Carmen Ortiz retired in 2025 as a laboratory technician in Zaragoza. She receives a gross pension of 24,000 € a year and, on top of that, a monthly income from her former employer's pension plan. In October 2026 she went to live near her daughter, who lives in another European country with which Spain has a tax treaty. A few months later she sees that her pension payments are still arriving with the same withholding as before. Her daughter tells her she no longer has to pay tax in Spain. Carmen does not know whether that is true, what paper she needs or to whom she should send it.
There are three separate questions in her case, and they are best not mixed up: from when she stops being resident in Spain, what the treaty says about each of her pensions, and how the payer is told.
First, the year of the move
Spanish income tax is assessed by calendar years, without splitting the year: article 12 of the IRPF Act (the Spanish personal income tax) says that the tax period is the calendar year. And article 9 treats as resident anyone who stays in Spain for more than 183 days in that year or has the main core of their economic interests here.
Carmen lived in Zaragoza from January to September 2026. That is more than 183 days. Barring something exceptional, in 2026 she is still resident in Spain for the whole year, and the withholding applied to her that year as a resident is not a mistake. She will declare 2026 in her Spanish income tax return as usual.
The change takes place in 2027. From 1 January, if her life is genuinely in the other country, Carmen becomes non-resident in Spain.
What Spain taxes on a non-resident pensioner
If there were no treaty, or if the treaty let Spain tax the pension, article 25.1.b) of the Non-Resident Income Tax Act (IRNR) applies a scale of its own to non-residents' pensions:
| Annual pension band | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 12,000 € | 8 % |
| From 12,000 € to 18,700 € | 30 % |
| Over 18,700 € | 40 % |
With Carmen's pension, the calculation would be as follows:
- First 12,000 € at 8 %: 960 €.
- Next 6,700 €, up to 18,700 €, at 30 %: 2,010 €. Running total: 2,970 €.
- Remainder, 24,000 − 18,700 = 5,300 €, at 40 %: 2,120 €.
- Annual total: 2,970 + 2,120 = 5,090 €.
If, on the other hand, the treaty reserves that pension to the State of residence, Spain does not tax it and article 31.4.a) of the same Act rules out withholding on income exempt under a treaty. In that scenario, the correct withholding would be nil.
Which of the two scenarios applies depends on how the treaty classifies each pension: public, private, social security, or deriving from a pension plan. Treaties do not all resolve this in the same way, and the Social Security pension and the income from the company plan may be treated differently. The guide on public or private pensions under the treaty explains how to read it. How those pensions are then taxed in the country of residence is confirmed by Carmen's adviser there.
The certificate that works
The certificate is issued by the tax administration of the country where Carmen now lives, not the Spanish one. And not just any certificate will do. Article 7 of Order EHA/3316/2010 requires, in order to apply a treaty on Modelo 210 (the Spanish non-resident return), that the certificate state expressly that the taxpayer is resident "within the meaning defined in the Convention". That is the version to ask for anything to do with the pension. We explain the difference from the generic certificate in ordinary and treaty certificates.
The certificate is valid for one year from issue, so the notice to the payer has to be renewed each year. The most convenient course is to apply in January, with the previous year closed, and send it before the first payment of the year. If your new country's administration is slow or asks for prior steps, such as registration or a first tax return, that margin keeps the Spanish payer from going back to withholding as before. What that administration requires in order to issue it is a matter for its own rules, and your adviser there will confirm it.
Telling the payer
Carmen has two payers: the body that manages her public pension and the manager of the company pension plan. Each of them needs to know that she has changed residence and to receive the certificate from the new country, because they are the ones who calculate the withholding. Each institution has its own procedure and its own notification form; the practical approach is to ask them in writing what they need, send it in good time before the first payment of 2027 and keep proof of delivery.
Modelo 247, which is used to tell Hacienda, as the Spanish tax office is commonly called, about a move abroad, is designed under article 32 of the IRNR Act for employees, not for pensioners. We explain it in what to tell your payer if you are leaving this year.
If you would like us to review how the treaty treats each of your pensions and what has to be sent to each payer, you can tell us about it in the certificate form.
It is a frequent mistake: the pensioner leaves in the autumn and claims back everything withheld that year as if already non-resident. If they spent more than 183 days in Spain, that year is taxed as a resident and there is nothing to refund by that route. Approaching it that way can end in a tax check that benefits nobody.
Recovering what was over-withheld
Suppose that in 2027 the payer of the public pension went on withholding as if Carmen lived in Spain until April, when the certificate finally reached it, and that the treaty reserved that pension to the State of residence. What was withheld between January and April is a payment that was not due.
The way to recover it is a refund claim as a non-resident, on Modelo 210, accompanied by the treaty residence certificate for 2027 and the payer's withholding certificate. The right to claim refunds becomes time-barred after four years under article 66 of the Ley General Tributaria (the General Tax Act). If, on the other hand, the treaty allowed Spain to tax the pension, what is needed is to check whether the withholding applied matches the non-resident scale and to settle the difference either way. The detailed procedure is in the guide on recovering withholding on a Spanish pension.
The pensioner's annual folder
- A residence certificate from the country where you live, mentioning the treaty with Spain, requested at the start of the year.
- Proof that it was delivered to each payer.
- A withholding certificate from each payer, which lets you check whether the withholding was correct.
- Your address and contact details kept up to date with the Agencia Tributaria, the Spanish tax agency, so that any formal request reaches you in time.
The page for pensioners abroad completes the picture with the rest of the obligations, and the guide to the certificate for pensioners covers the document in detail.
The Salama Tax page describes how the certificate is used with each payer. Which pension each country taxes is decided by the treaty and not by anyone's preference; our job is to read it in your case and warn you about whatever is unclear.