Skip to content
Back to index
V0171-21 3 February 2021 · SG de Impuestos sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas Criterion in force
IRPF · imputación temporal

Back pay from court rulings must be attributed to the tax year in which the decision becomes final

An interim teacher asks which tax year should be used to declare back pay for July and August 2012, received in 2020 following a Supreme Court ruling. The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) responds that it must be attributed to the tax year in which the ruling became final.

The question raised

Temporal attribution in Personal Income Tax (IRPF) of those "arrears" received in September 2020.

The DGT's ruling

Employment income received via a judicial ruling determining the right to its perception must be attributed to the tax period in which the ruling becomes final. In this case, as these are arrears from 2012 collected in 2020 by virtue of a judgment, the attribution corresponds to the 2018 tax year, the year in which the ruling became final. This allows for the filing of a supplementary tax return without penalties or late payment interest.

Book your free first meeting