Tax rules on capital assets differ significantly from country to country, and most people only realize how much once they’re sitting in front of their own tax return. Anyone living in Germany, for example, knows the drill: gains from tangible assets such as physical gold, or from real estate investments made through smart contracts, are completely tax-free after a holding period of one year. No capital gains tax on sale, no back taxes, simply tax-free. In Spain, the math looks different. And that’s worth taking a closer look at, whether you already live in Spain full-time or are just starting to consider the move.
So say you have gold in a vault, or perhaps a share in a rented property in Dubai or Morocco that you acquired through a smart contract. And sooner or later, usually around the first major gain in value or the first rental payout, the question comes up that almost everyone living in Spain, or thinking about living there, eventually asks: how much of this actually belongs to Hacienda?
The short answer: more than most people think. But also less unavoidable than others fear. Spain taxes capital assets strictly, no question about that. At the same time, there’s legitimate room to maneuver within that framework: in how you hold the assets directly, in the structure you choose, and, for anyone already considering leaving, in the timing of the exit. That’s exactly what this article is about.
Two Asset Classes, One Common Denominator
Physical precious metals and tokenized fractional ownership in real estate via smart contracts have little in common at first glance. One is a store of value that’s thousands of years old, the other a comparatively young way to invest in real property. For tax purposes, though, both end up in the same bucket: Spain’s savings base for capital gains.
For precious metals, the usual route is buying physical bars or investment-grade coins. Something important that’s often overlooked: investment-grade gold itself is exempt from VAT almost everywhere, in Spain as in most other countries. That’s not the case for so-called white metals such as silver, platinum, or palladium. If you have physical silver delivered to your home, you pay the applicable local VAT on it, currently 21 percent in Spain. That’s a difference that tends to get left out of return calculations, but it adds up considerably.
This is exactly where storage in a bonded warehouse comes in. As long as white metals remain there, for example in our partner’s tax-free warehouse in Switzerland, no VAT is due on purchase or on holding. It only becomes payable upon actual physical delivery. If you’re holding silver purely as a store of value anyway and don’t want it sitting at home in a safe, you avoid that 21 percent entirely, a difference that adds up to meaningful returns over the years. Taking a look at our partner for precious metals vaults is worth it accordingly, especially if you’re considering silver alongside gold. You can find more on the advantages of opening a vault through our link in our article on asset protection in turbulent times.
And what about smart contracts?
The logic behind real estate smart contracts is different. Through a smart contract, you acquire a share in a specific property, as offered by our partner in Dubai and Morocco, among other locations. Two variants are available here: either a share in a property that’s already rented out, with ongoing rental income of up to 12 percent per year, or a share in an off-plan property, where the focus is on the increase in value during the construction phase, from the initial groundbreaking through to the project’s completion.
The difference between the two asset classes lies less in the basic rule itself than in the rhythm at which taxable moments arise. For precious metals, it’s usually a single moment: the sale. For a rented property held via smart contract, there are many small moments spread across the year, namely every single rental payout. For off-plan properties, on the other hand, it’s more similar to precious metals: the increase in value during construction is only realized, and therefore only becomes taxable, upon sale or transfer of the share.
Special Case for Newcomers: The Beckham Law
Anyone who doesn’t yet live in Spain but is seriously considering moving there will, sooner or later, come across the so-called Beckham Law, officially the Régimen especial para trabajadores desplazados. Originally designed to attract international professionals to Spain, the regime has been considerably more accessible since the 2023 reform than it was just a few years ago: alongside classic employees, entrepreneurs, certain self-employed professionals, and, under certain conditions, even digital nomads with the appropriate visa can now benefit from it.
If you qualify, you pay a flat rate of 24 percent on Spanish employment or business income up to 600,000 euros, instead of the otherwise progressive income tax that reaches up to 47 percent. The regime applies for the year of relocation plus five further years, six years in total at most. The application must be filed within six months of starting work in Spain; a late application simply isn’t provided for. Miss that deadline, and even the most careful tax advisor can’t help you anymore.
