depending on the case.
Definition
Spain's exit tax is a levy on latent capital gains — gains not yet realized — triggered when a person moves their tax residency out of Spain. It is governed by Article 95 bis of the Spanish income tax (IRPF) law and aims to prevent someone from relocating to another jurisdiction just before selling, in order to avoid Spanish tax on appreciation generated while they were a resident. It is a key consideration for international investors and expats planning to leave Spain.
When it applies. As designed, it targets large holdings of shares and equity stakes, and requires having been a Spanish tax resident for a substantial number of years and exceeding certain value thresholds. Its application to cryptoassets is neither automatic nor obvious: a ruling by Spain's Directorate-General for Taxation (DGT) essentially said it must be analyzed case by case. For 'pure' Bitcoin the initial reading pointed toward no, but for other assets — tokens conferring governance rights, for example — it would need to be examined.
Relation to tax residency. The exit tax is one of the things worth assessing before considering a residency change 'for crypto reasons'. And changing tax residency is not just about spending fewer than 183 days in Spain: other requirements apply, such as moving your center of economic activity, and you cannot keep 'one foot in each country'. There are no magic formulas. This is not tax advice: review your situation with a professional before acting.
In Context
Before moving your tax residency out of Spain for tax reasons, check whether the exit tax applies to your portfolio: for cryptoassets, the answer is case by case.
Read this term in Spanish: versión en español →