Tax planning that protects what you have built

Taxation is a decisive factor in the profitability and competitiveness of any business. At BMC, our tax advisory team combines deep expertise in Spanish and international tax law with a strategic business perspective to design solutions that optimise your tax position within the legal framework.

We advise domestic and international companies on tax planning, corporate transaction taxation, transfer pricing, regulatory compliance and the special tax regimes available across Spanish territories. Our priority is that every tax decision is taken with legal certainty and a long-term perspective.

With a track record spanning over two decades, we have helped hundreds of companies navigate an increasingly complex and evolving tax environment, anticipating risks and capturing opportunities that others overlook — from accessing the ZEC regime in the Canary Islands to mounting a robust defence against AEAT inspections.

How we work: three fiscal pillars

BMC’s tax advisory is organised around three stages of each company’s tax lifecycle. They are not silos — they feed into each other — but understanding them helps identify which service applies to your situation.

Tax planning and structuring

Before the taxable event occurs, we design the structure that minimises future tax burden within the legal framework. Holding companies, ETVE, FEAC restructuring regime for mergers and spin-offs, international taxation, exit tax, ZEC Canary Islands, Beckham Law, Pillar Two, family office and real estate tax. This is where the greatest value lies: a decision made before the transaction can be worth millions compared to the same decision made after the fact.

Ongoing compliance

Once the structure is defined, we manage it: corporate income tax, VAT, freelancer and professional tax advisory, tax compliance, Models 720 and 721, cryptocurrencies, fiscal representation for non-residents, and customs. The goal is that every obligation is met without surprises and that tax accounting becomes a management tool, not just a compliance exercise.

Defence and tax litigation

When the AEAT acts, the response must be immediate and technically precise. AEAT inspection defence, limited audit procedures, inspector proceedings, economic-administrative claims, contentious-administrative appeal, voluntary disclosure (art. 252 LGT) before criminal proceedings are initiated, and tax due diligence for M&A transactions. For cases involving criminal tax risk already under way, we coordinate with the criminal tax defence team.

Comprehensive tax advisory: from day-to-day compliance to complex transactions

Business taxation cannot be managed in silos. A corporate acquisition simultaneously opens fronts in Corporate Income Tax, related-party transactions, VAT and property transfer tax. An international expansion activates transfer pricing obligations, permanent establishment risk, Form 720 filing requirements and potential double taxation.

Our working model integrates all these dimensions under a single senior point of contact who coordinates specialists in each area. That is the difference from a traditional tax advisory practice: the ability to anticipate the cross-cutting implications of each decision before they materialise in a supplementary assessment or an intervention by the Tax Inspectorate.

Tax practice areas

Our capabilities cover the full spectrum of business and personal taxation:

• Tax planning: Design of fiscally efficient structures for groups, corporate reorganisations, mergers and demergers with tax neutrality. Our tax planning guide 2026 sets out the priority levers for the current financial year.
• Corporate Income Tax: Computation and review of corporate income tax, utilisation of R&D&I deductions, offsetting of tax loss carryforwards, and application of the tax consolidation regime where applicable.
• VAT and indirect taxes: Management of VAT in complex transactions — intra-Community supplies, exports, triangular transactions, SII, Form 303, Form 347 — and VAT fiscal representation for non-residents.
• International taxation: Advisory to groups with cross-border activity. Application of double tax treaties, dividend and interest withholdings, and structures leveraging the Parent-Subsidiary Directive. For non-residents, comprehensive IRNR and wealth tax advisory.
• Transfer pricing: Preparation of mandatory documentation (masterfile + local file), comparability analyses, sector margin benchmarks and technical defence before the AEAT on related-party transactions.
• Ley Beckham and inpatriates: Eligibility assessment, regime application, maintenance throughout the 6-year applicable period and management of the post-regime transition. For residency changes, see the guide to non-resident tax filing in Spain.
• Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC): End-to-end advisory for businesses wishing to establish under the ZEC regime with a 4% corporate rate. The complete ZEC guide for 2026 defines the current opportunity window before the December 2026 deadline.
• Cryptocurrency taxation: Declaration of crypto assets, Form 721, staking and DeFi taxation, and compliance with the DAC8 automatic exchange regulations.
• Inheritance and wealth tax: Wealth planning, application of the family business exemption, inter-regional Inheritance Tax and succession anticipation strategies.
• Trade and customs: Tariff classification, special customs regimes and Intrastat for companies with intra-Community trade flows.
• AEAT inspection defence: Procedural strategy, pleadings, appeals, administrative review proceedings and judicial defence in the contentious-administrative jurisdiction against potential tax penalties.

