2023 bonuses must be taxed in the year they became due

The management of retroactive payments, such as bonuses or incentives from previous years, poses challenges in determining the corresponding tax period for Personal Income Tax (IRPF). The Dirección General de Tributos (DGT) has specified the applicable criteria when a payment corresponding to a previous fiscal year is received in a different year due to agreements or resolutions.

What the DGT has ruled

The inquiry analyzes the temporal attribution of a bonus amount corresponding to the year 2023 that is received in 2024. The criteria establish that, if the determination of the right to collect or the amount of the bonus did not depend on a judicial resolution, the income must be attributed to the tax period in which it was due.

In the specific case analyzed, since the bonus was due in 2023, the income must be taxed in that fiscal year. The applicable regulations are based on the IRPF Law and the General Tax Law, determining that the taxable event occurs when the right to receive the income arises.

What this means for you

If you are a worker receiving a bonus or incentive that legally corresponded to the previous fiscal year, you cannot declare that amount in the year you receive the money in your bank account. The DGT's criteria require that the income be assigned to the year in which the right to collect it was generated.

This implies that actual collection in a subsequent year does not shift the tax obligation to the current fiscal year. The relevance of this criterion lies in the distinction between the moment of accrual or exigibility and the moment of actual collection.

What you should do

Upon receiving retroactive payments that correspond to closed fiscal years, it is necessary to verify the due date of said amounts. If the payment corresponds to a previous year, you should proceed as follows:

• Identify the correct fiscal year based on when the bonus became due.
• File a supplementary tax return for the tax corresponding to the year in which the income was due.
• Complete this procedure to avoid potential contingencies, keeping in mind that filing a supplementary return in these cases does not involve penalties or late payment interest.