The Income Tax return for 2026 and for the 2025 financial year will begin on April 8 and will last until June 30. During these dates, Social Security reminds that beneficiaries of the Minimum Vital Income (IMV) must present the draft personal income tax. If you are receiving the aid and do not do so, you may see your benefit suspended and this action may even lead to sanctions by the Tax Agency.
The Treasury explains on its website that, although the Minimum Living Income is an exempt income, it is mandatory that both the beneficiary and all members of the cohabitation unit present the annual personal income tax return, even for the first time. This procedure is necessary because Social Security needs to verify the level of income to check whether the requirements are still met and, in addition, to adapt the amount based on the new family situation or the level of income.
So, although the Tax Agency exempts from filing the Income Tax declaration those who have earned income below 22,000 euros from a single payer or less than 15,876 euros from several payers (as long as the second and subsequent income exceeds 1,500 euros), this does not apply to beneficiaries of the Minimum Living Income. They are required to present it regardless of the amount of their income.
Not submitting the Income Tax return can lead to losing the Minimum Living Income
Failure to file the Income Tax return may lead to the suspension of the Minimum Living Income. Social Security regulations specify that the suspension of the benefit will take place when the obligation to submit the personal income tax return is not complied with for two consecutive fiscal years.
The suspension of the benefit does not mean that it is permanently lost. Social Security will temporarily suspend it until the beneficiary regulates his situation.
For families benefiting from the Minimum Living Income with minor children, the Tax Agency recommends that the parents present a joint declaration for all members if they are married. In the absence of marriage, one of the parents may file the joint return with the children, and the other his individual return.
This also affects beneficiaries of the Children’s Aid Supplement (CAPI). In this sense, Social Security adds that the obligation to declare this income arises with the receipt of the benefit.
As we have said, the Minimum Living Income is a non-contributory benefit and, therefore, it is exempt, although there is an obligation to present the draft personal income tax. However, amounts that exceed 12,600 euros (the equivalent of 1.5 times the Multiple Effects Public Income Indicator, IPREM) must be declared as income from work. In the case of receiving the IMV together with other aid at risk of social exclusion, such as the minimum insertion income of an Autonomous Community, only the excess that exceeds those 12,600 euros must be declared and taxed.
It must be said that for this year 2026, the base annual amount for an individual beneficiary has been updated to 8,803.20 euros (the equivalent of 100% of non-contributory pensions), an amount on which the increases are calculated based on the number of members of the cohabitation unit.
What happens if my Minimum Living Income is suspended?
The suspension of the Minimum Living Income is a temporary or precautionary measure, that is, it is not permanently lost (which is extinction), so it can be recovered. According to article 17 of Law 19/2021 (available in this BOE), Social Security can suspend it for reasons such as not submitting the Income Tax return for two consecutive tax years, going abroad for more than 90 days without justifying or previously communicating it, or due to the temporary loss of any of the required requirements.
If Social Security notifies you of the suspension of aid, this is what will happen and how you should act:
- Payment is stopped: You will stop collecting your monthly IMV payment from the first day of the month following the cause of suspension or from when the managing entity becomes aware of it.
- Possible refund of charges: The suspension of payment does not exempt you from the obligation to repay to Social Security the amounts that, if applicable, you may have received improperly before the income was stopped.
- You can resume the collection: If you solve the incident that caused the suspension (for example, regularizing your Income Tax returns) and demonstrate that you continue to meet the requirements, the right is resumed ex officio or at your request. You will accrue aid again from the first day of the month following the date on which the causes of suspension disappear.
- The danger of the blank year: This is the most important rule! If the suspension is prolonged and is maintained for a full year without you having solved the problem, your right to receive the Minimum Living Income will be definitively extinguished. If that happens, you would have to process a new application from scratch.