Donations in Spain: Tax and Legal Guide for International Families

The short answer

In Spain a gift can trigger up to three taxes, and they fall on different people: the recipient pays Gift Tax and, for urban property, the municipal plusvalía, while the donor may owe income tax on any gain. Where the recipient lives and where the asset sits decide which regional rules apply.

Who pays what: the three taxes at a glance

Tax	Who pays	What it taxes
Inheritance and Gift Tax (ISD)	The recipient (donee)	The value received by donation
Income tax (IRPF) on the donor’s gain	The donor	Any increase in value since the donor acquired the asset
Municipal plusvalía (IIVTNU)	The recipient	The increase in value of urban land on the transfer

Many families assume only the recipient has something to pay. The donor’s side is the part most often missed: Spanish income tax treats a donation as a transfer, so a gift of an asset that has gained value can produce a taxable gain for the person giving it.

What counts as a donation in Spain

For Spanish tax purposes a donation is any acquisition of assets or rights “by donation or any other gratuitous inter vivos transaction”. That covers property, money, shares and other assets given during the donor’s lifetime. The tax accrues on the day the gift is made.

The recipient: Gift Tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones)

The person who receives the gift is the taxpayer for Gift Tax. How far that tax reaches depends on where the recipient lives:

• Recipient resident in Spain. Gift Tax applies to everything received, wherever the asset is located.
• Recipient not resident in Spain. Gift Tax applies only to assets located, exercisable or to be performed in Spain.

Spain’s regions (Autonomous Communities) can set their own rules for this tax, which is why the same gift can cost very different amounts in different parts of Spain. This guide covers the state framework and Andalucía in detail; for any other region, the rules have to be checked for that region before relying on a figure.

Gifts from the same donor to the same recipient within three years are treated as a single transfer when the tax rate is calculated, so splitting a large gift into smaller ones does not by itself lower the rate.

The donor: income tax on the gain

A donation produces a capital gain or loss for the donor, measured as for a sale but using the values that result from Gift Tax rules, capped at market value. If the asset has risen in value since the donor bought it, that gain is taxable income for the donor unless an exemption applies.

This is the single biggest difference from leaving the same asset by inheritance: no income-tax gain arises on transfers on the taxpayer’s death.

Over 65 and gifting your home

Spanish income tax exempts the gain on the transfer of a person’s habitual residence when the person is over 65, or is in a situation of severe or great dependency. That income-tax exemption also covers a donation of the home, because a donation is a transfer that can produce a gain for the donor.

In March 2026 the Directorate General of Taxes answered a binding consultation (V0571-26) from a person over 65 who intended to donate 50% of their habitual residence to their spouse: the exemption applies to the gain on that donation, provided the home is the habitual residence and the donor meets the age condition. Donating part of the home, not the whole property, was enough in that case.

What counts as the habitual residence matters:

• It is normally the dwelling you have lived in continuously for at least three years, with exceptions such as death, marriage, separation or a change of job.
• For this exemption, you are treated as transferring your habitual residence if it is your habitual residence at the time or was until any day in the two years before the transfer.
• Residence is a question of fact that the tax agency assesses, not the Directorate General of Taxes.

What the exemption does not cover. It removes the donor’s income tax on the gain only. The recipient’s Gift Tax and, for urban land, the municipal plusvalía may still apply.

If the donor is not tax resident in Spain, whether this exemption is available needs case-specific review before any decision; this guide does not state a general answer. Our guide to over 65 and gifting your home in Spain covers the residence test in detail.

Andalucía: the 99% relief and its conditions

Andalucía is where CostaLuz Lawyers is headquartered and where many of our international clients own property, so its rules are set out in full here.

Recipients who are children or other descendants, adopted children, spouses, parents or other ascendants, or adoptive parents apply a 99% reduction (bonificación) on the Gift Tax due under Andalucía’s rules. The relief comes with conditions that are easy to miss:

• Only on assets declared spontaneously. The 99% applies only to the part of the tax corresponding to assets the recipient declares of their own accord, before any request from the tax administration.
• A public document above €5,000. For assets whose transfer does not need a public document to be valid, the relief requires the gift to be formalised in a public document, with simultaneous delivery, when the taxable base exceeds €5,000, counting all gifts from the same donor to the same recipient in the previous three years.
• Cash above €5,000. The public document must be signed within one month of the money being handed over, and the relief applies only if the origin of the funds is duly justified and stated in that document.
• Instalments. A cash gift of a fixed total paid in instalments must be documented in a single deed covering all the instalments.

Andalucía applies the same 99% relief to inheritances between the same close relatives, which makes the comparison between gifting and leaving by inheritance turn mainly on the donor’s income tax and on timing rather than on the recipient’s Gift Tax. For the conditions in detail, see gift tax in Andalucía: the 99% relief and its conditions.

Gifting property in Spain

A gift of Spanish property usually engages all three taxes at once: Gift Tax for the recipient, the donor’s income tax on any gain, and the municipal plusvalía for the recipient.

The municipal plusvalía applies to transfers of urban land “by any title”, which includes a donation. In a gift, the recipient is the person liable. Its declaration is due within thirty working days of the gift, and some town halls use self-assessment.

Before gifting a property, families usually compare the donor’s gain and whether the over-65 exemption applies, the recipient’s Gift Tax under the relevant regional rules, and the plusvalía. Our guide to gifting Spanish property to your children walks through the parent-to-child case.

