Spanish tax agency does not require advance notice of cash withdrawals

Claims that people in Spain have to notify the country’s tax agency at least 24 hours before they want to withdraw more than €3,000 (£2,500) in cash, or else face a fine of up to €150,000 (£126,300), are circulating on social media.

But Spain’s Ministry of Finance told Full Fact this is not true, explaining that “it's completely false that the Tax Agency requests advance notice of withdrawals”.

However, it’s true that the banks themselves, not customers, have to notify the tax agency if a cash withdrawal of this amount is made.

The country’s central bank also recommends customers give notice if they want to withdraw more than this amount, to ensure the bank has enough cash available. We found at least one Spanish bank that says customers need to talk to a bank employee to make a withdrawal of this size.

What do the posts claim?

The graphic being shared says: “España [Spanish for Spain] Notice of Cash Withdrawal.

“If you wish to withdraw more than €3,000 in cash, you must notify the Tax Agency at least 24 hours in advance of the withdrawal.

“You must also specify the purpose of the withdrawal.

“Failure to comply with this requirement may result in fines of up to €150,000.”

It has been shared with captions such as “This is insane” and “This is another nail in the coffin for freedom and democracy in Europe”.

But as others have explained, these posts appear to be confused about the obligations that banks (not individuals) have to report on withdrawals over €3,000, as stated in Spanish law.

The law says that “credit institutions and other entities that, in accordance with current regulations, are dedicated to banking or credit transactions [...] must include in the informative declaration of the contributions, provisions of funds and collections of any document, when their amount is greater than 3,000 euros” as well as the name and tax ID number of the person carrying out the transaction.

Spain’s Ministry of Finance told Full Fact this order “establishes an information obligation for banks” not for citizens, and is “used for tax control purposes”.

The treasury added: “It’s completely false that the Tax Agency requests advance notice of withdrawals. Nor do users have to notify us afterward.”

However, according to Spain’s central bank, customers may be asked to give their bank notice in case there is not enough cash available to withdraw. It therefore recommends customers give notice if they want to withdraw more than €3,000, although the maximum amount available will depend on each bank.

Spanish bank CaixaBank said in 2023: “In principle, there is no legal limit for withdrawing money from an ATM. However, if you want to withdraw more than €3,000 at a time,  you will need to speak to a bank employee  and prepare a receipt, which will be sent to both the Tax Agency and the Bank of Spain.”

It adds that the tax agency “recommends that banks inquire when the amount exceeds 1,000 euros, in order to combat tax fraud and money laundering”.

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