{"id":5539,"date":"2025-12-12T11:59:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T10:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/blog\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T12:04:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T11:04:06","slug":"taxes-on-christmas-lottery-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/taxes-on-christmas-lottery-in-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tax Office: the real big winner of the Christmas \u201cEl Gordo\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>These days, almost everyone has a d\u00e9cimo (a one-tenth lottery ticket) or a slip for the Christmas \u201cEl Gordo\u201d draw. But do we realize that the Tax Office is playing along with us, too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we explain clearly \u2014 with figures \u2014 how Christmas \u201cEl Gordo\u201d winnings are taxed, which taxes apply, which mistakes to avoid, and what choices you can make so you don\u2019t pay more than you should and can plan properly for that unexpected windfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Christmas \u201cEl Gordo\u201d taxes: when you pay tax and when you\u2019re exempt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>These days, almost everyone has a d\u00e9cimo or a slip for the Christmas \u201cEl Gordo\u201d draw. But do we realize that the Tax Office is playing along with us, too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Current rules on the special levy on prizes set the threshold for paying tax (or not) at \u20ac40,000. Let\u2019s look at the different scenarios:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If the <strong>prize is \u20ac40,000 or less<\/strong>: there\u2019s nothing to worry about \u2014 you\u2019re exempt from tax.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the <strong>prize is over \u20ac40,000<\/strong>: this is where the Tax Office steps in, applying a 20% tax on the amount above \u20ac40,000.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happens if you share the ticket?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If the d\u00e9cimo has joint owners, the same rules apply, but with a couple of differences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If the <strong>prize is \u20ac40,000 or less<\/strong>: it\u2019s treated the same as a single owner \u2014 you\u2019re exempt.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the <strong>prize is over \u20ac40,000<\/strong>: the exempt amount is split proportionally according to each person\u2019s percentage share of the ticket.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What if the prize is non-cash (a prize in kind)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If your slip is for draws where the prize isn\u2019t money (a TV, a car, a house, etc.), the calculation gets more complicated. The law states that the taxable base used to calculate the tax is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Market value of the item \u2212 the exempt amount \u2212 the withholding payment made on your behalf<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The market value is the price the item would sell for.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The exempt amount is \u20ac40,000.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The withholding payment is the amount the organizer has paid to the Tax Office on your behalf. This withholding is 20% once you subtract the exempt amount from the market value.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Christmas-lottery-and-tax.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Christmas-lottery-and-tax.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.gco.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Christmas-lottery-and-tax-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.gco.es\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Christmas-lottery-and-tax-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When do you have to pay this tax?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In general, the paying entity will automatically deduct this withheld amount before handing over the prize. If they don\u2019t, you must file the relevant tax form at the time the prize is paid or credited. Anyone who doesn\u2019t exceed the \u20ac40,000 exemption, or where the withholding payment has already been made, is exempt from filing that tax form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, see Law <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boe.es\/buscar\/act.php?id=BOE-A-2006-20764\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">35\/2006<\/a> of 28 November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Christmas \u201cEl Gordo\u201d and taxes: smart choices so you don\u2019t pay more than you should<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Winning the Christmas \u201cEl Gordo\u201d can make your day\u2026 and it can also complicate your year if you don\u2019t understand how the taxes work. Knowing what\u2019s exempt, how much the Tax Office withholds, whether you need to report the prize (or not), and what it means if the ticket is shared or registered in a company\u2019s name helps you protect your winnings and avoid nasty surprises with the Tax Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve won a significant prize or you\u2019re weighing up how to manage it personally or through a business, don\u2019t make tax decisions based on guesswork \u2014 or just what people say around the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At GCO, we have a team of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/tax-advisory\/\">tax advisers<\/a> who can help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Review the real impact of the prize on your tax situation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plan how to invest or allocate the money in the most tax-efficient way.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid issues with the Tax Office related to shared tickets, gifts\/donations, or companies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019d like us to review your case or your company\u2019s situation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/contact\/\">get in touch<\/a> and we\u2019ll go through it with you step by step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These days, almost everyone has a d\u00e9cimo (a one-tenth lottery ticket) or a slip for the Christmas \u201cEl Gordo\u201d draw. But do we realize that the Tax Office is playing along with us, too? In this article, we explain clearly \u2014 with figures \u2014 how Christmas \u201cEl Gordo\u201d winnings are taxed, which taxes apply, which [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tax"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5539"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5567,"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5539\/revisions\/5567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gco.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}