This year, the Spanish Tax Agency will harness the full potential of the new financial data available to strengthen controls on digital business and hidden income and assets, as well as the fight against the black economy, whilst tightening surveillance of ‘neobank’ transactions and monitoring the taxation of content creators or ‘influencers’, as well as their tax residencies.
These are the main objectives of the Tax Agency for 2026 set out in this year’s Tax Control Plan, published on Thursday in the Official State Gazette (BOE), which also envisages continuing to step up the fight against tax fraud by companies with high turnover and individuals with significant assets, whilst strengthening the control and prevention of fraud across all business areas of the property and construction sectors.
The agency notes that, from this year, it will have access to the new monthly information returns that banks must submit regarding card payments and all types of financial accounts, which will improve the monitoring of potential concealment of business activities, the use of shell companies and other types of special-purpose vehicles used in VAT fraud schemes.
This new financial information, combined with the recently introduced data on cross-border payments, will also strengthen controls over the use of accounts with digital financial institutions (‘neobanks’) to conceal income or assets abroad. Checks will focus on those taxpayers where misuse of ‘neobank’ accounts to conceal income or assets abroad is detected.
This new financial information will be added to that provided by online sales platforms via, amongst other sources, DAC7, to further advance the monitoring of e-commerce, which is once again this year a ‘priority objective’ of control activities, both in relation to the sale of goods and the provision of services.
Specifically, checks will be carried out on entities formally incorporated in Spain or another Member State with the aim of appearing to be genuinely established in the EU in order to alter the VAT treatment of e-commerce sales made via platforms, thereby attempting to evade tax. The Treasury will also continue to deepen its analysis and verification of the correct taxation of social media content creators or ‘influencers’, including an analysis of the tax residence of those involved in these new forms of business.
In the area of Customs and Excise, controls on e-commerce transactions will be strengthened following the removal of the €150 customs duty exemption. Furthermore, in 2026, control measures will be stepped up against taxpayers who, having traded in virtual currencies, have failed to declare income or capital gains arising from their holding and transfer.
In this context, the use of available information will be intensified, as will the analysis of risk profiles, through the use of blockchain traceability tools, with the aim of identifying taxpayers showing signs of unexplained wealth or undeclared income. In 2026, the Tax Agency will also step up fraud control and prevention measures across the various business areas of the property sector, against a backdrop of this market taking off after years of slowdown. Thus, potential risks characteristic of the sector, such as the improper deduction of financial expenses or the abusive use of subcontractors, will be subject to detailed scrutiny, whilst significant attention will be paid to the marketing and brokerage of property sales and lettings.
The Agency will also focus on the correct valuation of properties in transfers, particularly where related entities or corporate structures are involved. Furthermore, controls will be strengthened to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, especially in complex property development, refurbishment and successive transfer transactions.
Furthermore, in the area of lettings, measures will be stepped up to verify the correct declaration of income received, with particular attention to rentals managed via digital platforms, and special emphasis will continue to be placed on the various operators in the market for tourist rentals via platforms.
Special attention will also be paid to the brokerage sector to ensure that the commission structure on which it is based is “properly reflected” in tax returns. Similarly, one objective of the formal inspection visit plans will be to identify undeclared residential property lettings for uses other than housing, or those declared as residential lettings. “The aim is to detect fraudulent practices in tourist flat rentals and seasonal lettings,” reiterates the Treasury.