Temporary imputation of work income

General rule

Regulations: Art. 14.1 a) Law Income Tax

Earnings from work, both income and expenses, are allocated to the tax period in which they are payable by the recipient.

Special rules

1. Yields pending court ruling

   Regulations: Art. 14.2 a) Law Income Tax

   When all or part of an income has not been paid, because the determination of the right to its collection or its amount is pending a judicial resolution, the unpaid amounts will be charged to the tax period in which the payment becomes final.

   Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the employment income is not received in the year in which the court ruling became final, it will not be necessary to include it in the declaration corresponding to said year, but rather, by application of the rules relating to "arrears" discussed below, it must be declared by means of a supplementary self-assessment for the year in which the court ruling became final. This declaration must be made within the period between the date on which the income is received and the end of the immediately following period for filing declarations for the IRPF .

   In any case, by applying this special rule of temporary imputation, if income corresponding to a generation period of more than two years is included in the declaration for a financial year, the reduction percentage of 30% will be applicable to them.

2. Arrears

   Regulations: Art. 14.2 b) Law Income Tax

   When, due to justified circumstances not attributable to the taxpayer, income derived from work is received in tax periods other than those in which it was payable, it must be declared when it is received, but imputing it to the period in which it was payable, through the corresponding supplementary self-assessment, without penalty or late payment interest or any surcharge.

   The self-assessment must be submitted within the period between the date on which the arrears are received and the end of the immediately following period for submitting self-assessments for the IRPF .

   Thus, if the arrears are received between January 1, 2020 and the start of the period for filing the IRPF returns corresponding to the 2019 fiscal year, the supplementary self-assessment must be submitted in that year before the end of said filing period (until June 30, 2020), unless they are arrears from the 2019 fiscal year, in which case they will be included in the self-assessment for that fiscal year. For arrears received after the start of the 2019 tax return filing period, the supplementary self-assessment must be submitted within the period between the receipt of the arrears and the end of the 2020 tax return filing period.

   Important : The supplementary self-assessment must be adjusted to the individual or joint taxation chosen in the original declaration.

3. Income derived from the transfer of the exploitation of copyright

   Regulations: Art. 7.3 Regulation Income Tax

   In the case of income derived from the transfer of the exploitation of copyright that accrues over several years, the taxpayer may choose to allocate the advance payment to the account of the same as the rights accrue.

   Attention: If the taxpayer chooses to charge the advance payment as the royalties accrue, he/she must check box [0002] on the declaration.

4. Estimated labor returns

   Regulations: Art. 14.2 f) Law Income Tax

   Estimated work income must be attributed to the tax period in which the work or service that generates such income was performed.

5. Benefits derived from pension plans

   The income from work derived from these benefits must be attributed to the tax period in which they are received, even if this does not correspond to the period in which the contingency occurred.