Report of Foreign Assets (Form 720)

On October 30th, 2012, the Spanish government approved a tax law to help fight against tax evasion: (Ley 7/2012, de 29 de octubre, de modificación de la normativa tributaria y presupuestaria y de adecuación de la normativa financiera para la intensificación de las actuaciones de la prevenión y lucha contra el fraude).

In Form 720, you must report your foreign assets when the assets exceed the amount specified below.

This form is for informational purposes only. It does not imply any additional taxation. However, it opens the door to any regularization that should be made as a result of providing this information.

This Spanish law requires you to provide information to the Spanish tax authorities about offshore accounts, offshore investments, and real estate located abroad.

FAQs:

Who is obliged to provide this information?

• Individuals and legal entities who are tax-resident in Spanish territory.
• Permanent Establishments of non-resident entities located in Spanish territory.
• Other entities regulated in article 35.4 of the General Taxation Law (that is, inheritance in abeyance, community estate, etc).

You are required to file if your assets in any of the 3 categories exceeds the stated threshold.

Filing is not required for individuals, legal entities, and permanent establishments that have already registered and sufficiently identified the information in their accounting, according to the Spanish Code of Commerce (offshore values, rights, insurances and revenues, deposited, managed or obtained abroad are not included in this exception).

What information must be provided?

• Accounts in foreign financial institutions with a balance higher than 50,000€. If at any time during the year the individual has the status of owner, holder, representative, authorized recipient, beneficiary or proxy holder, then the filing requirements apply to this individual. You will need the full name and address of the bank or other entity, the account number or IBAN, the average amount in the account during the year, the amount at the end of the year, and if not full owner, your percent of ownership.
• Values, rights (portfolio investments), life or disability insurance and annuities or temporary revenues, deposited, managed, or obtained abroad, with a total balance higher than 50,000€.
• Real estate or rights on real estate located abroad with values higher than 50,000€. You will need the full address of the property, the date of purchase or reception, its value at that time, and if not full owner, your percent of ownership.

If the information hasn't changed since last year, do I have to file another Form 720?

Once the 720 form has been submitted, it only needs to be filed in the following years when the amounts declared in any of the categories has grown by 20,000€ compared to the last Form 720 submitted. If it has not grown, it is not necessary to resubmit the Form.

When is the filing deadline?

Form 720 should be electronically submitted between January 1st and March 31st of the following year.

Once the first Form 720 is submitted, the individual will have the obligation of submitting this form during the following years if:

• The value of any of the three categories of information has an increase of over €20,000 from the last time Form 720 was submitted. This is the quick answer -- for a more precise answer, please see the tax office's page
• If the ownership of any item included in each category has been relinquished.

What happens if I don't file?

Non-fulfillment of this obligation carries the following penalties:

• Not submitting the form. Penalty: monetary fine of €5,000 for each item of information not included, with a minimum fine of €10,000.
• Submitting a form that is incomplete, inaccurate or with false information. Penalty: monetary fine of €5,000 for each item of information not included, inaccurate or false, with a minimum fine of €10,000.
• Submitting the form out of the legal term, but before the request of the Spanish tax authorities to submit it. Penalty: monetary fine of €100 for each item of information in each category, with a minimum fine of €1,500.
• Not submitting the form electronically. Penalty: monetary fine of €100 for each item of information in each category, with a minimum fine of €1,500.