Escala del ahorro sets 19%–30% rates

Spain’s “escala del ahorro” is the tax table for savings income inside the personal income tax system — IRPF. It matters because Spain does not tax most investment income at one flat rate. It taxes it in slices. And the part that changed is narrower than a lot of social posts make it sound: the 30% rate only bites on savings income above €300,000, not on your whole gain. (boe.es) ### What counts as “savings income”? This bucket mostly covers dividends, bank interest, and capital gains or losses from selling assets — shares, funds, and other investments. In Spanish tax language, those amounts go into the “base del ahorro,” which is separate from the general income base used for wages and most pension payments. (idealista.com) ### So what are the actual bands? The current scale is progressive: 19% up to €6,000, 21% from €6,000 to €50,000, 23% from €50,000 to €200,000, 27% from €200,000 to €300,000, and 30% above €300,000. That means each slice is taxed at its own rate — basically the same logic as ordinary income brackets, just on a different tax base. (boe.es) ### What actually changed? The big change was legal, and it happened with Law 7/2024. That law lifted the top savings bracket from 28% to 30%, with effect from January 1, 2025. So when people talk about the “2026” savings scale, they usually mean the tax return being filed in 2026 for the 2025 tax year, using a rule that already started in 2025. (idealista.com) ### Why are people getting confused? Part of the confusion comes from mixed official pages. One Agencia Tributaria manual page still shows 28% above €300,000, while newer summaries and the legal change point to 30% from 2025 onward. The safest reading is that the law changed first and some guidance pages lagged behind. (taxsummaries.pwc.com) ### Does this hit retirees taking money out? Sometimes yes, but not in the simple way people assume. Ordinary public pensions and most regular pension-plan withdrawals are generally taxed in the general income base, not the savings base. (boe.es) But if a retiree sells shares, funds, or property to generate cash, the realized gain can fall into the savings base and use these bands. ### Why does the “slice” idea matter so much? Because a 30% top rate does not mean all your gains are taxed at 30%. If someone has €400,000 of savings income, only the last €100,000 — the part above €300,000 — reaches that top rate. (sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es) Everything below that still goes through the lower bands first. That is the whole point of a progressive scale. ### Who really feels this most? Mostly high-net-worth investors, founders cashing out, and people realizing very large one-year gains. For smaller investors, the relevant rates are usually 19%, 21%, or 23%. The headline sounds broad, but the practical impact is concentrated at the top end. (sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es) ### Bottom line? The useful takeaway is simple: Spain taxes savings income progressively, and the top marginal rate is now 30% above €300,000. But don’t blur “savings income” with every kind of retirement income — that shortcut is where most of the bad advice starts. (boe.es) (taxsummaries.pwc.com) (elespanol.com)