Each Revenue campaign repeats the same question. Do I have to file the declaration or not? The answer depends on how much was collected, where that money came from, and how many payers there were during the year. The limit of 22,000 euros is the best known, but it is only one of the several thresholds established by the regulations, and there are groups for which this figure has no relevance because they are obliged to declare in any case.
How much do you have to earn to be obliged to declare?
The general limit for salaried workers with a single payer is 22,000 euros gross per year. Anyone who does not reach that figure is not required to submit the declaration. By “single payer” it is understood that all income from work has come from the same source during the year, or that there is more than one payer but the second and the remaining ones do not add up to more than 1,500 euros together.
That covers broader situations than it seems. If during 2025 it was collected exclusively from one company, the limit is 22,000 euros. The same applies to those who received only a Social Security pension, or to those who received the SEPE unemployment benefit as their only income during the year and did not exceed that threshold.
What happens if there have been two or more payers?
When there are two payers or more and the second pays more than 1,500 euros per year, the threshold for reporting drops to 15,876 euros gross per year. Above that figure, the declaration is mandatory.
This case is more common than it seems. It is available to those who changed companies in the middle of the year and received pay from two different employers, those who combined employment and unemployment benefits, or those who received a pension while maintaining another contract in force. In all these cases, if the second payer paid more than 1,500 euros, the threshold goes from 22,000 to 15,876 euros.
There is a technical reason behind it. Each payer applies withholdings on the income that he himself pays, without knowing what the other pays. When adding up the income for the entire year, the withholdings applied may have been insufficient. The declaration regularizes that difference.
Who is always obligated, no matter what they earn
There are groups for which the obligation to declare does not depend on any income threshold.
Self-employed workers registered in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) or in the Special Regime for Sea Workers at any time of the year must submit the declaration, regardless of what they have invoiced. This obligation has been in force since January 2023 and does not allow an exception for a minimum amount: a self-employed person with very low income is still obliged.
Recipients of the Minimum Living Income must also declare without exception. The obligation affects both the holder of the benefit and all the members of the cohabitation unit included in it. Submitting the declaration every year is one of the requirements to maintain the right to the IMV.
Outside of these two groups, those who during the year were entitled to the deduction for international double taxation, the deduction for contributions to protected assets of people with disabilities, or deductions linked to employment pension plans or similar pension systems are also obliged.
The news for those who collected unemployment in 2025
Until the year 2024, any recipient of an unemployment benefit was obliged to submit the Income Tax return, regardless of how much they received in total. It was a requirement that affected some 2.5 million taxpayers, of which around 75% earned less than 5,400 euros per year.
This requirement disappears in the 2026 Income Tax return, since Royal Decree-Law 3/2026, of February 3, eliminated the universal obligation to declare for applicants and beneficiaries of unemployment benefits, through its first additional provision. Starting this year, anyone who collected unemployment benefits in 2025 is only required to declare if their total income exceeds the general thresholds: 22,000 euros with one payer, or 15,876 euros with two or more. Social Security will verify the economic data directly with the Tax Agency, without the need for the taxpayer to present the self-assessment.
On the other hand, know that RDL 3/2026 exempts the unemployed who do not exceed the general limits, but does not modify the obligation of the beneficiaries of the Minimum Living Income, which remains in force.
Income from savings, rents and profits: different thresholds
The limits of 22,000 and 15,876 euros apply exclusively to work income. For other sources of income, the thresholds are much lower and are calculated independently.
Taxpayers who have obtained income from capital or capital gains subject to withholding, such as bank interest, dividends, capital gains from investment funds or prizes subject to withholding, are required to declare if the total exceeds 1,600 euros per year.
For imputed real estate income (the income that the law attributes to owners of non-rented properties other than their habitual residence), Treasury bills and subsidies for protected housing, the threshold is 1,000 euros per year together.
These limits are independent of each other. A taxpayer who earns 18,000 euros from a single employer and obtains 1,700 euros in dividends exceeds the movable capital threshold and is obliged to declare, even if he does not reach 22,000 euros from work.
What if I am not obligated but the declaration is returned?
Not being obliged to declare does not mean that you are not interested in doing so. If during the year the employer applied excess withholdings, the only way to recover that money is to file the return. The Treasury does not make automatic refunds to those who do not present the model.
This scenario is common for taxpayers with income between 15,876 and 22,000 euros with a single payer, especially if there are applicable deductions that were not reflected in the year’s withholdings. For those cases, filing the return may be more of an opportunity than an obligation.
The draft and fiscal data are available from the first day of the campaign in the Electronic Headquarters of the Tax Agency. Consulting it before deciding whether or not to declare is the best way to resolve doubts.
Summary of who is required to file the 2026 Income Tax return
With everything explained and as a summary, these are the taxpayers required to submit the Income Tax return.
- Workers with earned income greater than 22,000 euros with a single payer.
- Workers with earned income greater than 15,876 euros when there are two or more payers and the second one exceeds 1,500 euros.
- Self-employed persons registered in the RETA or Maritime Regime at any time during the year, with no income limit.
- Beneficiaries of the Minimum Living Income and all members of their cohabitation unit.
- Taxpayers with income from movable capital or capital gains with withholding that exceed 1,600 euros.
- Taxpayers with imputed real estate income, Treasury bills or housing subsidies that exceed 1,000 euros.
- Those who want to request a refund of withholdings even if they do not exceed the previous limits.