Crypto taxes in Spain: rates and form 721

Crypto in Spain means two separate obligations people mix up: PAYING on realized gains (in the annual return) and REPORTING foreign-custodied balances (form 721, which costs nothing). Separating them sorts out everything else. Rules verified as of this guide’s date; this is general information, not tax advice.

What creates a gain (more than you think)

Selling for euros, obviously. But also the crypto-to-crypto swap: trading bitcoin for ether is, fiscally, a sale of bitcoin at that day’s value. Paying for something with crypto, the same. What does NOT tax: buying and holding, and moving coins between your own wallets. Staking and lending yields are taxed separately as capital income, also in the savings base. Gains are computed FIFO (first coins bought, first sold); our FIFO calculator does that arithmetic.

How much: the savings scale

The year’s net gain (gains minus losses, which offset) goes into the savings base: 19% to 6,000, 21% to 50,000, 23% to 200,000, 27% to 300,000 and 30% beyond, since 2025 under Ley 7/2024. There is no special crypto rate: it is the same scale as shares. Unused losses carry forward four years, so declaring the bad years pays too.

Form 721: reporting, not paying

If your cryptoassets CUSTODIED by foreign platforms exceed 50,000 euros on 31 December, form 721 is filed between 1 January and 31 March. The nuances that matter: it is purely informative (zero tax due); self-custody (your keys, your hardware wallet) is not reported on the 721; and once filed, it only repeats if the balance grows by more than 20,000 euros or you close out. A growing nuance: “foreign” follows the custody’s domicile, not the brand; a platform operating through a Spanish branch that reports to the tax agency can fall outside the 721 (the tax directorate confirmed it for Trade Republic in 2025), so verify where yours custodies each campaign. Its sibling, form 720, covers the non-crypto side (foreign accounts and securities) with the same threshold and window.

The classic mistake and the sane routine

The classic mistake is skipping years of trading “because I never withdrew to euros”: the swaps already realized gains, and European platforms report to the Spanish tax agency automatically (DAC8 keeps widening that exchange). The sane routine: export the full trade history every January, run sales and swaps through FIFO, check whether 31 December left you above 50,000 abroad, and with large positions or complex DeFi, get an advisor. That is where the rules end and your case begins. Checked 2026-08-22 against Ley 7/2024 in the BOE.