Tax residency under temporary protection

The question "have I become a tax resident?" comes up in Ukrainian groups more often than you would think: people obtained protection, keep working for Ukrainian clients or receive income from Ukraine, and do not know where to pay taxes. Below is what the law says and how the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) reads it. This is not individual tax advice: if you have a business, property or accounts in several countries, show your documents to a tax adviser.

The two criteria of art. 9 LIRPF

Article 9 of Law 35/2006 says that a taxpayer has their habitual residence in Spain if either of two conditions is met:

1. More than 183 days a year. You are in Spanish territory for more than 183 days during the calendar year. Sporadic absences (holidays, a trip to Ukraine) still count as days in Spain — they can be excluded only by proving that you are a tax resident of another country.
2. Centre of economic interests. The "main core or base" of your activities or economic interests is in Spain, directly or indirectly: your main job, business, main source of income.

On top of this comes the family presumption: if your spouse (not legally separated) and dependent minor children habitually live in Spain, the law presumes that you are a resident too — unless you prove otherwise.

Important details:

• The calendar year is what counts (it is also the tax period, art. 12 LIRPF), not 12 months from arrival. If you arrived in October, you most likely did not reach the day threshold in the first year. But if you stayed, you reach it the following year.
• Any single condition is enough. You can spend 120 days in Spain and still be a resident if your main source of income is here.
• Neither the bank nor the immigration office counts your days. You will have to prove your presence yourself — tickets, stamps, statements.

A certificate from Ukraine does not exempt you from Spanish residency

A common mistake: "I got a certificate that I am a tax resident of Ukraine, so I don't pay taxes in Spain." That is not how it works. Spanish residency is determined by Spanish law. The certificate does not override art. 9 LIRPF.

It works somewhere else — when both countries consider you their resident. Between Spain and Ukraine, the Convention for the avoidance of double taxation signed with the USSR in Madrid on 1 March 1985 is in force (BOE of 22 September 1986, in force since 7 August 1986). There is no new convention with Ukraine: the consolidated BOE text notes that the convention currently applies only to Ukraine and Tajikistan, and the AEAT's list of countries with a convention still shows it for Ukraine (check the list before deciding — if a new convention appears, the rules will change). For dual residency, art. 1.3 of the convention sets a sequence: a permanent home available to you, then the centre of vital interests (personal and economic ties), then habitual abode, then nationality; if that does not settle it either, the tax authorities of the two countries decide by agreement (art. 20).

One detail for remote employees: even if this sequence makes you a resident of Ukraine, art. 12 of the convention lets Spain tax salary for work physically performed on its territory when you spent more than 183 days here in the tax year. How that maps onto your contract is a question for an adviser.

What the DGT answered: a Ukrainian under protection working for Ukraine

There is a ruling from the Directorate-General for Taxation (DGT) on exactly our situation: V0442-23 of 27 February 2023. A Ukrainian self-employed worker moved to Spain in March 2022 with his family, works remotely, invoices Ukrainian clients, receives the money in a Spanish account and considers himself a tax resident of Ukraine.

The answer has two parts:

• If he spent more than 183 days in Spain in the calendar year (the DGT was looking at 2022), he is an IRPF taxpayer under Spanish law and pays on worldwide income — regardless of where the income arose or where the payer is.
• If Ukraine also considers him a resident, the dispute is settled under art. 1.3 of the 1985 convention, not by the taxpayer's own declaration.

The ruling concerns a specific case and is not law, but it shows how the AEAT applies art. 9 to people on temporary protection.

What changes if you are a tax resident

• Tax on worldwide income. A resident pays IRPF on all income earned in any country, including a Ukrainian salary, pension or rent.
• Tax return (Renta). Whether you must file depends on the thresholds of art. 96 LIRPF. For employment income: up to €22,000 per year from a single payer you may skip filing. The threshold drops to €15,876 (art. 96.3) if there are several payers and the amount from the second and subsequent ones exceeds €1,500, and also if the payer is not obliged to withhold Spanish tax at source — the usual situation for a foreign employer that does not operate in Spain through an establishment (art. 76 of the IRPF Regulation lists who must withhold; check your own case with an adviser). For capital income subject to withholding the threshold is €1,600; the general lower limit is €1,000 of total income. Self-employed people (autónomos) registered in RETA for even one day of the year always file, whatever their income; the same goes for anyone claiming the deduction for international double taxation. The campaign for 2025 ran from 8 April to 30 June 2026 (Orden HAC/277/2026); the current dates are in the AEAT calendar.
• Assets abroad. Residents with significant accounts or assets abroad (including Ukrainian bank accounts) must file the informational return Modelo 720 if, in any of three groups — bank accounts, securities and insurance, real estate — the total value on 31 December exceeds €50,000 (for accounts the average balance of the last quarter is checked too). The filing window is 1 January to 31 March of the following year; for 2025 it closed on 31 March 2026. You file again only if the figure grew by more than €20,000 compared with the last return filed. The rules are in RD 1065/2007, arts. 42 bis, 42 ter and 54 bis; check the AEAT page before filing.

Common mistakes

1. Assuming protection or the TIE "exempts" you from taxes. It does not: the criteria are tax criteria.
2. Counting days from arrival instead of by calendar year.
3. Ignoring the "centre of interests". Fewer than 183 days is no guarantee: a main income from Spain makes you a resident.
4. Relying on the Ukrainian certificate. It does not override Spanish law.
5. Not filing a return because "the income comes from Ukraine". A resident pays on worldwide income.
6. Measuring a salary from a Ukrainian employer against the €22,000 threshold. If the employer does not withhold Spanish tax, your threshold is €15,876; for an autónomo registered in RETA there is no threshold at all.

Next steps

If you are still obtaining your status, start with the guide Temporary protection: how to apply. If you plan to move to regular residence, read From temporary protection to residence. On the NIE number and its role, see the guide NIE for Ukrainians.