Spain: crypto in your own wallet isn't reported on Modelo 721. What that means and what's still mandatory

What the news said and what's actually true

On September 28, the Spanish-language portal CriptoNoticias, followed by international crypto outlets, reported that Spain's tax agency (Agencia Tributaria, often called simply Hacienda) had updated its FAQ on Modelo 721 and confirmed that self-custodied crypto doesn't have to be reported on this return.

The substance is right, but the "update" isn't. The self-custody wording has been in the tax agency's guidance since at least November 2023 and hasn't changed since: we compared the current page with copies in a web archive. The tax agency's news feed for September 28 says nothing about Modelo 721.

The rule rests on binding rulings (consultas vinculantes) from the Directorate General of Taxes (Dirección General de Tributos, DGT):

• V2290-23, July 2023. What matters isn't the type of wallet but who holds the keys. If you hold the private keys, the coins don't count toward the threshold and aren't reported, whether the wallet is hot or cold.
• V0941-24, April 2024. A paper wallet kept by its owner isn't reported either.
• V0848-26, April 2026. If the owner holds the keys, "including on a physical device," there's no obligation to file Modelo 721.

The tax agency's wording repeats the first ruling almost word for word: coins in wallets whose keys the owner controls aren't held by anyone who safeguards keys on behalf of third parties, so they don't count toward balances and aren't reported.

What Modelo 721 is

Modelo 721 is an informational return (declaración informativa) on crypto held abroad. You don't pay any tax with it: it only tells the tax agency where your coins are and how many you have. It was first filed in 2024, for the year 2023.

You have to file it if both of these conditions are met:

1. A third party holds the coins: an exchange or a custodial service that has your private keys.
2. That custodian isn't Spanish: it isn't resident in Spain and has no permanent establishment in the country.

A swap service that sends coins straight to the address you provide never holds your keys. That's how VertEXchange works, for example.

Then comes the threshold:

• €50,000 on December 31: all your coins with all foreign custodians combined, at their market value on that date. Average balances during the year don't matter.
• Cross the threshold and you report all your coins, not just the amount above it.
• Stablecoins such as USDT count as crypto too.
• Filing window: January 1 to March 31 of the following year.
• You file again if your balance has grown by more than €20,000 since your last return, and also if you're no longer the person obliged to report coins you've already declared, for example because you sold them.

Who has to file: case by case

An example from ruling V0315-24: €10,000 on a foreign exchange and €40,000 on hardware wallets. The wallets don't count, and the exchange balance is below the threshold, so there's nothing to file.

Euros or dollars on a foreign exchange aren't part of Modelo 721, but they may have to go on a different return for foreign assets: Modelo 720.

What happens if you don't file

Foreign-asset returns in Spain used to carry huge fines. In 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) found that regime disproportionate, and Law 5/2022 repealed it. Now the general penalties of Spain's General Tax Law (Ley General Tributaria) apply:

• You didn't file and the tax agency found out on its own: €20 for each item of data, with a minimum of €300 and a maximum of €20,000.
• You filed late, but on your own, without a request from the tax agency: half as much, €10 per item, with a minimum of €150 and a maximum of €10,000.

What your own wallet doesn't change

Modelo 721 is just one return among several. Wherever your coins are, these still apply:

• IRPF, Spain's personal income tax. Gains from selling crypto are taxed. And one important detail people often forget: in Spain, swapping one crypto for another is also a taxable event, even if you simply swapped BTC to ETH and never received any euros. Rates on savings income (base del ahorro) in 2026 range from 19% to 30%, and gains are calculated on a first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis.
• Wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio, Modelo 714). Crypto counts toward your wealth at its market value on December 31, wherever it's held. The tax-free allowance is €700,000 unless your region has set its own; you have to file if there's tax to pay or if your assets are worth more than €2 million.
• Tax on large fortunes (Impuesto Temporal de Solidaridad de las Grandes Fortunas). For net assets above €3 million.
• Unjustified capital gains (ganancias patrimoniales no justificadas). If you turn out to have assets that your declared income doesn't explain, their value can be taxed. The rule applies to coins in your own wallet too.

The tax agency sees more than you think

Keeping crypto yourself doesn't make it invisible.

• Spanish platforms report on their own. Every January they send the tax agency each customer's balances as of December 31 (Modelo 172) and all the year's transactions: purchases, sales, swaps and transfers (Modelo 173).
• Wallets are in the audit plan. In its tax control plan for 2026, the tax agency explicitly names transfers to non-custodial wallets as a risk and promises to use blockchain analysis tools together with data from Modelo 172, 173 and 721 returns.
• DAC8. Since January 1, 2026, an EU directive has been in force under which crypto platforms collect customer data for tax authorities, including the amounts of transfers to addresses that don't belong to other platforms. Put simply: to personal wallets. The first exchange of this data between EU countries is expected in autumn 2027. Spain hasn't finished transposing the directive yet: we found no law on it in the BOE, Spain's official gazette, and a draft order on the new returns has been under discussion since March. Outside the EU, Brazil has taken a similar route: from October 1, crypto services there report transfers of $10,000 or more to personal wallets.

The takeaway is simple: your own wallet spares you one form, not your taxes. Using it to hide is pointless, and it doesn't stop you from paying taxes under your country's rules.

So why use your own wallet?

Not for the tax agency's sake, but for control over your money. When Bitget was hacked in September, the exchange's customers couldn't withdraw their coins for several days, while people who kept their crypto themselves had nothing new to worry about. If you want to understand the difference between a custodial and a non-custodial wallet, start with this guide, and once you move to your own wallet, the first thing to do is write down your seed phrase and store it where you won't lose it.

VertEXchange has no accounts, and coins don't sit with us: you enter your wallet address and receive them right there. For example, you can exchange USDT to Bitcoin straight to your own wallet. Just remember that in Spain a swap like this is also a transaction you need to account for in your IRPF.

If you've already filed Modelo 721

• Your coins are still on a foreign exchange: file as before if your balance on December 31 is over €50,000.
• You've moved your coins to your own wallet: the rules require you to file again if you're no longer the person obliged to report coins you've already declared. By the logic of the rules, withdrawing to your own wallet is exactly that case, so for the year of the withdrawal you most likely need to file once more. After that, as long as the coins stay with you, you don't.
• A complex case, such as several exchanges, a company, an inheritance or a relocation, is best discussed with a tax adviser (a gestor or asesor fiscal).

This article is an overview of the rules based on the tax agency's guidance and DGT rulings, not tax advice.