What about revenues from outside of Spain
For precious metals and real estate smart contracts, one point in particular is interesting here: under the Beckham Law, you’re treated for tax purposes, outside of employment income, essentially like a non-resident. Capital income and capital gains that clearly originate abroad, for example rental income or an increase in value from a real estate share in Dubai or Morocco, generally remain tax-free in Spain for as long as the regime applies. There’s an important caveat, though: this only applies to genuinely foreign-source income. If capital income were instead classified as Spanish-source, for instance because it runs through a Spanish structure, the regular savings base still applies, with rates between 19 and 30 percent, and depending on the country of origin, a double taxation treaty may also become relevant. For wealth tax purposes too, only assets actually located in Spain count, so precious metals held in a Swiss bonded warehouse or a real estate share abroad don’t enter the assessment base.
Different opinions
The reporting obligation under Modelo 720 for foreign assets is less clear-cut than it’s often portrayed. Most specialized sources take the position that Beckham Law beneficiaries, since they’re treated as non-residents for tax purposes, are generally exempt from this filing requirement. Other sources, however, report a stricter interpretation by the tax authority in practice, particularly for larger foreign holdings. Anyone under the regime should therefore clarify this point individually with a tax advisor rather than relying on a blanket exemption.
It’s still important to keep the time frame in mind, though. Once the six years have elapsed, precious metals and real estate smart contracts fall back under exactly the regime described in the rest of this article, with the standard savings base for capital gains and progressive rates of up to 30 percent. The Beckham Law mainly buys time to work out a long-term structure at your leisure. It’s not a substitute for that consideration.
Taxation During Spanish Tax Residency
Direct Ownership: A Simple Rule, a Different Rhythm
The basic principle applies equally to both asset classes: holding alone doesn’t trigger tax, no matter how much the value rises. Tax only becomes due at the so-called transmission, or when income is actually received.
For precious metals, that moment is almost always clear: the sale. For a rented real estate share held via smart contract, it’s different: the ongoing rental payouts count as capital income and are taxed as soon as they’re received, regardless of whether you ever sell the share itself. For an off-plan property, on the other hand, the taxable moment only arises upon sale of the share or its transfer. Until then, the increase in value exists only on paper, much like with precious metals, which also only become tax-relevant upon sale.
One exception deserves mention, because it’s often overlooked: inherited precious metals and inherited real estate shares don’t trigger capital gains tax for the deceased. The heirs take on the market value at the date of death as their new acquisition cost. Only inheritance tax applies, not additionally the Ganancia patrimonial.
The Spanish Sociedad as a Deferral Vehicle, with a Caveat
Anyone moving larger sums eventually considers setting up their own company. Rightly so, at least in theory: a Spanish Sociedad Limitada pays the corporate tax rate of 25 percent on profits, 15 percent in some cases during the first profitable years, and personal tax only becomes due upon actual distribution. That’s a real, legally provided-for deferral.
But, and this „but“ is decisive, this route carries a structural risk that many only notice once the tax audit is already underway: classification as a sociedad patrimonial. If a company’s assets consist of more than 50 percent pure financial holdings without genuine business activity for more than half the year, it loses important tax benefits. Hacienda now scrutinizes such structures noticeably more closely than it did a few years ago. A company that does nothing more than store precious metals in a vault or hold real estate shares almost inevitably falls into this category.
That doesn’t mean the structure is worthless. It means it only becomes economically worthwhile above a certain scale, and, if in doubt, needs genuine substance, meaning more than just a bank account and one board resolution a year.
Foreign Companies: The Obvious Idea That Rarely Works
Setting up a company in Singapore, the UAE, or the US and investing through it sounds like the classic trick of international tax planning. For Spanish tax residents, however, a regime kicks in here that was created for exactly this case: transparencia fiscal internacional. If a Spanish resident holds at least 50 percent of a foreign company that pays less than 75 percent of the equivalent Spanish tax burden in its home jurisdiction, Hacienda attributes the income directly to the shareholder, regardless of whether a distribution has ever actually taken place. That eliminates the entire deferral effect. In the end, you pay exactly the Spanish tax, just with considerably more effort in costs, bookkeeping, and reporting obligations on top.
Foundations in Liechtenstein or Panama: Two Variants, Two Problems
Something similar applies to foreign private foundations. If the founder retains de facto control over the assets, which is quite common with most Liechtenstein foundations through a so-called Beistatut, the foundation is treated by the DGT as fiscally transparent. In other words: it’s simply ignored for tax purposes. You pay the same tax as with direct ownership, on top of the foundation’s ongoing running costs.
