The amount can be cut by 30% if you accept the assessment (conformidad) and, on what remains, by another 40% if you pay on time and do not appeal, under article 188 of the Ley General Tributaria. Appealing is legitimate, but it forfeits those reductions.
The penalty is handled in a procedure separate from the assessment. First the tax agency calculates the missing tax and the late-payment interest; then it opens the penalty case, where it has to show there was fault or at least negligence. That is why a reasonable mistake when interpreting an unclear rule should not end in a penalty.
The typical mistake is mixing up penalty and surcharge. If you miss a deadline and the tax agency writes to you before you correct things, it is no longer a surcharge case: it is a penalty, and it is usually far more expensive. Another mistake is thinking that paying the tax closes the matter; the penalty arrives separately, sometimes months later, in your electronic notifications mailbox.
Penalties almost always start from a requerimiento or a review, and they can be deferred like any other debt. If you appeal through the administrative route, the penalty is suspended without any guarantee while the appeal is decided.
Guides that use this term
- Modelo 210: the Spanish non-resident tax, explained in full
- How to fill in the modelo 390 box by box: instructions, a full-year example and how to reconcile it with your 303 returns
- How to file and pay modelo 210 from outside Spain
- Requerimiento from Hacienda (Spanish tax notice): what it is, how it arrives and how to reply on time
- Verifactu postponed: when it comes into force in 2027, which law sets the dates and what to do in the meantime
Related terms
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