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

The general rule: it is taxed in Spain

Pensions and other similar remuneration paid to an individual who is a resident of a State may be taxed only in that State (article 17 of the Spain–United Kingdom double taxation convention, in force since 12 June 2014). If you are resident in Spain, your UK pension is taxed here and not there. The UK itself lists the State Pension, work pensions and purchased annuities on the form a Spanish resident uses to ask for UK tax not to be deducted.

The exception: public service pensions

Pensions paid by the UK State, its political subdivisions or local authorities, either directly or out of funds created by them, for services rendered to them are taxable only in the UK, unless the pensioner is both resident in Spain and a Spanish national, in which case they are taxable only in Spain (article 18.2 of the convention). Someone who also holds Spanish nationality is a Spanish national for this purpose (article 3.1.j). Those paid for services rendered in connection with a business carried on by the State follow the general rule (article 18.3). Where a government pension is taxed only in the UK, Spain may take it into account when calculating the tax on the rest of your income (article 22.1.b).

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; annuities purchased from an insurer, for example, are generally investment income, unless they must be taxed as employment income (articles 17.2.a and 25.3). Because the UK 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 exempt in Spain is not taken into account for the duty to file, according to the Spanish Tax Agency’s leaflet, and anyone entitled to the international double taxation deduction must file in any case (article 96.4). That deduction only covers what the UK may tax under the convention (article 80 of the Act and article 22.1.a of the convention); if UK tax was deducted from a pension the convention assigns to Spain, it is not credited in the Spanish return: it is reclaimed from HMRC.

If the UK keeps deducting tax

To stop UK tax being deducted, or to reclaim it, you send HMRC form “DT-Individual Spain” (version HMRC 10/22), together with the Spanish tax residence certificate issued by the Spanish Tax Agency. Our guide to the Spanish tax residence certificate explains how it is obtained.

What we do

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

Official sources

Convention between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the avoidance of double taxation, signed in London on 14 March 2013 (Spanish Official Gazette of 15 May 2014, BOE-A-2014-5171; in force since 12 June 2014), articles 3.1.j, 17, 18 and 22. Spanish Personal Income Tax Act (Law 35/2006), articles 17.2.a (in force since 6 February 2020), 25.3, 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: Reino Unido” (page updated on 8 April 2026, consulted on 24 October 2026). HMRC: form “DT-Individual Spain”, Application for relief at source from UK Income Tax and claim for repayment of UK Income Tax, version HMRC 10/22 (consulted on 24 October 2026).