Saving in Spain is more expensive than in most of its neighboring countries. Not because banks charge more, but because the Treasury keeps a larger portion of what that money yields.
In Spain, one euro invested in a deposit, a fund, or a stock portfolio pays more taxes on average than the same euro invested in the rest of the European Union. This extra cost explains, in part, why so many Spanish families prefer to leave their savings idle in a current account rather than putting them to work.
This is confirmed by the report 'The taxation of financial savings in Spain. Current situation and proposals for improvement and reform', jointly prepared by the Institute of Economic Studies (IEE) and EFPA Spain with the participation of entities such as Banco Santander, Cuatrecasas, and KPMG.
The study places the effective taxation on financial products in Spain at 22%, compared to 14% on average in the European Union. Thus, the Spanish percentage is 57.1% higher than the EU community average.
The lawyer Abel Marín Riaguas, founding partner of Marín & Mateo Abogados, agrees with the diagnosis: "It is better seen in the inventory of an inheritance than in any statistic: couples who saved for decades and whose final assets are reduced to a couple of properties and a current account that has lost purchasing power in silence, without funds, stocks, or any planning".
The report estimates Spanish savings immobilized in non-interest-bearing accounts at one trillion euros
The maximum marginal rate of the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) on savings income in Spain reaches 30%, twelve points above the community average (18%). For pension plans, the country maintains fiscal neutrality of 0% on contributions, compared to the negative average effective rate of the EU (-23%) and the OECD (-26%), with a withdrawal that is taxed as labor income and can reach marginal rates of 47%.
For Marín Riaguas, this framework disproportionately punishes those with less room to avoid it: "While large fortunes have access to specialized structures and advice, it is the middle-income saver, with a salary, housing, and a deposit, who bears the highest effective rate in relative terms".
The gap is confirmed by income level: accounts and deposits represent 48% of the financial portfolio in households with lower incomes, compared to only 19% in those with higher incomes, which do incorporate unlisted shares and participations. The limitation of deductible contributions to pension plans, set at 1,500 euros from January 2026, aggravates this equation, and a survey by EFPA Spain among more than 260 certified advisors places the expansion of these limits as the first reform priority.
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