Elena Varga is Hungarian, founded a machinery hire company that she sold in 2021 and has lived in Spain since then. On 31 December 2025, after applying exemptions and deducting debts, her net wealth was 5,000,000 €. She lives in an autonomous community (one of Spain's regions) that relieves the wealth tax bill, and during her first years here she paid nothing for it. Since the 2022 tax year, however, she has filed a different self-assessment every year: the one for the Impuesto Temporal de Solidaridad, the temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes. She asked us whether she is paying twice for the same thing. No, but the answer depends on what she pays in wealth tax.
What it is and where it comes from
The tax was created by article 3 of Law 38/2022. The law itself defines it as a direct, personal tax, "complementary to the wealth tax", that taxes the net wealth of individuals "of an amount above 3,000,000 euros". It has three features that explain how it works:
- It uses the same rules as wealth tax for almost everything: taxpayers, exemptions, ownership and the valuation of assets and debts.
- It is not devolved to the autonomous communities. The State collects and manages it, and no region can relieve it or change its allowance.
- The wealth tax actually paid for the same year is deducted from its bill.
The result is that the tax works as a national floor. Where the region charges wealth tax in full, it is hardly noticed. Where the region grants relief, the State collects the difference.
Why it appears in some regions and not in others
Wealth tax is a devolved tax: each region can set its own allowance, scale and reliefs. For years, several reduced the bill through total or partial reliefs, so that the same wealth paid very different amounts depending on where its owner lived. The solidarity tax was created on top of that map. Since then, some regions have adjusted their reliefs precisely so that what is paid stays in their territory and does not go to the State.
The table by region with current allowances and reliefs is on the page about the wealth tax. We do not reproduce it here because it is one of the things that changes most.
What does not pay in one does not pay in the other
The exemptions are the same as in wealth tax. The main home is exempt up to 300,000 € per owner, shares in a family business that meet the requirements are not counted, and rights in pension plans are left out. For Elena, who no longer has a company after the sale, almost all her wealth is financial and the only relevant exemption is the one for her home. Someone who keeps a trading company may have wealth far greater than hers and yet a much smaller base. The requirements are in whether my company is exempt.
The national scale of the tax
| Taxable base | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 3,000,000 € | 0 % |
| From 3,000,000 € to 5,347,998.03 € | 1.7 % |
| From 5,347,998.03 € to 10,695,996.06 € | 2.1 % |
| Over 10,695,996.06 € | 3.5 % |
Before the scale is applied, the tax base is reduced by a tax-free allowance of 700,000 €. As the first 3,000,000 € of taxable base are taxed at 0 %, in practice the tax only starts to appear when net wealth exceeds 3,700,000 €. A taxpayer with 3,500,000 € of net wealth falls within the scope of the tax, but their bill is zero, and with a zero bill there is no obligation to file this tax: its rules only require a return from those with tax to pay.
Elena's figures
- Net wealth on 31 December, after exemptions and debts: 5,000,000 €.
- Tax-free allowance: 700,000 €. Taxable base: 4,300,000 €.
- First 3,000,000 €: 0 €.
- Next 1,300,000 € at 1.7 %: 22,100 €.
- Gross solidarity tax: 22,100 €.
Now what was paid in wealth tax has to be deducted. For comparison, we use the national wealth tax scale applied to the same base, 53,546.37 €, bearing in mind that each region has its own:
| Scenario | Wealth tax paid | Solidarity tax payable | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region with no relief, using the national scale | 53,546.37 € | 0 € | 53,546.37 € |
| Region relieving the whole bill | 0 € | 22,100 € | 22,100 € |
| Partial relief: pays 15,000 € | 15,000 € | 7,100 € | 22,100 € |
Elena is in the second case. She pays 22,100 € to the State and nothing to her region. What used to be zero now has a minimum.
The law refers to the wealth tax "actually paid". If the region relieves it, there is nothing to deduct. And as the order is wealth tax first and solidarity tax second, a mistake in Modelo 714 carries over into the second tax.
The cap based on income also counts here
The combined income tax (IRPF), wealth tax and this tax cannot exceed 60 % of the total IRPF tax bases, under the same rules as for wealth tax. If it is exceeded, the solidarity tax is reduced, but the reduction cannot be more than 80 %. For large fortunes with little income, as often happens after selling a company and reinvesting in assets that pay out very little, the cap can change the result considerably. We explain it in the joint income-wealth cap.
How long it lasts
The law provided for it for the first two years in which it fell due, 2022 and 2023. Royal Decree-law 8/2023 extended its application until wealth taxation is reviewed in the context of the reform of regional financing. At the time of writing this answer it is still being applied; it is worth checking every year before the accrual date of 31 December.
Non-residents: it reaches them too
The taxpayers are the same as for wealth tax, so a non-resident is taxed on a non-resident basis on their assets located in Spain. If they live outside the European Union, they must also appoint a representative resident in Spain before the end of the filing period, with the exception of certain European Economic Area States that provide mutual assistance. The details of which assets count are in what goes into my wealth tax as a non-resident.
Which form and when
It is filed on Modelo 718, electronically, within the period set each year by ministerial order. It is a separate return from Modelo 714, although it is prepared with the same data. The guide on the solidarity tax on large fortunes develops its relationship with regional reliefs, and if you live in a region that grants relief and wonder whether you have to file anything, start with I live in a region with a relief.
If your net wealth is close to 3,700,000 € or above it, it is worth calculating both taxes together. You can send us the information through the wealth tax form. We warn that the result depends on valuations the authorities can review and on a rule whose validity is renewed by political decision, so no calculation is good for more than one tax year.
Wealth tax, the solidarity tax and the table of reliefs by region are dealt with together on the Salama Tax page on the wealth tax.