Tax compliance and fiscal calendar

Compliance with formal obligations is the first line of defence against the tax authorities. We manage the complete fiscal calendar for our clients: Corporate Income Tax, VAT, withholdings, Form 720, Form 232 on related-party transactions, Form 347, Form 200, SII, and sector-specific forms as applicable.

The tax compliance service guarantees formal monthly, quarterly and annual compliance with full traceability. Staying ahead of deadlines prevents penalties and eliminates cashflow surprises at each tax instalment date.

Territorial tax advisory

Spain has a heterogeneous tax landscape. The foral territories (the Basque Country and Navarre) have their own tax codes, the Canary Islands operate under ZEC and REF, and the autonomous communities exercise legislative competence over inheritance, gift and wealth taxes. We have offices and collaborators in the principal locations:

• Tax advisory in Madrid for companies with headquarters and complex parent-subsidiary structures.
• Tax advisory in Málaga and Marbella for international wealth, the Ley Beckham regime and high-net-worth fiscal residency.
• Tax advisory in Murcia for the Levante business community, with specialisation in agri-industrial and real estate sectors.
• Tax advisory in Las Palmas for companies operating under the ZEC and entities covered by the Canary Islands Economic and Fiscal Regime.

Relevant case studies

• International group tax optimisation: holding structure redesign reducing the effective tax rate from 28% to 19%.
• International group tax restructuring: partial demerger with tax neutrality and capital gains saving of €6.4M.
• Ley Beckham regime for technology executive: cumulative tax saving of €420,000 over the 6-year period.
• ZEC Canary Islands holding establishment: operational migration and regime accession with estimated annual saving of €2.1M.

When to contact the tax team

We recommend contacting our tax advisory team when:

• You are planning a corporate transaction — acquisition, merger, demerger — with complex tax implications.
• You are expanding activity to another country and need to validate international tax fit and the existence of a permanent establishment.
• You receive a notification from the AEAT: an information request, limited verification or the opening of a full inspection.
• You are a foreign executive relocating to Spain and considering the inpatriate regime.
• Your technology or internationally active company is evaluating establishing a presence under the ZEC regime before the current fiscal window closes.
• You need VAT fiscal representation for non-residents for operations in Spain without a local entity.
• You are managing an estate or family succession with inter-regional tax implications.

A no-commitment tax consultation is the first step to assessing risks and opportunities. The cost of preventive tax advisory is always lower than that of an AEAT inspection defence on facts already crystallised.

Spanish tax system: the regulatory framework

Spain’s tax system is governed at three levels: state (Administración General del Estado, managed by the AEAT), regional (comunidades autónomas, managing inheritance, gift and wealth taxes), and local (municipalities, managing the property tax IBI and the business activity tax IAE). The principal taxes affecting businesses operating in Spain are:

Corporate Income Tax (Impuesto sobre Sociedades, IS) — governed by Law 27/2014 (LIS), taxing the worldwide profits of resident entities at 25% (23% for SMEs with turnover below EUR 1M, 15% for newly incorporated qualifying companies). The IS system features a rich set of deductions, reserves and incentives that significantly reduce effective rates below the nominal rate.

Value Added Tax (Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido, IVA) — governed by Law 37/1992, taxing supplies of goods and services in Spain at standard (21%), reduced (10%) or super-reduced (4%) rates. The IVA regime features specific rules for cross-border transactions, intra-EU supplies and acquisitions, imports, and the special regimes (SII, simplified, OSS/IOSS for e-commerce) applicable to different business profiles.

Non-Resident Income Tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes, IRNR) — governed by Royal Legislative Decree 5/2004, taxing the Spanish-source income of non-residents at rates that vary by income type (dividends 19%, interest 19%, royalties 24% general rate, reduced by double tax treaties) and by residence jurisdiction.

Transfer Pricing — Art. 18 LIS and the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (incorporated by reference) regulate related-party transactions at arm’s length. Spain has adopted all BEPS Actions relevant to transfer pricing (Actions 8-10, 13) and imposes mandatory masterfile and local file documentation on groups with related-party transactions above EUR 250,000 with the same counterparty.

International tax: structures and treaty network

Spain has an extensive double tax treaty (DTT) network of over 100 treaties, generally following the OECD Model Convention, supplemented by domestic anti-abuse rules (Art. 15 LGT General Anti-Avoidance Rule, exit tax provisions, CFC rules) and EU Directives (Parent-Subsidiary, Interest and Royalties, ATAD 1 and 2 anti-hybrid and anti-avoidance provisions).

For international groups, the principal tax planning levers available in Spain include: the ETVE (Entidad de Tenencia de Valores Extranjeros) holding company regime, which provides a near-zero effective rate on dividends and capital gains from qualifying foreign participations under Art. 21 LIS; the Patent Box regime (Art. 23 LIS) offering a 60% reduction on income from qualifying intangible assets; the ZEC (Zona Especial Canaria) with a 4% IS rate for qualifying entities in the Canary Islands; and Spain’s extensive DTT network, which reduces or eliminates withholding taxes on payments to Spain from jurisdictions with which Spain has a treaty.

