Tax · Spain
Propuesta de liquidación provisional ('la paralela'): a draft, not yet a bill
The propuesta de liquidación is the AEAT's draft recalculation of one of your tax returns — popularly called 'la paralela'. It is a proposal, not yet a bill: there is a short window to argue back before it is converted into a liquidación provisional.
How serious: needs actionAlso called: paralela, declaración paralela, propuesta de liquidación IRPF, carta de la paralela
The letter prints the agency's figures in a column parallel to yours — hence the popular name 'la paralela'. It means the AEAT believes the return contains an error or omission, such as undeclared income or a rejected deduction, and proposes a new result.
The proposed result usually means extra tax to pay or a smaller refund. But at this stage nothing is owed yet: the document is a proposal, not an assessment.
What the letter grants is a window for alegaciones — written arguments and supporting documents. After that window, the AEAT decides and, if it maintains its figures, issues the liquidación provisional.
Who sends it
The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) — Spain's national tax agency, through its Gestión Tributaria department.
AEAT letterhead; the title 'Propuesta de liquidación provisional', often 'con trámite de alegaciones'. Two columns of figures compare 'datos declarados' with 'datos calculados por la Administración'. It cites the tax (for example IRPF) and the year, states a 10-day period for alegaciones, and carries an expediente number and CSV code.
The deadline
10 days to file alegaciones, counted from the day after notification of the proposal (RD 1065/2007, arts. 155.3 and 164.4: 'en un plazo de 10 días, contados a partir del día siguiente al de la notificación de la propuesta')
There are 10 days to file alegaciones, counted from the day after the propuesta is notified (RD 1065/2007, arts. 155.3 and 164.4).
If you do nothing
The procedure simply moves on: the AEAT issues the liquidación provisional on the terms of the proposal (Ley 58/2003 arts. 132.3 and 138.3 require only that the chance to be heard was given). The assessment then has to be paid within the art. 62.2 LGT window, and at that stage arguments can no longer change the figures — only a later recurso can.
How it escalates
- 01The propuesta is confirmed as a liquidación provisional with the proposed amount (Ley 58/2003 arts. 132-133, 138-139).
- 02The liquidación must be paid in the voluntary window of art. 62.2 LGT: notified between the 1st and 15th, until the 20th of the next month; notified between the 16th and month-end, until the 5th of the second month.
- 03Unpaid, the debt enters período ejecutivo the day after that window ends (art. 161.1.a) with recargos of 5%, 10% or 20% (art. 28), then providencia de apremio and embargo.
- 04If the regularisation reveals an infraction, a separate expediente sancionador can be opened within six months of the liquidación (art. 209.2).
Common questions
Why is it called 'la paralela'?
Because the letter prints the AEAT's figures in a column parallel to the figures from your own return, so the two calculations sit side by side.
Is this already a bill?
No. It is a proposal. Only after the alegaciones window does the AEAT convert it into a liquidación provisional, which is the actual assessment with a payment deadline.
What if nothing is filed in the 10 days?
The AEAT issues the liquidación on the terms of the proposal. It then has to be paid within the art. 62.2 LGT window, and only a later recurso can challenge the figures.
Can the figures still be challenged after the liquidación arrives?
Yes — through a recurso de reposición within one month (art. 223.1) or a reclamación económico-administrativa within one month (art. 235.1), one or the other.
Sources
Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.