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V1280-25 10 July 2025 · SG de Impuestos sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas Criterion in force
IRPF · imputación temporal

Salaries owed from previous years are charged to the year they became due and subject to a 15% retention

A worker asks what retention applies to salaries paid in 2024 for 2021, following a judicial decision. The DGT clarifies that, as these are overdue and outstanding salaries, they must be charged to the 2021 tax year and subject to a 15% retention.

The question raised

Type of applicable withholding tax.

The DGT's ruling

Unpaid wages that are due and owed must be attributed to the tax period in which they were exigible, in this case the 2021 fiscal year. As they are received in a different fiscal year, the applicable withholding tax on these arrears is 15%, pursuant to the Personal Income Tax Regulations. The rule of attribution to the year of judicial finality does not apply because the determination of the right or the amount was not pending, but rather they were wages already owed.

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