The planning of cross-border structures requires careful analysis of the anti-avoidance rules — domestic and EU — that can deny benefits or require demonstration of genuine economic substance. The Principal Purpose Test (PPT) in Spanish DTTs and the GAAR of Art. 15 LGT set a high bar for arrangements that lack substantive business rationale beyond tax savings. Our international tax practice designs structures that achieve the desired tax efficiency within a framework of demonstrable economic substance and genuine commercial purpose.

AEAT inspection defence: procedure and strategy

An AEAT inspection is a high-stakes process that requires immediate, expert legal and tax engagement. The AEAT conducts approximately 1.8 million audit actions per year, ranging from limited verification procedures (comprobación limitada) that address specific return discrepancies to full general inspections (inspección general) that review all aspects of the taxpayer’s tax position over multiple years. The inspection process is governed by the General Tax Act (LGT, Law 58/2003) and the Inspection Procedures Regulations (Royal Decree 1065/2006).

The first 48 hours following receipt of an inspection notice are critical. The taxpayer’s response to the initial information request defines the scope of the inspector’s investigation: disclosing more than required can open new investigation lines, while refusing to provide information generates formal adverse presumptions. Our defence team has managed over 200 inspection proceedings and developed a systematic approach to scope management, technical argumentation, and procedural position-taking that maximises the probability of a favourable outcome at the inspector level — avoiding the costs and delays of administrative appeal and judicial review.

Where inspection outcomes are unfavourable, we manage the full appeals process: administrative review (recurso de reposición), economic-administrative claim (reclamación económico-administrativa before the TEA or TEAC), and judicial appeal before the National High Court (Audiencia Nacional) or the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) in cases with sufficient legal interest. Our tax litigation practice coordinates seamlessly with the inspection defence practice to provide continuity of representation through all stages of the process.

Cryptocurrency and digital asset taxation: the current framework

Spain has been a relatively early mover in cryptocurrency tax regulation, with specific reporting obligations preceding the EU-wide DAC8 framework. Since 2022, the Modelo 720 annual overseas asset declaration has explicitly covered crypto assets held on foreign platforms. Since the fiscal year 2022, Modelo 721 (the specific crypto asset declaration) is required for residents with crypto assets held outside Spain exceeding EUR 50,000 in aggregate value. The DAC8 Directive (Council Directive 2023/2226/EU), effective for reporting from 2026, will require crypto asset service providers to report client account data to their member state of residence, enabling automatic exchange of information between EU tax authorities — significantly reducing the ability to underreport crypto income.

For individual taxpayers, gains from crypto asset disposal are treated as capital gains in the IRPF savings base — taxed at 19% on the first EUR 6,000, 21% on the next EUR 44,000, 23% on the next EUR 150,000, 27% on the next EUR 200,000, and 28% on gains above EUR 300,000. Mining, staking rewards, and DeFi protocol income may be characterised as ordinary income (rendimientos de actividades económicas) rather than capital gains depending on the frequency and scale of the activity — with significantly higher effective tax rates.

For companies, crypto asset accounting under the PGC is evolving. The ICAC (Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas) has issued guidance treating crypto assets as intangible assets under the general accounting plan, with specific rules for measurement, impairment, and derecognition. Our tax practice manages crypto compliance for both individual and corporate clients, coordinating the declaration and accounting treatment into a consistent, defensible position before the AEAT.

Related Insights

Go deeper with our most recent analysis:

• Spain Fiscal Measures 2026: IRPF, IS & VAT Changes — Executive summary of the most significant tax law changes affecting businesses this year

• Beckham Law Court Rulings and AEAT Enforcement 2026 — What recent judgments and AEAT decisions mean for impatriate regime applicants

• Complementary Tax 2026: Pillar Two OECD in force — Which multinationals are affected and how to prepare for the global minimum tax

• DAC8 In Force: Crypto Reporting Obligations — New automatic exchange rules for taxpayers holding digital assets abroad

• Beckham Law 2026: Freelancers & Entrepreneurs Eligible — New eligible groups and key conditions following Spain’s Startup Act

• Beckham Law Year 7: your exit-planning guide — How to manage the end of the regime and avoid unexpected IRPF liability

• Autónomo Spain: First-Year Tax Guide for New Residents 2026 — RETA registration, quarterly filings and deductible expenses in the first year

• DAC8: Automatic Exchange of Information on Crypto Assets — DAC8 crypto-asset reporting: EU CASPs report client transaction data to tax authorities from 2026. The AEAT will automat

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