Ruta Residencia A mini-encyclopedia and digital platform for expats in Spain

2026 Bank Reporting: What Hacienda Now Sees

~5 min read

As of 2026, Spanish banks and payment providers report to Hacienda monthly instead of annually, and the automatic cross-border exchange of financial data (CRS) extends for the first time to crypto-assets and e-money. Here is what actually changed, who it affects, and what it means in practice - not just for people already a Spanish tax resident, but for anyone using a Spanish or European account while formally based elsewhere.

Contents

What changed, and why it matters

Automatic exchange of banking information between countries (CRS - Common Reporting Standard) has existed for over a decade, and was already mentioned in how tax residency is determined as one of the data sources Hacienda cross-checks. In 2026, two significant changes happened to this system at once: Spanish banks started reporting on accounts much more frequently, and international data exchange extended for the first time to crypto-assets and e-money - previously left in a grey area.

For anyone who is already a Spanish tax resident, or is still planning the move, the practical upshot is the same: the volume of data Hacienda receives automatically, without a request and without your involvement, has grown - both on Spanish accounts and on accounts and crypto-assets held abroad.

↑ back to contents

New obligations for Spanish banks

Starting in 2026, Spanish banks, payment institutions and e-money institutions (including foreign companies operating in Spain without a physical presence) must report more data, more often:

Who this affects: not just residents

The new rules apply to accounts at Spanish banks regardless of the account holder’s tax status - meaning they also cover non-residents who hold a Spanish account (to pay utility bills on a property, for instance). Specific exemptions exist for some categories of non-residents with no permanent Spanish presence, but the general rule is: if the account sits with a Spanish bank or provider, the reporting applies regardless of where the account holder actually lives.

↑ back to contents

DAC8: automatic exchange reaches crypto-assets

A separate, more significant change is the EU’s DAC8 directive (Directive (EU) 2023/2226), which extends automatic information exchange to crypto-asset transactions and e-money. The transposition deadline expired on 31 December 2025, the obligations apply from 1 January 2026, and the first reporting period is 2026: that data reaches tax authorities in 2027. Nothing is collected under this directive for 2025, which is worth keeping in mind when assessing transactions already made. Until now, crypto exchanges and wallets formally fell outside CRS, creating a real gap: bank accounts were already transparent to tax authorities, crypto-assets were not.

Crypto platforms operating in the EU (both those regulated under MiCA and formally unregulated operators) must now report to tax authorities:

CRS itself is also being expanded in parallel: e-money accounts and central bank digital currency (CBDC) holdings now explicitly fall within scope - so the “this isn’t a bank account, so it isn’t reported” logic no longer holds for these instruments either.

There is one exception, and it covers most small wallets: an e-money account falls outside the duty if its average balance over any rolling 90-day period did not exceed USD 10,000.

↑ back to contents

Modelo 721: the self-filed crypto declaration stays in place

It is worth not confusing automatic exchange under DAC8 with a resident’s existing duty to self-declare foreign-held crypto-assets. Since 2023, Spain has had Modelo 721 - a declaration for cryptocurrencies held abroad, introduced by art. 42 quater RGAT (added by RD 249/2023), following the same logic as Modelo 720 for bank accounts, securities and real estate: the duty arises once foreign-held crypto-assets exceed €50,000 at year-end, filed from 1 January to 31 March.

DAC8 does not remove this duty - if anything, Hacienda now receives information about the same assets through two separate channels: from the taxpayer directly via Modelo 721, and directly from the crypto platform via automatic exchange. A mismatch between what you declared yourself and what the exchange reported about you is now considerably easier to spot than it used to be.

↑ back to contents

What this means in practice

For US and UK citizens who are Spanish tax residents, this mainly closes a gap rather than creating a wholly new obligation: FATCA and FBAR already require US citizens to report foreign accounts and crypto holdings to the IRS regardless of where they live, and UK residents have long been subject to their own CRS-based reporting. What is new is the visibility on the Spanish side specifically - a Revolut or Wise account, or crypto held on a foreign exchange, that a Spanish tax resident may not have thought to mention to an asesor fiscal, is now considerably more likely to surface automatically rather than only on request or during an audit.

The practical takeaway is straightforward: anything that used to be easy to overlook or put off - a foreign neobank account, a crypto wallet on an overseas exchange - is now much more likely to reach Hacienda automatically, not only through a request or an audit.

↑ back to contents

Author Aleksandr Nazarov

Frequently asked questions

What changed in Spanish bank reporting starting in 2026?

Banks, payment providers and e-money institutions now file Modelo 196 on accounts monthly instead of annually (art. 37 RGAT), and Modelo 170 monthly captures card and Bizum receipts tied to business activity (art. 38 bis RGAT). A separate new annual declaration on card operations, Modelo 174 (art. 38 ter RGAT), excludes cards whose total charges and total credits for the year were both below €25,000.

Does Hacienda now track person-to-person Bizum transfers?

No - despite a common misconception, the new reporting only covers Bizum and similar receipts tied to business or professional activity (accepting payment from customers), not ordinary transfers between individuals.

What is DAC8, and how does it affect cryptocurrency?

DAC8 is an EU directive (Directive (EU) 2023/2226) that extends automatic tax information exchange (CRS) to crypto-asset transactions and e-money. The obligations apply from 1 January 2026, and the first reporting period is 2026: that data is passed to tax authorities in 2027. No data is collected under this directive for 2025.

Do you still need to self-declare crypto held on foreign exchanges?

Yes - automatic exchange under DAC8 does not replace a resident's own duty to file Modelo 721 if the value of foreign-held crypto-assets exceeds €50,000. This is a separate, independent obligation regardless of what the exchange itself now reports.

Does this mean foreign neobanks like Revolut, Wise or N26 are now visible to Hacienda?

Yes. These services are registered as financial institutions in an EU country (Revolut, for instance, in Lithuania) and already fall under CRS/DAC automatic exchange the same way traditional banks do - the difference is that this used to feel less obvious, and is now formalised and extended to new account and asset types.