Modelo 720: declare assets and rights abroad

What you need to have to hand

1. NIF and access method: Cl@ve, certificado digital or DNIe.
2. List of accounts outside Spain: numbers, bank, country, date opened, balance as at 31/12 and average balance for the last quarter.
3. Your securities/shares/funds/insurance/pensions abroad: ISIN or identifier, custodian/insurer, country, number of units/participation and value as at 31/12.
4. Properties abroad: address, country, date and purchase value, percentage of ownership and, if sold, date of deregistration.
5. Official exchange rate at 31/12 to convert everything to euros.

Documentation

• Bank statements showing balance at 31/12 and average balance for Q4.
• Custody certificates or broker reports for securities and funds.
• Policies or certificates of surrender/rescue value for insurance as at 31/12.
• Deeds or purchase/sale contracts for properties (and tax receipts if they help prove values/dates).
• Proofs of closure/cancellation of accounts or assets if applicable.

Step by step

1. Go to the AEAT: sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es > Declaraciones informativas > Modelo 720.
2. Identify yourself with Cl@ve, certificado or DNIe and open “Presentación ejercicio [año]”.
3. Choose Formulario web (fast) or TGVI online if you upload a large file.
4. Fill only the blocks that apply to you (1 accounts, 2 securities/insurance, 3 properties). Work out first if you exceed 50.000€ per block.
5. Convert amounts to euros using the 31/12 exchange rate. Check dates, countries and percentage of ownership.
6. Validate. If you are correcting a previous filing, mark complementaria or sustitutiva and reference the prior receipt.
7. Sign and submit. Download the receipt with CSV and keep a copy of what you filed.

Time-saving tricks

• Make a spreadsheet by blocks with sums and conversions to euros. It avoids silly mistakes.
• If a block doesn't reach 50.000€, don't declare it (more data = more hassle).
• If the bank/broker provides figures in another currency, note the exchange rate you use and keep a screenshot.
• If you're authorised on someone else's account, consider whether to keep that authorisation. It can drag you into the 720.
• The AEAT form is picky: use Chrome/Firefox without blockers or odd extensions.

Common mistakes that will mess you up

• Filing out of deadline (1 January–31 March): expect penalties, even if they are no longer the extreme ones.
• Declaring everything every year when nothing changed: you only repeat if the block rises by 20.000€ or there are new/closed items.
• Forgetting the average balance for the last quarter in accounts: you'll get errors or missing key data.
• Not converting correctly to euros at 31/12: mismatches and follow-up requests.
• Putting cryptocurrencies in Modelo 720: they belong in Modelo 721.
• Not saving the CSV of the submission: if they ask and you don't have it, it's a pain to retrieve.