Foreign dividends on Spanish Renta: how to declare them and the double-tax credit
How to declare the amount received before tax, credit what you already paid abroad, and reclaim the rest in the US, Germany or France. Modelo 720 is not part of this filing.
The ideas in this guide are there to explain how dividends from outside Spain are reported and how to recover what was withheld. With Aitax you upload the documents: the AI takes care of the heavy lifting. You check that the figures are right. If a question comes up, you ask the specialised AI, trained on the law as it stands.
Foreign share dividends go on your Spanish Renta for the amount you received before tax. What was withheld abroad is claimed in two places: part of it in Spain, and the rest, if any, in the country that withheld it.
Example: you receive €1,000 of dividends from a US company. The broker withholds €150. €850 lands in your account. On Renta you declare €1,000. Then you subtract those €150 from what you owe here, if the law allows.
Modelo 720 is a different filing: a snapshot of what you hold abroad at 31 December. Filing it does not mean paying a tax. It does not recover that withholding. If the broker is not Spanish, the draft usually arrives empty. See the guide on the Spanish tax draft and foreign brokers.
Updated 11 October 2026. Sources: article 80 of the Spanish Personal Income Tax Law (IRPF), treaties with the US (2013 Protocol), Germany and France, and the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT, Spanish Tax Agency) leaflets for the US, Germany and France. Boxes from the 2025 tax year.
Which figure goes on Renta and which withholding is credited
Share dividends are savings income. You declare the full amount: what was there before the other country took its cut. You convert it to euros at the European Central Bank (ECB) rate on the payment date.
Spain lets you subtract what you already paid abroad. That is the credit in article 80 of the Personal Income Tax Law (IRPF, Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas). You subtract the lower of: what you paid abroad, or what you would owe here on that income.
The 15% cap and the excess Spain will not credit
Many countries have a treaty with Spain. That treaty limits how much they can withhold. For a person holding ordinary shares, the cap is 15% of the amount received. It applies to the United States, Germany and France (article 10 of each treaty).
In Spain you only count as “tax paid” up to that 15%. The article 80 limit still applies on top. If the broker withheld more, that extra does not reduce what you pay here. You claim it in the country that withheld it.
United States
Spain taxes the dividend. The United States may tax it too, but not above 15% if you live in Spain and you are the one who truly receives it. The Spanish credit goes up to that 15%.
If the broker does not have the residence certificate the payer asks for (Form W-8BEN), it often withholds more.
Germany
A 15% cap for an individual. Germany withholds more. The difference is not credited in Spain. You claim it from the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt, Federal Central Tax Office), which warns that processing can take a long time.
France
The treaty also sets 15%. If the statement shows withholding at or below that, there is no extra to reclaim in France. That figure goes into the Spanish credit, still limited by article 80.
Modelo 720 does not recover the withholding
Forum threads ask how to recover the withholding “if I do not have to file the 720”. That mixes things up: Modelo 720 is an information return. It only tells Hacienda your balances.
What Aitax does with the statement
A few receipts can be done by hand. Many brokers and currencies, and rebuilding every figure stops being realistic.
Aitax reads the statements, builds the history and leaves the figures in Renta format. You review and file on the AEAT site. Anyone claiming the excess over 15% does so in the country that withheld it. Aitax does not file that request.
Frequently asked questions
How do I recover foreign dividend withholding?
Up to the 15% treaty rate and the Spanish law limit. If more was withheld, you claim it in the country that withheld it.
Can I credit that withholding if I do not file Modelo 720?
Yes. The 720 is not needed for this. They are separate filings.
What cap applies to the US, Germany and France?
15% of the amount received, for a person with ordinary shares, in all three treaties.
Does the draft already include those dividends?
It usually does not if the broker is not Spanish. Spanish tax draft and foreign brokers.
How to prepare Renta with Aitax
With Aitax you upload your broker statements. You get the document ready for Hacienda, with dividends and withholdings already calculated at the European Central Bank rate. You review the result. You file it yourself on the AEAT site.
Ready to declare your investments?
Upload your broker reports and Aitax prepares your Renta.
Related guides
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- Offsetting investment losses on Spanish Renta and the two-month ruleWhich losses offset share or fund gains, the 25% cap against dividends and interest, the four-year carry-forward, and when a repurchase defers the loss.