Crypto Tax Declaration Support for US & UK Expats
Spain taxes cryptocurrency gains and income for tax residents, and separately requires reporting of crypto held abroad above certain thresholds. The two obligations are easy to conflate but are filed differently.
We reconstruct your transaction history across wallets and exchanges, classify each disposal and income event, and file your Modelo 721 and Renta return so nothing gets missed.
Overview
Spanish tax residents are taxed on crypto activity in two distinct ways: gains from selling, swapping, or otherwise disposing of crypto are taxed as savings income; income earned from crypto (mining, staking rewards, DeFi yield) is generally taxed as general income at potentially higher rates. Separately, and independent of whether any tax is due, residents with crypto held on foreign-based exchanges or in custodial wallets above a reporting threshold must file an annual informational declaration.
This area has moved quickly in recent years as Spain has extended its foreign-asset reporting regime to crypto specifically. The rules distinguish between crypto held with a third-party custodian abroad (reportable) and crypto held in a wallet where you alone control the private keys (generally treated differently) — a distinction that matters and is easy to get wrong.
How Spain Taxes Crypto
| Activity | Tax treatment |
|---|---|
| Selling or swapping crypto at a gain | Savings income (capital gain), taxed on a progressive scale generally running from around 19% up to roughly 28-30% at the highest band |
| Mining, staking rewards, DeFi yield, salary paid in crypto | Generally taxed as general income, on the ordinary progressive scale that can reach into the mid-40s percent |
| Crypto-to-crypto trades | Generally treated as a taxable disposal, not a tax-free exchange — each trade can realize a gain or loss |
| Holding crypto without disposing of it | No disposal event, so generally no capital gains tax triggered by price appreciation alone |
Modelo 721 — Foreign Crypto Asset Reporting
Spanish tax residents whose cryptocurrency held with foreign-based custodians or exchanges exceeds a combined value threshold (currently around €50,000, valued at year-end) must file Modelo 721 between 1 January and 31 March. This is a purely informational filing — it does not itself generate a tax bill — but failing to file when required carries its own penalty, separate from any tax owed on gains.
Crypto held in wallets where you alone control the private keys, with no third-party custodian, is treated differently under current guidance and may fall outside the Modelo 721 computation — but this is a technical distinction worth confirming for your specific setup rather than assuming.
Process
- Determine your Spanish tax residency status — see Tax Residency in Spain.
- Compile a full transaction history across all wallets and exchanges for the tax year, including cost basis for each disposal.
- Classify each transaction (disposal, income event, transfer) since Spain taxes these differently.
- Value foreign-custodied holdings as of 31 December to check the Modelo 721 threshold.
- File Modelo 721 (if applicable) between 1 January and 31 March, and report gains/income on your annual Renta return (Modelo 100) during the spring filing season.
Costs
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Spain Relocation — crypto transaction review & gain/loss calculation | Quoted individually based on transaction volume — see Pricing |
| Spain Relocation — Modelo 721 filing | Quoted individually |
| Official government filing fees | Generally none for Modelo 721 or Modelo 100 e-filing; cost comes from professional preparation, not government charges |
FAQ
Do I owe Spanish tax on crypto I bought before becoming a Spanish tax resident?
Generally, the taxable event is the disposal (sale, swap, or spend), not the original purchase date. If you dispose of crypto while a Spanish tax resident, the gain is generally calculated from your original cost basis, even if the purchase happened before you moved to Spain. This makes accurate historical cost-basis records important before you relocate.
Does moving crypto between my own wallets trigger tax?
Transfers between wallets you control, without a disposal (sale or swap), generally are not taxable events in themselves — but keeping clear records of such transfers matters for substantiating your position if the transaction history is later reviewed.
What's the penalty for not filing Modelo 721 when required?
Modelo 721 non-filing penalties have been reformed in recent years following EU legal challenges to Spain's original foreign-asset penalty regime, but a fixed penalty still applies for late or missed filings even where no tax was ultimately due — treat the informational filing as a real deadline, not an afterthought.
Are NFTs taxed the same way as other crypto?
Broadly, NFT sales are generally treated similarly to other crypto disposals for capital gains purposes, though valuation can be more complex given the lack of a liquid market price for many NFTs. This is an area where individual guidance is particularly valuable given limited settled practice.
US Do I still need to report crypto to the IRS if I'm now filing in Spain?
Yes. US citizens report worldwide crypto gains and income to the IRS regardless of Spanish tax residency, and crypto held on foreign exchanges may factor into FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) and Form 8938 (FATCA) reporting depending on how the exchange or custodian is structured and current IRS guidance on digital assets. Spain's Modelo 721 and the US's FBAR/FATCA regimes are separate systems with separate thresholds and deadlines — filing one does not satisfy the other, and gains may need reporting to both tax authorities with treaty relief claimed where applicable.
UK If I already paid UK Capital Gains Tax on crypto before moving, do I owe Spain again?
Spain taxes disposals that occur while you are a Spanish tax resident — gains realized and taxed in the UK before your move are generally not retaxed by Spain. But if you dispose of the same holdings after becoming Spanish tax resident, Spain taxes that later disposal based on your cost basis, regardless of any earlier UK filing. The UK-Spain double taxation treaty addresses overlapping claims, but the two systems tax different events (UK: disposals while UK resident; Spain: disposals while Spanish resident), so this needs to be mapped out by date rather than assumed to avoid double counting.
Holding crypto and unsure what's reportable?
Book a free consultation and we'll walk through your holdings, custody setup, and what Modelo 721 requires in your case.
Book Free Consultation