Corporate Tax · Spain
Find a corporate tax lawyer in Spain who understands your company’s tax position
Corporate tax questions rarely arrive alone: filings, tax authority enquiries, cross-border payments and court deadlines tend to overlap. Describe your situation and we connect you with a Spanish-qualified lawyer who handles corporate tax work — free of charge and with no obligation to instruct.
- Lawyers registered with a Spanish Colegio de la Abogacía
- Free matching, usually a first reply within 24–48 hours
- No obligation: you decide whether to instruct
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Overview
Corporate tax advice in Spain, explained
Spanish corporate taxation sits inside a continental civil-law system where the main rules are laid down in comprehensive codes rather than in case law, and where the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) unifies their interpretation. For companies, that means tax positions are built on statute, administrative practice and, where needed, litigation before the Contentious-Administrative Courts. A corporate tax lawyer in Spain helps you read that framework in practice: how corporate income tax and non-resident income tax apply to your facts, what filing and payment duties fall on your entity, and how a dispute with the tax authority would actually proceed. Because fees are freely agreed between lawyer and client and there are no binding official tariffs, you should compare experience and scope, not price lists. We match you with a Spanish-qualified lawyer who handles corporate tax work.
Spain · In practice
How corporate tax work is handled in Spain
Spain’s corporate tax questions run through a continental civil-law system, so outcomes rest on statute, administrative practice and the Supreme Court’s unifying case law rather than on decisions of lower courts. The points below set out the practical framework a corporate tax lawyer in Spain works within: who may advise, which courts hear which disputes, what fees apply, and which deadlines shape the case.
A codified, continental framework
Spain follows the continental civil-law model: the main rules sit in comprehensive codes — the Civil Code of 1889, the Commercial Code and the procedural acts — rather than in judicial precedent. The Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) sits in Madrid and unifies the interpretation of the law through its jurisprudencia, so an argument that ignores that case law starts from behind.
Who is entitled to advise you
Membership of a Bar Association (Colegio de la Abogacía) is compulsory to practise law in Spain, coordinated by the CGAE. Registration with a single Colegio, where a lawyer has their sole or principal professional domicile, is enough to practise throughout the country. Qualification requires a law degree, the Máster de Acceso a la Abogacía (90 ECTS) and a state aptitude examination under Law 34/2006.
Where tax disputes are heard
Administrative cases at first instance go to the Contentious-Administrative Courts. Each Autonomous Community has a High Court of Justice operating at regional level, while cassation and review are reserved to the Supreme Court in Madrid, organised into Civil, Criminal, Social, Contentious-Administrative and Military Chambers. The Audiencia Nacional handles certain serious matters affecting the whole of Spain.
Court fees and who pays them
A court fee (tasa judicial) applies to the exercise of judicial power in the civil and contentious-administrative orders, and only legal persons — companies, associations and foundations — owe it; natural persons are exempt. It combines a fixed amount, roughly €150–300 for civil declarations, with a variable element based on the value in dispute. Labour and criminal proceedings are not subject to it.
Costs, tariffs and cross-border rates
Lawyers’ fees are freely agreed between lawyer and client, with no binding official tariffs; bar associations publish only non-binding guideline criteria. Where the losing party is ordered to pay costs in declaratory proceedings, lawyers’ and procuradores’ fees are capped at one third of the amount in dispute. On the tax side, non-residents face IRNR at 24% generally, or 19% for EU/EEA residents.
Notarial and registry formality
Transfers and encumbrances of Spanish real property require a public deed (escritura pública) before a notary in order to be registered, and the Land Registry is organised on the folio real system, where each property has its own folio recording successive rights and charges. For property-holding companies, that registration also supports the presumption of accuracy and protection of good-faith third parties.
Key time limit — Tax Law
Inheritance tax filing and payment — 6 months from death. The filing and payment period runs from the date of death, which matters where company shares pass on succession.
Court structure, practising requirements, deadlines, costs and non-resident rates on this page are taken from official Spanish sources (Boletín Oficial del Estado, CGAE, AEAT) and the European e-Justice Portal, as consulted in 2025.
- European e-Justice Portal — National justice systems: Spain
- Royal Decree 135/2021 — Estatuto General de la Abogacía Española
- Consejo General de la Abogacía Española (CGAE)
- Civil Code (Código Civil) — BOE
- Law 1/1996 on free legal aid — BOE
- Law 39/2015 on administrative procedure — BOE
- Law 36/2011 on the social jurisdiction — BOE
- Law 29/1987 on Inheritance and Gift Tax — BOE
- AEAT — Non-Resident Income Tax rates without a permanent establishment
Common situations
What usually brings companies to a Spanish tax lawyer
Most enquiries start with a letter, a deadline or an uncertain figure — not with a general interest in tax law.
