Spanish taxes for Brits: the UK link and pensions

Spain's sunshine is free; living in it isn't. Once you're tax resident, the Agencia Tributaria wants to know about your income from everywhere, including the UK.

The short version

You're usually tax resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days there in a calendar year, or if your main base of business or economic interests is there.
Spanish residents pay income tax (IRPF) on worldwide income. In Andalucía the combined rate on general income runs from 19% to 47% [3][6].
The UK–Spain double taxation convention of 2013 decides which country gets first bite of each kind of income [1][2].
UK private and workplace pensions, and the UK State Pension, are taxable only in Spain if you live there. Government service pensions are normally taxed only in the UK [2].
Your UK State Pension keeps rising every April in Spain, because Spain is in the EEA [5].

When Spain counts you as resident

Spain's tax year is the calendar year, not April to April. You're generally tax resident for a year if:

you spend more than 183 days in Spain during it (short trips away can still count), or
your main centre of business or economic interests is in Spain, or
your spouse and dependent children live in Spain, which creates a presumption that you do too.

Being resident for a year means Spain taxes your worldwide income for the whole year. There's no Spanish equivalent of the UK's split-year treatment in most cases, which can matter in the year you move. A tax adviser who knows both countries can check your timing.

Leaving the UK tax system properly

The UK taxes by residence too, so moving to Málaga means stepping out of the UK system as cleanly as possible:

Tell HMRC you're leaving, usually on form P85, or through Self Assessment if you already file. See leaving the UK: telling HMRC.
Work through the Statutory Residence Test for the year you go and each year after. Visits home and UK ties all count. Our guide to the Statutory Residence Test explains it.
Check split-year treatment for the tax year you leave.
List your continuing UK income: rent, pensions, savings, dividends. Some stays taxable in the UK even after you leave.

Get these right and you avoid the classic trap of being treated as resident in both countries in the same year. If that does happen, the treaty has tie-breaker rules (permanent home first, then centre of vital interests).

Spanish income tax in Andalucía

IRPF is split into a state half and a regional half, and each region sets its own scale. Andalucía's combined rates on general income (wages, pensions, rental income) look like this:

Taxable general income (EUR)	Combined state + Andalucía rate
Up to 12,450 (about £10,370)	19%
12,450 to 13,000	21.5%
13,000 to 20,200	24%
20,200 to 21,100	27%
21,100 to 35,200	30%
35,200 to 60,000 (about £50,000)	37%
60,000 to 300,000 (about £250,000)	45%
Over 300,000	47%

Source: state and Andalucía scales in the Agencia Tributaria's manual for the 2025 return filed in 2026 [3][6]. Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.20).

Savings income (interest, dividends and gains) has its own, flatter scale that starts at 19%. There's a personal allowance (mínimo personal) and extra allowances for age, children and disability, but it's less generous than the UK's personal allowance, and the 37% band bites far sooner than the UK's higher rate.

You file the annual return (the Renta, on Modelo 100) in the spring and early summer after the year ends. If you're also holding assets outside Spain worth over EUR 50,000 (about £41,700) in a category, you'll probably need Modelo 720 as well. The FCDO warns that residents must declare assets held abroad and that penalties apply for not filing [4]. Our guide to Spanish wealth tax, Modelo 720 and the solidarity tax has the detail.

The UK–Spain double taxation convention

The current treaty was signed in 2013 and came into force on 12 June 2014. For UK income tax and capital gains tax, it has applied since 6 April 2015; in Spain, since 1 January 2015 [1]. It's been modified by the OECD's Multilateral Instrument since 2023 [1].

Here's what it says about the income Brits most often have:

UK income	Where it's taxed if you live in Spain
UK State Pension	Spain only [2]
Private and workplace pensions	Spain only [2]
Government service pensions (such as civil service, armed forces and police pensions; some other public-sector schemes may count)	UK only, unless you're also a Spanish national [2]
Rent from a UK property	The UK can tax it; Spain taxes it too but gives credit for UK tax [2]
Gain on selling UK property	The UK can tax it; Spain also taxes it with credit for UK tax [2]
Gains on shares and other assets	Usually Spain only [2]

The pensions article is the big one. It says pensions paid to a resident of one country for past employment are taxable only in that country [2]. Government service pensions are the exception: they stay taxable only in the UK, unless you're both resident in Spain and a Spanish national [2]. Because Spain can't tax them, they may still be taken into account when Spain works out the rate on your other income. A tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case.

Getting your UK pension paid without UK tax

If your UK private pension provider is taking UK tax at source, you can ask HMRC to stop it under the treaty. That means a claim with a certificate of tax residence from the Agencia Tributaria. Once HMRC agrees, your provider gets a no-tax (NT) code. Our guide to double taxation agreements and reliefs walks through how claims work.

UK rental income is different: it stays within the UK system. Register with the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme (form NRL1) to receive rent without basic-rate tax deducted, file a UK Self Assessment return, and declare the same rent in Spain, claiming credit for the UK tax. See UK income while you live abroad.

Your UK State Pension in Spain

Two bits of good news. First, Spain is in the EEA, so your State Pension goes up every April just as it would in the UK [5]. Second, it's paid without UK tax taken off, and under the treaty only Spain taxes it [2]. It counts as general income on your Spanish return.

You claim from abroad through the International Pension Centre, and you can be paid into a Spanish bank account. If you have gaps on your National Insurance record, voluntary National Insurance from abroad may still be worth paying. Our guide to the UK State Pension abroad has the current rates.

ISAs, transfers and other traps

ISAs aren't tax-free in Spain. Interest, dividends and gains inside an ISA are taxable on your Spanish return. See ISAs when you move abroad.
Pension transfers need regulated advice. You'll hear about moving UK pensions into overseas schemes. We never recommend a transfer: it needs regulated financial advice, and the overseas transfer charge can apply. Check the FCA's and MoneyHelper's scam warnings first.
Lump sums. How Spain treats a UK pension tax-free lump sum is not straightforward; take advice before you draw it.
The self-employed pay monthly social security as an autónomo and file quarterly returns, quite apart from the annual Renta.

The FCDO tells residents to contact the Spanish Tax Agency about double taxation relief, and to declare all assets held outside Spain [4]. For questions about your own position, a tax adviser who knows both countries is money well spent. And for a sense check from people who've filed their first Renta, there's our community group for Brits in Spain.

Spanish taxes for Brits: residence, the UK–Spain treaty and your State Pension