Tax Advisory in Bilbao: Basque Economic Agreement and Bizkaia Foral Regime for Companies

Tax advisory in Bilbao is the specialised service in the Basque Economic Agreement (Law 12/2002, BOE-A-2002-9481) and Bizkaia foral tax legislation for companies with a registered office or activity in Greater Bilbao: the Corporate Income Tax governed by Foral Regulation 11/2013 of the Hacienda Foral de Bizkaia (HFB), at a general rate of 24%, with its own deductions for productive asset investment, job creation, and R&D that have no exact equivalent in the common territory Law 27/2014. The Economic Agreement establishes connection-point rules that determine whether a company pays entirely to the Hacienda Foral de Bizkaia or must allocate its taxation between the HFB and the national AEAT based on its volume of operations in each territory.

The Basque Economic Agreement and Foral Regulation 11/2013: Why Paying Tax in Bilbao Is Different

The Basque Economic Agreement is not a historical curiosity: it is the constitutional foundation (First Additional Provision of the Spanish Constitution and Art. 41 of the Basque Statute of Autonomy) of Spain’s most distinctive tax system. Law 12/2002 grants the Diputaciones Forales of the three historical territories — Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, and Álava — the power to maintain, establish, and regulate their own tax regimes.

In Bizkaia, Corporate Income Tax is governed by Foral Regulation 11/2013, of 5 December, on Corporate Income Tax of the Historical Territory of Bizkaia. This regulation sets a general rate of 24% — versus 25% under Law 27/2014 for common territory — and its own deductions for productive asset investment, job creation, and R&D. Micro-businesses — entities with turnover below EUR 2 million and an average workforce below 10 — pay at 20%.

Assigned Local Member and Foral Legislation Specialists

BMC advises clients in Bilbao and Greater Bilbao from Madrid, with the in-person support of D. Iñaki Etxeberria Arana (Economist, Member No. 04.812, Colegio Vasco de Economistas) for matters requiring a physical presence in Bizkaia: appearances before the Hacienda Foral de Bizkaia, TEAF proceedings, Diputación Foral meetings, and obtaining certificates or binding rulings from the HFB.

Technical planning, compliance, and defence work is led directly by BMC’s Madrid team. Electronic filing with the Hacienda Foral de Bizkaia is done through the hacienda.bizkaia.eus platform, accessible via authorised representation without a physical presence.

Bizkaia Foral CIT Deductions That Have No Equivalent in Common Territory

Foral Regulation 11/2013 includes a set of foral CIT quota deductions with no direct counterpart in state legislation:

Deduction for investment in new non-current assets: 10% of the investment with a minimum five-year holding period. Particularly relevant for industrial companies with machinery or fleet renewal plans.

Deduction for indefinite job creation: EUR 6,000 per worker hired on an indefinite contract from hard-to-employ groups (under-30s, long-term unemployed, persons with disabilities).

Foral R&D deductions: Foral Regulation 11/2013, Arts. 64 and 65, sets R&D and technological innovation deductions at rates differing from those of Art. 35 CIT Act.

New entity relief: newly constituted entities may apply a 50% reduction on the full CIT quota for the first two profitable years — more favourable than the state 15% reduced rate for new companies.

What Our Tax Advisory Service in Bilbao Includes

Foral compliance: foral CIT (Form 200B under Foral Regulation 11/2013), foral VAT, foral IRPF withholdings, foral Wealth Tax, and all foral informative returns.

Connection point analysis and documentation: precise determination of the competent administration for each tax, calculation of allocation percentages for mixed-taxation companies, and consistency review of historical filings.

Foral strategic planning: foral CIT effective rate optimisation, family business planning under foral legislation, and structuring of groups with activity in Bizkaia and common territory.

Defence before HFB and TEAF: representation in Hacienda Foral de Bizkaia audit and inspection proceedings, TEAF de Bizkaia claims, and TSJ Basque Country contentious-administrative appeals.

Request a consultation with our team. Free of charge and with no commitment, we analyse whether your company pays correctly under the Bizkaia foral regime, calculate the deductions you may be missing, and identify the connection-point risks to be managed as a priority.