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Tax · Spain

Sanción tributaria: the tax fine, and why the reductions are the key numbers

This is a fine for a tax infraction — most often for having paid less tax than due, discovered in a previous checking procedure. Spanish law rewards not fighting it: accepting the underlying liquidación cuts 30%, and paying promptly without appealing cuts a further 40% of the remainder.

How serious: needs actionAlso called: expediente sancionador de Hacienda, sanción de Hacienda, multa de Hacienda, procedimiento sancionador abreviado

The sanción arrives as a separate letter after the liquidación that closed the checking procedure. Normally an inicio/propuesta de sanción with the calculated fine comes first, then the acuerdo de imposición confirming it.

The letter classifies the infraction (leve, grave or muy grave), cites the infraction article — usually art. 191 LGT — and shows the base fine together with the reducciones and the resulting final amounts.

The two reductions are the core of the system: 30% for conformidad with the underlying regularisation, and 40% of the remainder for prompt payment without appeal. Both are conditional and can be clawed back.

Who sends it

The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) — Spain's national tax agency.

AEAT letterhead; the words 'expediente sancionador', 'propuesta de imposición de sanción' or 'acuerdo de imposición de sanción'. It cites the infraction article (usually art. 191 LGT), classifies the infraction as leve, grave or muy grave, and shows the base fine and the reducciones (30% conformidad, 40% pronto pago) with the final amounts.

The deadline

15 days of alegaciones against the propuesta (RD 2063/2004 art. 23.5); once the sanción is imposed: pay in the art. 62.2 LGT window and/or appeal within one month (Ley 58/2003 art. 223.1)

There are 15 days of alegaciones against the propuesta, counted from the day after its notification (RD 2063/2004 art. 23.5). Once the sanción is imposed, payment is due in the art. 62.2 LGT window and/or an appeal can be filed within one month (Ley 58/2003 art. 223.1), counted from the day after notification of the acuerdo.

If you do nothing

Doing nothing after the acuerdo keeps both reductions only if payment actually arrives in the art. 62.2 window: the 40% pronto-pago reduction requires full payment in that window and no appeal (Ley 58/2003 art. 188.3). With neither payment nor appeal, the 40% reduction is clawed back (art. 188.3); the 30% conformidad reduction is demanded back only if the regularisation itself is appealed (art. 188.2.b). The unpaid sanción becomes final after one month and enters período ejecutivo with 5-20% recargos (arts. 28, 161).

Compute your date

The rule above is what the law sets. Put in the dates on your own letter and it becomes a date.

That date is on the envelope or the delivery stamp, not in the letter — enter it and we count the deadline for you.

How it escalates

  1. 01The 40% pronto-pago reduction is lost, because it is conditional on payment within the art. 62.2 window (art. 188.3.a); the 30% conformidad reduction is also demanded back if the regularisation was appealed (art. 188.2.b).
  2. 02The unpaid sanción becomes firme after one month and enters período ejecutivo with recargos of 5%/10%/20% plus interest (arts. 28 and 161).
  3. 03A providencia de apremio and then embargo of accounts and assets follow the standard collection ladder (arts. 167-169).

Your options, procedurally

  • Alegaciones against the propuesta can be filed within 15 days (RD 2063/2004 art. 23.5), online with the CSV via 'Presentación de alegaciones sobre expediente sancionador'.
  • The reduced amount can be accepted and paid within the art. 62.2 window, keeping the 30% + 40% reductions (Ley 58/2003 art. 188).
  • A recurso de reposición (one month) or reclamación económico-administrativa (one month) can be filed — this forfeits the 40% reduction and, if directed at the liquidación, also the 30%.
  • Appealing a sanción suspends its collection automatically, without guarantees, until it is final in administrative proceedings; interposition in time also blocks the período ejecutivo (Ley 58/2003 arts. 212.3 and 161.2).
  • Aplazamiento or fraccionamiento of the fine can be requested like any tax debt.

How to respond

Response types

  • Ask for clarificationAlegaciones al expediente sancionador (contra la propuesta de imposición de sanción) · RD 2063/2004, art. 23.5 (plazo de 15 días de alegaciones); Ley 58/2003, art. 210.4
  • File the objectionRecurso de reposición o reclamación económico-administrativa ante el TEAR/TEAC contra el acuerdo de imposición de sanción (vías alternativas) · Ley 58/2003, arts. 222-223 (plazo de un mes); art. 212.3 (suspensión automática sin garantía de la sanción recurrida) | Ley 58/2003, arts. 226, 235.1 y 235.3
  • Confirm paymentPago de la sanción reducida en periodo voluntario (reducciones del 30% y del 40%) · Ley 58/2003, art. 188 (reducciones) y art. 62.2 (plazo de ingreso en periodo voluntario)
  • Ask for instalmentsSolicitud de aplazamiento o fraccionamiento de pago de la deuda · Ley 58/2003, art. 65; Orden HFP/311/2023 (exención de garantías hasta 50.000 €)

Where and how

  • Electronic office of the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT)
  • Electronic registry of the receiving administration or body (its electronic office)
  • Correos offices — filing in an open envelope (art. 16.4.b Ley 39/2015)
  • Registry assistance offices (OAMR) — in person, usually by appointment
  • Spanish diplomatic missions or consular offices abroad
  • Ordinary email
  • Fax

What makes it count

A reply counts as filed on time if it enters a valid registry — an electronic registry (the electronic office's official date-and-time stamp, available 24 hours a day, every day of the year), a Correos office in an open envelope (date, hour and minute of acceptance), a registry assistance office, or a consulate — within the last day of the deadline; what counts is the date it was filed or accepted, not the date it reaches the competent body.

Common questions

How do the 30% and 40% reductions work?

The 30% reduction rewards conformidad — accepting the underlying liquidación. The 40% reduction applies to the remainder and requires full payment within the art. 62.2 window and no appeal (Ley 58/2003 art. 188). Both are conditional: appealing or not paying triggers claw-backs.

Does appealing the fine make things worse while the appeal runs?

Appealing a sanción suspends its collection automatically and without guarantees until it is final in administrative proceedings (art. 212.3). What is lost by appealing is the 40% reduction — and the 30% too if the appeal targets the liquidación.

What happens with no payment and no appeal?

The 40% reduction is clawed back, the sanción becomes final after one month, and the unpaid amount enters período ejecutivo with 5-20% surcharges, followed by the standard collection ladder.

Sources

Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.