Italian pension and living in Spain: where it is taxed and how it is declared

Pensions for past employment: taxed in Spain

Pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a State in consideration of past employment may be taxed only in that State, except for the public pensions covered by article 19.2 (article 18 of the Spain–Italy double taxation convention, in force since 14 November 1980). If you are resident in Spain, your Italian pension for past private-sector employment is taxed here and not in Italy, according to the Spanish Tax Agency’s leaflet on Italy.

Italian public service pensions

Pensions paid by the Italian State or its political or administrative subdivisions or local authorities, either directly or out of funds created for the purpose, for services rendered to them are taxable only in Italy (article 19.2.a); in Spain they are exempt, with progressivity, according to the Spanish Tax Agency’s leaflet. They are taxable only in Spain if the pensioner lives in Spain and holds Spanish nationality (article 19.2.b); the convention does not require Spanish nationality alone: holding Spanish nationality is enough (articles 19.2.b and 3.1.h). Those paid for services rendered in connection with a commercial or industrial activity of those bodies follow article 18 (article 19.3). Where the pension is exempt in Spain, Spain may take it into account when calculating the tax on the rest of your income (article 22.4).

How it is declared in Spain

Pensions from public social security schemes and other public retirement benefits are declared as employment income (article 17.2.a of the Spanish Personal Income Tax Act); for private pensions, the classification depends on the type of scheme and is checked against its documents. Because the Italian payer is not obliged to withhold Spanish tax, according to the Spanish Tax Agency’s leaflet, the employment income threshold that triggers the duty to file falls from 22,000 to 15,876 euros (article 96.2.a and 3.c); a pension that is exempt in Spain is not taken into account for the duty to file (same leaflet). For income that Italy may tax under the convention, Spain allows a deduction for the tax paid there, not exceeding the part of the Spanish tax attributable to that income (article 22.3 of the convention and article 80 of the Act). Anyone entitled to that deduction must file in any case (article 96.4).

What we do

We check whether you are resident in Spain in the relevant year, which Italian pensions you receive, who pays them and whether any of them is a public service pension, and we declare them in your Spanish return. If Italy asks you to prove you live in Spain, we request the Spanish tax residence certificate. If you arrive this year, we look at it together with your tax residence in the year you move.

Official sources

Convention between Spain and Italy for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and the prevention of fiscal evasion, signed in Rome on 8 September 1977 (Spanish Official Gazette of 22 December 1980, BOE-A-1980-27501; in force since 14 November 1980), articles 3.1.h, 18, 19 and 22. Spanish Personal Income Tax Act (Law 35/2006), articles 17.2.a (in force since 6 February 2020), 80 and 96 (in force since 23 January 2025). Texts in the Spanish Official Gazette (BOE), consulted on 24 October 2026.

Spanish Tax Agency: leaflet “Residentes con rentas extranjeras: Italia” (page updated on 8 April 2026, consulted on 24 October 2026).