Spain: Withdraw Over €3,000 Cash Without Telling the Tax Man? You Risk Massive Fines

[nobel]

I hate cash anyway; I never withdraw money. Everything only by credit card. Collect points, cashback, air miles....
Cash is annoying because it's difficult to use. Shops refuse 100 EUR, 200 EUR notes, etc. Coins are also annoying, heavy and not hygienic.

 

[cuno]

Cash itself can be inconvenient, sure, but the freedom it gives you to buy things without anyone else knowing is becoming increasingly rare.

When you pay for everything with a card or other digital methods, you leave a trail everywhere, and you're basically giving permission for all kinds of institutions to use your data in ways you might not even be aware of.

Personally, I’m just tired of all the surveillance.

btw. crypto is the way of freedom as long as freedom last.

 

[CEOz]

Crypto is a must.

 

[JosephLL]

I hate cash anyway; I never withdraw money. Everything only by credit card. Collect points, cashback, air miles....
Cash is annoying because it's difficult to use. Shops refuse 100 EUR, 200 EUR notes, etc. Coins are also annoying, heavy and not hygienic.

Cash is the only lawful money. There is another medium called "reserves" ( ofc nothing has been "reserved" but anyway..) which should not concern you brcause they never circulate among us non-banks.

So, what you find hygienic is actually **not money by any law**, but a promise from a **private** entity.

The end goal of that private entity is actually to cut your ba..ls and replace it with a synthetic p...y.

 

[marioIT]

The decree targets banks and fintechs, not ordinary account‑holders.

What Royal Decree 253/2025 actually does:​

• Requires banks, e‑money institutions and card issuers to file:
  • Monthly reports of cash deposits, withdrawals, loans and account balances over €3,000.
  • Monthly reports of merchant card payments (the old €3,000 annual threshold disappears).
  • Annual reports on all card activity—charges, reloads and ATM cash, unless the card moves less than €25,000 a year.
• Extends the duty to foreign fintechs serving Spanish residents.
• Shifts most of the workload from yearly to monthly filings, tightening AEAT’s risk‑analysis window from 12 months to roughly 30 days.

The headline €150,000 figure is the maximum administrative penalty the AEAT can impose on entities that systematically fail to file or falsify the new reports.
Private customers are not in scope.
(now they will catch you quicker if you go over those thresholds as it will be reported monthly...)

https://cryptoslate.com/spain-demands-tighter-bank-oversight-fuels-bitcoin-appeal/
https://www.thelocal.es/20250513/fact-check-no-spain-does-not-fine-you-for-withdrawing-e3000

 

[Wysywyg]

Cash itself can be inconvenient, sure, but the freedom it gives you to buy things without anyone else knowing is becoming increasingly rare.

When you pay for everything with a card or other digital methods, you leave a trail everywhere, and you're basically giving permission for all kinds of institutions to use your data in ways you might not even be aware of.

Personally, I’m just tired of all the surveillance.

btw. crypto is the way of freedom as long as freedom last.

The tighter the regs, the more crypto and shadow banking (e.g. hawala) become.

 

[cuno]

Unfortunately, I believe that crypto will also eventually be subject to regulation, making it increasingly difficult to use coins that aren’t fully transparent. Right now, authorities across Europe are waging an open war on cash, and crypto will be next.

 

[CEOz]

I am sure zcash, monero will be the next target.

 

[uplana]

The headline €150,000 figure is the maximum administrative penalty the AEAT can impose on entities that systematically fail to file or falsify the new reports.
Private customers are not in scope.

I figured as much, the rest was probably just a headline meant to grab attention and drive clicks.

 

[Cetme308win]

I'm spaniard and a lot of people here when being asked by the banker why they are withdrawing so much money they are saying literally "It's for c0caine and pr*stitutes lmao".
Bankers are like 'ewww we cannot write that" and these people reply them "no way, you should write exactly that f*ing way"

 

[Reytonne]

Take a look at these so-called “freedom and democracy” countries in Europe. What a joke.

If your money is in your hand as cash, congratulations. It’s actually yours. You can spend it however you want. Imagine that.

But the second it hits a bank, it’s no longer just yours. Now it belongs to you, the bank, and the almighty government. And of course, they say it’s to fight money laundering. Right. What they’re really doing is using that excuse to take control of your money.

This is exactly why crypto was born. So you don’t have to ask anyone for permission to use what already belongs to you.

European leaders should be ashamed of themselves. Instead, they keep pretending to save the world while acting like total control freaks.

Tear up those European passports. They’re not worth the paper they’re printed on.

 

[manukahoney]

It’s actually yours. You can spend it however you want. Imagine that.

That's the problem - you can't. Days when you could bring a duffle bag of cash to a notary and buy a flat are over. Hell, you can't even buy a new car from a dealer with cash. There are limits of how much you can pay with cash in stores with some exceptions made for tourists.
I'm talking here about Spain.
Cash will probably not die in the next 20 years, but it will be diminished for small purchases only and heavily monitored.

 

[manukahoney]

This is exactly why crypto was born. So you don’t have to ask anyone for permission to use what already belongs to you.

Again, with an exception of few countries you can't do much with crypto directly - it must first be converted to fiat and then you might do a transaction. There are barely any merchants who accept crypto directly, only small percentage actually have crypto processing, you will get flagged by your payment processor if crypto payments make a significant amount of your turnover etc etc etc. I get bitcoin, it's a store of value, digital gold bla bla bla. But the rest is just some pseudo financial dandruff.

 

[Martin Everson]

I still scratch my head when people post about wanting to move or buy property in Spain .

P.S And as always - get out of the EU while you still can .

 

[AlicaFunk]

I totally understand everything you're saying about the EU, the tax system, and Spain's aggressive tax policies.

But could it be that, if someone truly enjoys the country, its climate, the sea, etc. and has found a place they love to live, and most importantly, doesn't really care about the taxes as long as they can stay exactly where they want, it might not be that bad after all?

 

[cuno]

The problem must be that if you run into issues with the Spanish tax authorities, regardless of whether you follow all the rules and pay the taxes you should or not, it makes things very difficult if you want to live there in peace. And if you don't speak Spanish, I can only wish you good luck discussing things with such people.

 

[marioIT]

"Spain is warm and relaxing and you are really free there!
Hacienda is friendly and the socialist government is really helping my business."

 

[Jorozey]

I hate cash anyway; I never withdraw money. Everything only by credit card. Collect points, cashback, air miles....
Cash is annoying because it's difficult to use. Shops refuse 100 EUR, 200 EUR notes, etc. Coins are also annoying, heavy and not hygienic.

In that case, you're done.
You probably have portraits of Klaus Schwab, Christine Lagarde and Ursula von der Leyen at home, as your biggest idols.


Are you sure you want what they're offering you?

It's to track and record your every move.

 

[uplana]

You probably have portraits of Klaus Schwab, Christine Lagarde and Ursula von der Leyen at home, as your biggest idols.

I don't hope that is true.

 

[turmpy]

Are you guys serious and think this is true and will be defacto standard in Europe?