How your US retirement income is actually taxed here.
Straight from the same profile Glidepath's engine taxes against - not a marketing summary of it.
Income tax (IRPF): your worldwide income is taxed on the general scale, topping around 47% (about 45% in Madrid, over 50% in higher-tax regions). Gains and dividends use a separate savings scale of 19–30%.
IRA/401k and Social Security: both are taxed on Spain's general scale. Spain does not recognize IRA basis, so the full withdrawal is taxed. Its AEAT ruling V0249-20 confirms US Social Security is taxable in Spain, with a US credit.
WEALTH TAX: Patrimonio above a ~€700k personal allowance (+€300k home), state scale 0.2–3.5%. Madrid/AndalucÃa rebate it to ~0, BUT the national Solidarity Tax (ISGF) claws the rebate back above an effective ~€3.7M. At ~$2.3M net you sit below the ISGF threshold, so the drag is the regular Patrimonio scale (or ~0 in a rebate region).
Roth not honored. Region (autonomous community) materially changes both the IRPF top rate and the wealth tax - confirm yours.
What could change this.
AEAT's binding ruling V0249-20 treats US Social Security as taxable in Spain on the general IRPF scale (with a US credit), reading the treaty's "may be taxed" as non-exclusive. A minority of specialists argue the treaty exempts it. The plan models the AEAT position (taxed); the favorable case models the exemption.
When: Official position now; could shift with litigation
Patrimonio + the national Solidarity Tax (ISGF, made permanent from 2024) reach your worldwide net worth. Madrid/AndalucÃa rebate the regular wealth tax to ~0, but a future government could remove the rebate or lower the ISGF threshold - the region toggle lets you compare, but the rules themselves can change.
When: Policy-dependent; ISGF is now permanent
Compliance traps that catch US retirees here.
Local investment wrappers that look ordinary to a local resident can be a US tax trap for a US citizen - these are the ones specific to Spain.
Beckham Law is unavailable to retirees - no flat-tax escape
The 24% special expat regime (Ley Beckham) requires active employment, a directorship, or qualifying entrepreneurial activity that triggers the move. Pure retirees and NLV holders cannot elect it, so a US retiree is taxed on the full progressive IRPF scale on worldwide income including IRA/401k draws and US Social Security. Do not assume the headline 24% rate applies.
Spanish retail unit-linked/seguro bonds and Spanish funds are PFIC/foreign-trust traps
Locally-marketed pooled products - PPAs/PIAS insurance-investment bonds, unit-linked "seguros", SICAVs and Spanish/EU-domiciled mutual funds - are typically PFICs (Form 8621) or foreign-trust/foreign-insurance arrangements (Forms 3520/3520-A, 1% excise) for a US citizen, and their Spanish deferral does NOT carry to the US. NOTE: genuine third-pillar "planes de pensiones" may qualify for the treaty foreign-pension exception (and Rev. Proc. 2020-17 relief), so they are not automatically PFICs - the analysis is fact-specific. Keep investments US-domiciled.
Modelo 720 stacks on top of US reporting, and Spain disregards trusts
Tax residents must file Modelo 720 for foreign accounts/securities/real estate over €50k per category - in addition to FBAR and FATCA. Spain disregards US/foreign trusts: a US revocable living or discretionary trust does not shield assets from Spanish wealth tax or Modelo 720; Spain looks through to the settlor/beneficiary. (The old confiscatory 720 penalties were struck down by the CJEU in 2022, but the filing duty remains.)
US Social Security is generally taxed in Spain, not exempt (contested)
Per AEAT/DGT binding ruling V0249-20, US Social Security received by a Spanish tax resident is taxable in Spain at general IRPF rates (with a US credit), because the treaty's 'may be taxed' language is read as non-exclusive. A minority of specialists argue the treaty exempts it - get advice. Separately, Spain does not recognize IRA/Roth basis: traditional IRA/401k withdrawals are generally taxed on the full gross amount and Roth distributions are not honored as tax-free.