If the founder actually and irrevocably gives up control instead, it becomes more expensive rather than cheaper. Contributing the assets counts as a gift and immediately triggers the full capital gains tax on the accumulated increase in value for the founder, without any money actually changing hands. Later distributions to them as a beneficiary are then taxed again, as a gift to a stranger, without any family allowances. Anyone who ends up paying twice has very little to do with tax optimization.
Foundations therefore remain what they’ve historically always been: an instrument for wealth succession across generations and for asset protection at very large sums. As a tax-saving vehicle for ongoing investments in precious metals or real estate smart contracts, they don’t work.
The Exit: The Actually Effective Lever
Once structures within Spain reach their limits, the obvious question remains: what happens if you simply leave Spain while your precious metals and real estate shares stay untouched?
Here things become surprisingly straightforward, at least compared to classic company shares. The Spanish exit tax under Article 95 bis LIRPF exclusively covers equity holdings in companies, meaning shares, partnership interests, and fund units. Physical precious metals are explicitly not covered, as confirmed by the Dirección General de Tributos in a 2025 ruling.
For real estate smart contracts, however, it depends on the legal structure behind them. If it’s direct co-ownership of the property, the exit tax generally doesn’t apply, since it simply isn’t a company share. If the share in question is instead structured through a company or fund, the exit tax can very well apply. It’s worth checking the specific structure of the relevant provider before planning a move, rather than simply assuming one way or the other.
Anyone holding directly, rather than through their own company, can therefore generally move their accumulated gains on precious metals and on directly held real estate shares out of Spain’s tax reach entirely tax-free, simply through a genuine change of residence.
Pitfalls
There are still two pitfalls worth knowing about before you pack your bags.
The tax haven clause. If you move to a country that Spain classifies as a tax haven or non-cooperative jurisdiction, you remain bound to Spain for tax purposes for the year of departure plus four further years, regardless of the exit tax itself. Most common destination countries, from Switzerland to the UAE to Singapore, are no longer on this list. Still, it’s worth checking the current version before moving, since these lists get updated at irregular intervals.
No split-year treatment. Unlike the UK or Portugal, Spain doesn’t recognize partial-year residency within a calendar year. You’re either a resident for a complete year, or you’re not, never both. The 183-day rule is decisive here above all: if you move before the first half of the year is over and remain mostly abroad afterward, you’re retroactively treated as a non-resident from January 1st of that same year. If you move only in the fall, you remain fully tax liable in Spain for the entire current year and only benefit from the new status starting the following January. The date of the move is therefore less a logistical decision than a tax one, and that’s exactly why it should be chosen carefully rather than left to the chance of when you happen to find housing.
On top of that, Hacienda looks closely at borderline cases: if the family stays living in Spain, or the center of economic life remains there, residency can persist even with fewer than 183 days of physical presence. A formal deregistration via Modelo 030 and a Certificado de Residencia Fiscal from the new country are therefore not a formality, but the most important line of defense should questions arise later.
Keeping Track of Your Own Stays
Anyone seriously considering a move eventually faces a very practical challenge: the 183-day rule is easy to cite but hard to track manually, especially if you’re commuting between several countries or slipping in spontaneous trips.
For exactly this problem, not for the question of which country would be most tax-favorable, our partner’s Country Tracker is a good fit. The tool automatically logs how many days you’ve spent in which country, and shows you how close you are to relevant thresholds, for example the 183-day rule itself or other residency-related deadlines. It doesn’t offer any statement on which destination country would suit you tax-wise, or how the taxation of precious metals and real estate investments actually looks there. That still requires an individual review of the applicable legal situation.
Conclusion
Direct ownership remains, for most investors below a certain scale, the most pragmatic route, since it involves few costs and creates no additional attack surface for Hacienda. Structures via companies or foundations only become worthwhile at significantly higher sums, and only with genuine economic substance. The most effective lever in the end is often the least spectacular one: the timing of your own departure, properly documented and chosen with care. Not particularly exciting, admittedly. But the Spanish tax authority loves excitement considerably less than it loves the word „back taxes.“
Wondering where the road out of Spanish tax residency might lead, or want an outside review of your existing precious metals and real estate structure? Contact us at singabiz.com/contact. We’ll take a close look at your specific situation together with you and lay out which options genuinely make sense for you. In the end, the decision is yours, we provide the groundwork for it.
