Form 720: Declaration of assets held abroad.

If you hold assets or rights located abroad, you have until March 31 to declare them on Form 720 (return on assets and rights held abroad).

Form 720 is an annual informational tax return in which taxpayers must declare all assets and rights located or managed abroad when their combined value exceeds €50,000.

March 31 is the deadline set by the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) for filing Form 720. However, provided that technical reasons can be shown, the tax authorities will allow taxpayers who were unable to file within the established deadline to do so during the following three calendar days.

As a general rule, the individuals, legal entities, and other entities listed below are required to file the return on assets and rights held abroad when they hold assets and rights located abroad that trigger the filing obligation:

a) Individuals and legal entities resident in Spanish territory.

b) Permanent establishments in that territory of non-resident persons or entities.

c) The entities referred to in Article 35.4 of Law 58/2003, of December 17, the General Tax Law (estates in abeyance [herencias yacentes], co-ownership arrangements [comunidades de bienes], etc.).

d) The holders of the assets and their representatives, authorized persons, beneficiaries, and persons with powers of disposal.

The return will include one record for each asset located abroad:

C: Accounts opened with entities engaged in banking or credit business that are located abroad.

V: Securities or rights located abroad representing an interest in any type of legal entity, securities located abroad representing the transfer of own capital to third parties, or securities contributed for management or administration to any legal instrument, including fiduciary arrangements (fideicomisos) and “trusts,” or pools of assets that, despite lacking legal personality, may operate in economic dealings.

I: Shares and units in the share capital or equity fund of collective investment institutions (Instituciones de Inversión Colectiva) located abroad.

S: Life or disability insurance and temporary or life annuities, where the insurers are located abroad.

B: Ownership of and rights in rem over real estate located abroad.

Taxpayers who filed Form 720 in previous years will be required to file a return for fiscal year 2020 where any of the following circumstances arises:

a) During 2020, the holding of any item previously declared in the Form 720 returns for prior years is extinguished.

b) New assets or items located abroad are acquired during 2020 that trigger the filing obligation, or the €50,000 threshold of aggregate value is exceeded for the first time for any of the groups of assets subject to this obligation.

c) There is an increase of €20,000 or more in the aggregate value of any of the groups of assets mentioned above, compared with the aggregate value of that group of assets in the last Form 720 return filed.

Form 720 must be filed electronically over the internet, either by the filer themselves or by a third party acting on their behalf. Failure to do so entails the following penalties:

a) A penalty of €5,000 per item of data in the event of failure to comply with the obligation to report accounts held with credit institutions located abroad, with a minimum of €10,000.

b) A penalty of €100 per item of data or set of data relating to the same account, with a minimum of €1,500, where the return has been filed late without a prior request from the tax authorities.

c) Failure to file will be considered a tax offense and will be penalized with a proportional monetary fine of 150% of the amount of the penalty base.