Wealth tax / ISGF apply to worldwide assets and vary sharply by region
Patrimonio/ISGF reach worldwide net worth, so a US retiree’s entire portfolio is in scope. The effective rate depends heavily on the autonomous community: Madrid and AndalucÃa rebate the regular wealth tax to near zero (the national ISGF only biting at ~€3M+ base / ~€4M effective with a main home), while most other regions levy their own scale - confirm your region before modeling.
Healthcare as a retiree.
Public access for retirees is via the Convenio Especial: after 12 months on the local padrón, a legal resident not covered through work can buy into the regional public health system for a fixed ~€60/mo (under 65) or ~€157/mo (65+), excluding the prescription-drug subsidy. The Non-Lucrative Visa itself requires comprehensive private (often international) insurance with no copays/waiting periods, and many retirees keep private cover for shorter waits.
~€157/mo Convenio Especial at 65+ is ~$2,000/yr; comprehensive private/expat insurance for an older retiree runs ~$2,500–4,000+/yr per person (rising steeply over 70–75), hence the ~$3,000 midpoint. US Medicare does not cover care in Spain.
Models the non-EU private-insurance path at age ~65; premiums rise toward 350-500 EUR/mo by 75 and most insurers refuse new clients past ~65-75. The Convenio Especial (157 EUR/mo at 65+, drugs at 100%) is the fallback floor.
The retirement visa route.
Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV): passive income ≥ 400% IPREM (~€28,800/yr, ~€2,400/mo in 2026) +100% IPREM (~€600/mo, ~€7,200/yr) per dependent, plus comprehensive private health insurance with full coverage and no copays/waiting periods; renewable, no work permitted.
What could this actually cost you?
A fast, illustrative estimate for Spain - no login, nothing stored. Every country page carries its own, tuned to that country's tax treatment.
Your monthly spending power in Spain on about $1M
A lean lifestyle in Spain
Day to day, that looks like a small apartment in a lower-cost town, transit or one older economy car, cooking at home with the odd cheap meal out. For health, the public health system, with out-of-pocket costs a real worry.
As a US citizen, you keep filing US taxes wherever you live.
Spain: US treaty: foreign tax credit (pay the higher of US or Spain tax, never both)
This is a fast estimate, not the full simulation, and not financial advice. It only flags the tax question. The full plan works out what you'd actually owe on each side of the border. It also models real balances, every account type, and healthcare, year by year.
The terms you'll actually run into.
- IRPF
- Spain's personal income tax on worldwide income via a general progressive scale (~19–47% combined state+regional) for pensions, IRA/401k draws and US Social Security, plus a separate savings scale (19/21/23/27/30%) for interest, dividends and gains.
- Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio (Wealth Tax)
- An annual net-worth tax on worldwide assets above a ~€700k personal allowance (+ up to €300k primary-home exemption), regional scale ~0.2–3.5%; rebated to near-zero in Madrid and AndalucÃa.
- ISGF/ITSGF (Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes)
- A national "large-fortunes" tax (permanent from 2024) that mirrors the upper wealth-tax brackets and applies to net wealth ≥ €3M (~€4M effective with a main home), recapturing the regional wealth-tax rebate.
- Visado de Residencia No Lucrativa (NLV)
- The standard long-stay retiree permit: passive income ≥ 400% IPREM (~€28,800/yr) +100% IPREM per dependent, full private health insurance, and no working in Spain.
- Convenio Especial
- A pay-in "special agreement" letting legal residents not otherwise covered buy into the regional public health system after 1 year on the padrón, for ~€60/mo under 65 or ~€157/mo at 65+, excluding the prescription subsidy.
- Modelo 720
- Spain’s informational declaration of foreign assets (accounts, securities, real estate) when any category exceeds €50,000; separate from and additional to US FBAR/FATCA (the EU struck down the old penalty regime in 2022, but the filing obligation remains).
Nothing on this page is invented.
Confidence: verified. Last verified June 1, 2026. Every figure above comes from one of the sources below - the same profile the paid engine uses to actually compute your projection.
See the full country-by-country build sheet on the coverage page.