Reminder: Modelo 151 filing window closes 30 June 2026

If you are a Spanish-resident taxpayer under the Beckham Law, your annual income-tax return on Modelo 151 must be filed between 1 April and 30 June 2026 for the 2025 tax year. The window is non-negotiable and runs concurrently with the standard Modelo 100 deadline used by ordinary residents — but the form, the rate and the reporting are different.

This article is a procedural reminder, not a substantive update. The rates, thresholds and structure of the regime are unchanged for 2025. What this is: a six-week countdown and a checklist of what you need to file on time.

Who needs to file?

Any individual who has elected the Beckham Law via Modelo 149 must file Modelo 151 annually for the duration of the regime — the year of arrival plus the following five. The obligation persists even in years where Spanish-source income is nil; in that case, you file a zero return rather than skipping.

Family members who have separately opted into the regime (spouse, children under 25) each file their own Modelo 151.

What you need before filing

For most impatriates the documentation package is straightforward:

• Spanish payslips for all twelve months of 2025, or the equivalent annual employer certificate (certificado de retenciones).
• Foreign-employer payslips if you work remotely — and, per the new AEAT instructions, sworn translations of those.
• Stock-vesting statements for any RSU, ESPP or option exercises that occurred during your Spanish residence in 2025.
• NIE and a valid digital certificate (or Cl@ve PIN) for electronic filing.
• Your prior-year Modelo 151 (if applicable) for reference on carried-forward items.

What happens if you miss the deadline

The AEAT applies a progressive surcharge for late filings, calculated from the day after the deadline:

• 0 – 3 months late: 5% surcharge on the unpaid tax.
• 3 – 6 months late: 10% surcharge.
• 6 – 12 months late: 15% surcharge.
• Over 12 months late: 20% surcharge plus statutory interest on the underlying tax.

These are voluntary surcharges — they apply when you file late but before the AEAT contacts you. If the AEAT initiates the procedure (typically through a requerimiento), the surcharges escalate into penalty proceedings, with sanctions of 50% to 150% of the tax owed.

The surcharge regime is forgiving for one late filing. What it does not forgive is a pattern of late filings — that is how the AEAT terminates the regime ex officio. — DPLL Tax & Legal · Practitioner note, April 2026

Can late filings cost you the regime?

Yes, in principle. Article 119 of the General Tax Law (LGT) and the procedural rules for special regimes give the AEAT the power to exclude a taxpayer from the regime when there is a pattern of non-compliance. A single late filing, particularly if voluntary and settled promptly, is rarely enough. Two or three consecutive years of non-filing, or a pattern of evasive declarations, will draw scrutiny.

The conservative practitioner advice is straightforward: file on time, even if you cannot pay in full. Filing without payment opens a parallel path (split payment, deferral request) that is significantly less costly than not filing.

Action plan for May–June 2026

1. Today. Confirm you have a valid digital certificate or Cl@ve PIN. Renewals take 5–10 business days.
2. This week. Collect all 2025 payslips. Request the annual employer certificate from HR if not yet received.
3. By end of May. Commission sworn translations of any foreign-employer payslips. Translators are bottlenecked in May–June.
4. By 20 June. Engage your filer (or open the AEAT draft yourself). Do not leave the actual submission for the final week — server load and last-minute errors are real.
5. By 30 June. File. Pay or split.