Guide
What happens if you file a Spanish tax form late: surcharges, penalties and interest
If you file late before Hacienda (the tax authority) asks you to and there is an amount to pay, there is no penalty but a surcharge: 1% plus another 1% for each full month of delay, and 15% plus interest after a year. If there is nothing to pay, a €100 penalty. If the tax authority gets there before you, there may be a penalty, starting at 50% of what you failed to pay.
In a nutshell
- Late, without a formal request, up to 12 months
- 1% + 1% for each full month of delay
- Late, without a formal request, over 12 months
- 15% + late-payment interest
- Surcharge reduction
- 25%, paying everything on time
- Late with nothing to pay
- €200; €100 if you were not asked
- Information returns (347, 190…)
- €20 per item of data (minimum €300); half if you were not asked
- Late-payment interest in 2026
- 4.0625%
- Seguridad Social, paid late
- 10% the first month and 20% afterwards
If you file it yourself, before you are asked
This is the most common case: the day slips past you and you file as soon as you notice. As long as the tax authority has not sent you a requerimiento (formal request), the law does not penalise it: it applies a surcharge on the amount to pay (art. 27 of the Ley General Tributaria, the General Tax Act).
| Delay | Surcharge |
|---|---|
| Less than one month | 1% |
| One full month | 2% |
| Six full months | 7% |
| Eleven full months | 12% |
| More than twelve months | 15%, plus late-payment interest from month 13 |
The surcharge is reduced by 25% if you pay the whole debt when you file and pay the surcharge within the period you are given when you are notified (or with a deferral backed by a guarantee applied for in time). Otherwise, the reduced part is claimed.
Since Ley 11/2021 there is an exception: there is no surcharge if, in other periods of the same tax, you regularise the same facts that the tax authority already regularised for you, within the following six months and paying everything.
If the tax authority gets there first
Once there is a formal request, there is no longer a surcharge: what you failed to pay is an infringement (art. 191). A minor one, when the amount does not exceed €3,000 or there is no concealment, is a penalty of 50% of what you did not pay. Serious and very serious ones, more.
That is why it pays to file as soon as you notice: the difference between 1% and 50% is not waiting until they write to you.
If there is nothing to pay
A return to be carried forward (a compensar) or an information return filed late does not make the tax authority lose money, but it is still an infringement (art. 198):
| What | Penalty | Without a formal request (half) |
|---|---|---|
| Self-assessment or return with nothing to pay | €200 | €100 |
| Census declaration (036) | €400 | €200 |
| Information return (347, 190, 180, 349…) | €20 per item of data, from €300 to €20,000 | €10 per item of data, from €150 to €10,000 |
The self-employed contribution and employees’ social security contributions
The self-employed contribution is charged on the last working day of each month (Orden TAS/1562/2005, art. 30). If it cannot be collected, the surcharges are those of the Ley General de la Seguridad Social (General Social Security Act), art. 30:
| Situation | Surcharge |
|---|---|
| Return filed on time, paid in the month after the due date | 10% |
| Return filed on time, paid later | 20% |
| No return filed, paid before the end of the period in the claim | 20% |
| No return filed, paid later | 35% |
Late-payment interest
It is charged, among other cases, when the delay goes beyond twelve months (from month 13) and on deferrals. In 2026 the late-payment interest rate is 4.0625% and the legal interest rate is 3.25%, the same as in 2023, because that year’s budget is still being extended (AEAT, income tax manual 2025).
When the deadline ends on a weekend or public holiday
The deadline ends on the next working day, and the calendars on this website already have the date moved because they copy it from the official one. At the Agencia Tributaria there is one exception: the deadline for form 369 (the VAT One-Stop Shop) does not move (AEAT).
In the Basque Country and Navarre
Álava, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Navarre have their own general tax regulation, and the surcharges and penalties are theirs, not those of the national law. What this page says gives you an idea; the exact figures are on the website of each foral tax authority.
Frequently asked questions
What if I miss it by one day?
It is already late. If you file it yourself, without a formal request, it is the lowest surcharge: 1% of the amount to pay, or a €100 penalty if there is nothing to pay.
Can I file on time even if I cannot pay?
Yes, and it is worth it: filing on time avoids the surcharge for filing late. If you cannot pay, the official website lets you apply for a deferral or instalments when you file, which carry late-payment interest.
Does the tax authority remind me before it falls due?
That is not its job: the calendar is published and the deadline runs regardless. That is why Mis Obligaciones reminds you a week before and the day before each form on your list.
Does this apply in the Canary Islands?
Yes: IGIC and the forms of the Agencia Tributaria Canaria follow the same Ley General Tributaria. In the Basque Country and Navarre, no: they have their own foral regulation.
Official sources
Where what this page says comes from, consulted on the review date. If something does not match, the source prevails.
- Ley 58/2003, General Tax Act, art. 27 (surcharges for filing late) BOE
- Ley 58/2003, General Tax Act, art. 191 (failure to pay) BOE
- Ley 58/2003, General Tax Act, art. 198 (failure to file on time without financial loss) BOE
- Real Decreto Legislativo 8/2015, General Social Security Act, art. 30 (surcharges) BOE
- Orden TAS/1562/2005, art. 30 (charging of direct-debited contributions) BOE
- Legal and late-payment interest for 2026 Agencia Tributaria
- Due dates falling on non-working days, Saturdays and public holidays Agencia Tributaria
Keep reading
- 2026 tax calendarThe 164 deadlines of 2026 in Mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands, month by month: the form, the period and the last day, copied from the official calendar. In .ics and .json.
- FormsGuides to 104 forms of the AEAT, the Canary Islands, the foral tax authorities and the Seguridad Social: who files them, their 2026 deadlines and their official links.
- GlossaryWhat an autoliquidación, the 70% rule, REDEME, SII, IGIC, the Concierto Económico or RETA are, explained in two sentences with their official source.
This is information copied from official sources to help you find your way, not tax advice: your case may have exceptions. Check it on the authority’s website or with whoever advises you.
Your deadlines, and only yours
Tell Mis Obligaciones what you do for a living and it suggests your calendar for the year, each form with its reason. You review it, and it reminds you a week before and the day before.