A BRITISH resident in Barcelona has warned expats against self-employment in Spain as millions of bank accounts nationwide face unprecedented scrutiny from the national tax agency starting next year.
In an interview with The iPaper, seafood consultant Neil Wendover, originally from Bristol, said Brits should “choose a different country” if they want to go freelance.
It came amid a government crackdown on tax fraud, which granted Spain’s Agencia Tributaria sweeping new powers to inspect millions more bank accounts – and even Bizum payments for small amounts – from January 1, 2026.
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Wendover, who has faced three tax inspections in two years as an autonomo in Spain, said: “I love everything about Spain except this. It truly makes life difficult.”
When he moved to Spain in 2022, Wendover only paid 24% income tax as a staff worker for an American company.
This was thanks to the Beckham law – a regulation set up to the benefit of the former Real Madrid midfielder, which capped income tax for foreign workers in a bid to attract talent from abroad.
But one year later, Wendover went freelance – and became subject to an eye-watering 45% tax rate.
The consultant went through all three inspections unscathed, but said the process was “brutal” – workers only have 10 days to file all the paperwork the Agencia Tributaria demands.
Alistair Spence Clarke, an accountant with Marbella’s Spence Clarke firm, explained to The iPaper that “more data means more inspections,” and the Agencia Tributaria is now set to access much more tax information than ever before.
From next year onwards, banks will be required to provide the tax agency with detailed breakdowns of their holders’ account balances, deposits, withdrawals, loans, and all card and digital payments.
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This includes all payments made via credit and debit cards – as well as mobile payment apps such as Bizum.
Before 2026, banks in Spain were required to report only certain large transactions, loans, or cash movements to the tax authorities – and account summaries were submitted once a year.
Card and Bizum transactions under €3,000 did not need to be disclosed to the Agencia Tributaria.
But under the new rules, banks will have to report all card and Bizum transactions, regardless of the amount – and monthly rather than annually.
The Agencia Tributaria will also be able to cross-check bank reports on Bizum payments with tax returns, and any mismatches could lead to inspections or fines, authorities have warned.
The move comes after the government identified gaps in previous reporting systems, which it said allowed some income to go unreported.
In 2022 alone, the Agencia Tributaria failed to collect around €4.5 billion due to fraud, evasion, or errors, data has shown.
But last year, the agency recovered nearly €19 billion through roughly 2 million inspections – a 13% increase compared with 2023, marking a decisive step toward stricter oversight.
The latest regulation, which came into force in April this year, further tightens the Agencia Tributaria’s control over the country’s finances – in a move the government hopes will unlock previously untapped sources of revenue.
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