Gifting money

Cash gifts are subject to Gift Tax for the recipient like any other donation. In Andalucía, the documentary conditions above are what decide whether the 99% relief is available, especially the one-month deadline and the statement of where the money came from. Parents helping a child buy a home should read our guide to gifting money to buy property in Spain.

Parents and children, and spouses

Children and other descendants, and spouses, are the relationships the Andalucía 99% relief is designed for. For a donor who is over 65, a gift between spouses of part of the family home is exactly the situation the March 2026 consultation addressed. Outside Andalucía, the treatment of each relationship depends on the region’s own rules.

Non-residents: giving or receiving Spanish assets

International families are often split across countries, and Spanish rules follow residence and location:

• A non-resident who receives Spanish property by donation may apply the rules of the Autonomous Community where the property is located.
• A non-resident who receives movable assets located in Spain may apply the rules of the region where those assets were located for the most days in the preceding five years.
• Filing. Non-residents who receive assets or rights located in Spain by donation file the Gift Tax self-assessment (Modelo 651) with the Spanish tax agency.
• A resident recipient of a gift from abroad pays Spanish Gift Tax on it, wherever the asset is.

Your home country may also tax the same gift. How the Spanish and foreign systems interact depends on the countries involved and needs to be reviewed case by case. See our gift tax guide for non-residents.

Deadlines

• Gift Tax: the return is due within thirty working days from the day after the gift.
• Municipal plusvalía: thirty working days from the gift.
• Andalucía, cash above €5,000: the public document within one month of handing over the money.

Gift now or leave it by inheritance?

There is no universal answer, but the differences are specific:

• Donor’s income tax. A lifetime gift can produce a taxable gain for the donor; a transfer on death produces none. The over-65 exemption on the home can remove that difference for the habitual residence.
• Timing. Gifts to the same person within four years before the donor’s death are added to the later inheritance when calculating the tax rate.
• Andalucía. Close relatives receive the same 99% relief whether by gift or by inheritance, subject to each relief’s own conditions.

Families weighing a lifetime gift against inheritance usually also need to align it with their will and the law that governs the succession: see our guides to the Spanish inheritance process and to coordinating a Spanish will with an international estate.

Before you give: a checklist

1. Identify who will pay what: recipient’s Gift Tax, donor’s income tax, plusvalía.
2. Confirm where the recipient is resident and where the asset is located; they decide which rules apply.
3. If the donor is over 65 and the gift is the home, confirm it qualifies as the habitual residence.
4. In Andalucía, check the documentary conditions for the 99% relief before any money moves.
5. Diary the thirty-working-day deadlines.
6. If anyone involved is not resident in Spain, have the cross-border position reviewed before signing.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays tax on a gift in Spain, the donor or the recipient?

Both can. The recipient pays Gift Tax and, for urban property, the municipal plusvalía. The donor may pay income tax on any gain in value of the asset given.

Can someone over 65 gift their home in Spain without paying capital gains tax?

The donor’s income tax on the gain is exempt when the donor is over 65 and the home is their habitual residence. The Directorate General of Taxes confirmed in March 2026 that donating 50% of the home to a spouse qualified. The recipient’s Gift Tax and the plusvalía may still apply.

Are cash gifts taxable in Spain?

Yes. Money received as a gift is subject to Gift Tax for the recipient. In Andalucía, cash above €5,000 needs a public document within one month stating where the funds came from to keep the 99% relief.

Does it matter where in Spain the property is?

Yes. Regions set their own Gift Tax rules, and a non-resident who receives Spanish property may apply the rules of the region where it is located.

Can I split a large gift into smaller ones to pay less?

Gifts from the same donor to the same recipient within three years are treated as one transfer for calculating the rate.

Is it better to gift or to leave property by inheritance in Spain?

It depends on the case. A lifetime gift can produce income tax for the donor, while a transfer on death does not. Gifts made within four years before death are added to the inheritance for the rate calculation.

I live outside Spain. How do I declare a gift of Spanish assets?

Non-residents who receive assets located in Spain by donation file Modelo 651 with the Spanish tax agency, within thirty working days.

How CostaLuz Lawyers can help

CostaLuz Lawyers assists international clients with legal matters throughout Spain. Questions about gifts and donations are handled by CostaLuz Lawyers’ specialised tax team, who look at the donor’s and the recipient’s position together, the regional rules that apply, and how a gift fits with your will and inheritance planning. We work in English and Spanish.

To discuss a planned gift, write to us at marialuisa@costaluzlawyers.es describing who is giving what to whom, where each of you lives and where the asset is; we reply in writing. If you prefer to talk it through, you can also book a call.

Official sources

• Ley 29/1987, del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones (consolidated text, BOE): https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1987-28141
• Real Decreto 1629/1991, Reglamento del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones (BOE): https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1991-27678
• Ley 35/2006, del Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas (BOE): https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2006-20764
• Real Decreto 439/2007, Reglamento del IRPF (BOE): https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2007-6820
• Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales (BOE): https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2004-4214
• Ley 5/2021, de Tributos Cedidos de la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía (BOE): https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2021-17915
• Dirección General de Tributos, binding consultation V0571-26: https://petete.tributos.hacienda.gob.es/consultas/?num_consulta=V0571-26
• Agencia Tributaria, Modelo 651 for non-residents: https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/no-residentes/impuesto-sobre-sucesiones-donaciones/adquisiciones-inter-vivos-modelo-651.html

This is general information, not definitive legal advice — every case requires individual analysis.