Frequently Asked Questions (HTML version)

The first acquisitions made in trading centres subject to tax will be those whose liquidation and, therefore, registration of the securities, is carried out from the date of entry into force of the Tax Law, regardless of the date on which they were executed, in accordance with article 10 of Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax Law. In general, the first taxable acquisitions will correspond to those made in the two business days prior to the entry into force of the Tax Law.

The tax becomes due when the registration entry is made, which, in the case of acquisitions made on official secondary securities markets or other trading venues, will be deemed to have occurred on the date of settlement of the transaction, in accordance with the provisions of article 94 of the revised text of the Securities Market Law, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 4/2015, of October 23, to which it also refers, in relation to trading venues other than official secondary markets, article 37.3 of Royal Decree-Law 21/2017, of November 29, on urgent measures for the adaptation of Spanish law to European Union regulations on the securities market.

However, when the taxpayer has opted for the theoretical settlement date for the purposes of settling the tax in accordance with the terms set out in article 9 of the Royal Decree, the accrual will be deemed to have occurred on the theoretical settlement date.

Pursuant to Article 9 of the Royal Decree, for the purposes of liquidation of the tax, the date of liquidation of the operations shall be considered to be the effective date of liquidation. However, taxpayers may choose to consider the theoretical settlement date as the settlement date, without prejudice to any corrections that may be necessary in the event that, as a result of non-compliance with the settlement of the securities, the transactions are not settled.

The option for the theoretical settlement date may only be made in the first self-assessment that the taxpayer must submit in each calendar year and will take effect at least during that year, and in subsequent years as long as it is not waived.

The waiver of the option for the theoretical settlement date may only be made in the first self-assessment that the taxpayer must submit in each calendar year.

In the case of transactions carried out in trading centres, the theoretical settlement date will be the second business day after the date of execution of the transaction.

In the case of bilateral transactions (OTC), the theoretical settlement date will be the date agreed by the parties. However, when the actual settlement of the transaction occurs prior to the agreed date, the theoretical settlement date shall be deemed to be the actual settlement date.

According to the aforementioned article, this special procedure includes several phases for the communication, acceptance and execution of the transfer orders that are subject to it, so that the securities subject to the orders are initially temporarily recorded in special accounts of the financial intermediaries (transitional phase or phases) to subsequently proceed to the recording of the securities in the final accounts (final phase).

In the event that acquisitions subject to tax are made under this procedure, the tax will be accrued in the final phase, when the securities are registered in favor of the purchaser in the final account.