You are unsure which taxes apply
Corporate income tax, non-resident income tax, withholding duties and property-related charges can overlap. A specialist first maps which rules touch your entity, your transactions and your shareholders before any filing or reply is prepared.
An enquiry or assessment has arrived
An administrative decision starts a clock. Challenges to administrative acts follow a short one-month window, and the route afterwards runs through the Contentious-Administrative Courts, where companies — not natural persons — owe the court fee.
You need a lawyer you can actually reach
You want someone who has handled corporate tax files before, understands your sector and answers in plain terms. We match you with a Spanish-qualified lawyer so you can decide quickly, without cold-calling firms.
Why use the service
Matching you with the right Spanish tax lawyer
We are not a law firm. We connect you with independent lawyers who are qualified and registered in Spain.
Free matching, no obligation
Tell us what happened, where your company is based and what you need next. We pass your details to a suitable lawyer and you decide whether to instruct. There is no charge for being matched.
Lawyers registered in Spain
Membership of a Colegio de la Abogacía is compulsory to practise law in Spain, and registration with one Colegio is sufficient to practise nationwide. The lawyers we match you with work within that framework.
Clear scope and fees up front
Spanish lawyers’ fees are freely agreed with the client and there are no binding official tariffs, so scope and fee structure are worth discussing before you instruct. You deal with the lawyer directly on those terms.
Cross-border awareness
Questions involving non-resident shareholders, EU/EEA rates or Spanish property need attention to more than one rulebook. We look for a lawyer whose practice covers the cross-border element you actually have.
Cross-border
Companies and advisers we work with across Europe
Many of the companies seeking a Spanish corporate tax lawyer are based elsewhere in Europe. We work with clients and referring advisers from:
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What does a corporate tax lawyer in Spain handle?
Typically corporate income tax filings and planning, non-resident income tax questions, replies to tax authority enquiries and litigation before the Contentious-Administrative Courts. Because Spain is a continental civil-law system, arguments are built on the Commercial Code, tax statutes and the Supreme Court’s unifying case law rather than on the decisions of lower courts.
Who is allowed to practise as a lawyer in Spain?
Membership of a Bar Association (Colegio de la Abogacía) is compulsory to practise law in Spain, and registration with a single Colegio — the one where the lawyer has their sole or principal professional domicile — is enough to practise throughout the national territory. Qualification requires a law degree, the Máster de Acceso a la Abogacía and a state aptitude examination.
How are legal fees set for corporate tax work in Spain?
Lawyers’ fees are freely agreed between lawyer and client, and there are no binding official tariffs. Bar associations publish non-binding guideline criteria (criterios orientadores) to help fix and challenge fees. If you win a dispute, the losing party may be ordered to pay your costs, subject to a cap of one third of the amount in dispute for lawyers’ and procuradores’ fees in declaratory proceedings.
Do companies pay a court fee to litigate in Spain?
A court fee (tasa judicial) applies to the exercise of judicial power in the civil and contentious-administrative orders, and it is owed only by legal persons — companies, associations and foundations. Natural persons are exempt. The fee combines a fixed amount with a variable amount based on the value in dispute, and labour and criminal proceedings are not subject to it.
How long do we have to challenge an administrative tax decision?
The Spanish deadline for an administrative appeal — the recurso de alzada or reposición — is one month. Exhausting that administrative route usually precedes any litigation before the Contentious-Administrative Courts. Because the window is short, it is worth having a lawyer review the decision, the reasoning and the supporting documents as soon as it is notified.
Does non-resident status change the applicable tax rate?
Non-residents earning Spanish-source income are subject to the Non-Resident Income Tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes). The general rate on income earned without a permanent establishment is 24% for taxpayers resident in non-EU/EEA countries and 19% for residents of EU/EEA countries with an effective exchange of tax information. Capital gains, dividends and interest are generally taxed at 19%.
Next step
Tell us about your Spanish corporate tax matter
Send us a short description: where the company is based, which tax or decision is in issue, and any deadline you have been given. We match you with a Spanish-qualified lawyer who handles corporate tax work. Matching is free and you are never obliged to instruct.