What it means when your tax return is being processed in Spain

So you’ve already filed your income tax return and are eagerly awaiting your refund—but when you consult the Spanish Tax Agency's website, it simply says that your return is being processed. Don’t despair! Your money will arrive soon. While you’re waiting, learn about deadlines and processing stages for your income tax refund in this helpful guide.

If you’ve completed your personal income tax return and are eligible for a refund, you’ll have to apply for it and wait for the tax authorities (finance ministry) to carry out some checks before they transfer your money. This can take awhile, but if you still haven’t received your refund six months after you’ve filed, you’re entitled to a late payment of 3.75% of the balance.

However, before we get to issuing refunds, let’s take a look at what steps need to be carried out to approve refunds in the first place. On the Tax Agency’s website, after identifying yourself with your digital certificate—your Cl@ve PIN or DNI—you can check the status of your application by clicking on the “My files” tab. Depending on the processing stage of your tax return, one of the following notifications will appear each time you click on the “Processing status” section:

This is the first notification shown during the refund process. It means that the documentation sent has been received and is pending review.

If you get this notification, there may be an issue with your submission. Check if you filed your information correctly, or contact the Tax Agency.

Your return has been saved in the relevant administration’s computer system and data such as income, expenses, and deductions are being verified in order to authorize the refund.

Your data has been checked and verified. Now, your payment just needs to be authorized and so that the transfer can be made to your bank account.

If you receive this notification on the AEAT website, it’s most likely that the data contained in your tax return doesn’t match that of the Tax Administration, or that your tax return contains an error. In the following days, you should receive a notification with the corrections applied, or a request to send additional documentation.

Your return has been correctly completed, but your tax debts need to be calculated before the refund can be authorized. If you have not yet paid your real estate tax (IBI) or road tax—or if you’ve been given a speeding ticket, the refund will first be used to settle your debts. If there’s still money left over after your debts to the Tax Administration are paid, the remaining amount will be transferred to your account.

Good news—you’re about to receive your refund! This is the last notification you will see before you receive your money. If you still haven’t received your money 10 days after getting this notification, please contact your bank or local Tax Agency 

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N26 is the first neobank to allow all customers to pay the vast majority of their taxes and other fees to the Spanish Tax Authorities (AEAT) or to the Social Security in-app. Catch up on your taxes by tapping the Send money tab. Then, select Other payments and tap Payments to AEAT. You can also get your income tax refunds deposited right into your N26 bank account.

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