UK Pensions and Tax in Spain 2026: Treaty Rules, Form and S1

Once you are a Spanish tax resident, the UK–Spain treaty gives Spain the right to tax your UK State Pension and your private or workplace pensions, and the UK gives up its claim. The exception is a pension for service to the UK government, which stays taxable in the UK. You claim the UK exemption from HMRC with a specific form.

What the treaty says about pensions

Article 17 of the 2013 treaty says pensions and similar payments to a resident of one country “can only be taxed in that State”, subject to article 18.2. Article 18.2 is the government-service exception. For someone living in Spain, that works out as follows:

Income	Who taxes it	Source
UK State Pension	Spain	Art. 17
Workplace or personal pension, annuity	Spain	Art. 17
Pension for service to the UK government or a local authority	UK only	Art. 18.2.a
Same, if you are both resident in Spain and a Spanish national but not a UK national	Spain	Art. 18.2.b
UK bank and building society interest	Spain	Art. 11
Other gains, such as shares and funds	Spain	Art. 13.6

“Taxed in Spain” means it goes in your Spanish return. Spanish law lists public pensions, pension plan benefits and similar payments as employment income (art. 17.2.a of Ley 35/2006), and taxes residents on income “wherever produced” (art. 2). Check the residency tests first, because the treaty only applies once you are resident.

Some UK advice online says a UK pension is taxed only in the UK. That is true for government service pensions and not for the rest. Article 17 is the rule that applies to State and private pensions. The BOE page notes the treaty may have been modified by the OECD multilateral instrument (BOE-A-2021-21097), so read the current text if your case is unusual.

Stopping UK tax from being deducted

A private pension paid through UK PAYE will usually have tax taken off until HMRC is told you live in Spain. The State Pension is normally paid without deduction, but HMRC treats it as taxable in the UK unless you claim the exemption (GOV.UK says non-residents do not usually pay UK tax on it).

The process, from HMRC’s form notes:

1. Get a “Residencia Fiscal en España Convenio” certificate from the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria). HMRC requires it because the relief depends on you being resident in Spain.
2. Fill in form DT-Spain Individual (“Spain-Individual” on GOV.UK). It covers the State Pension, UK pensions and annuities, interest and royalties.
3. Tick the right box in Part C1 (State Pension) or C2 (pensions and annuities), give the date payments began, and attach a recent P60 from your pension payer.
4. Send the form and certificate to HMRC (the address is on the form). HMRC deals with each application on its merits.
5. If HMRC grants the exemption, tell it without delay about any change in your circumstances.

If tax was already deducted, Part D of the same form claims a repayment. For PAYE pensions the adjustment goes back to the latest of three dates: when you became Spanish tax resident, when payments began, or the earliest UK tax year still open for repayment claims.

You may still need to file in the UK. GOV.UK says non-residents usually send a Self Assessment return if they have a pension outside the UK and were UK resident in one of the previous five tax years, though you do not need to report income already covered by a treaty claim. Check your own position with HMRC.

Spanish tax on your pension

Spain taxes the pension in your annual return at the progressive rates for earned income. We do not give rates or a worked example here because the regional scales differ and we have not sourced a 2026 table. Two points affect the result:

• If any UK tax is still deducted on a pension that Spain also taxes, article 22.1 requires Spain to allow a deduction for the UK income tax paid, capped at the Spanish tax on that income. The cleaner fix is to stop the UK deduction with the form above.
• The Beckham regime does not help a retiree. It is tied to an employment, director, entrepreneur or highly qualified route, so a pension alone does not qualify.

ISAs are not tax-free in Spain

An ISA is a UK tax wrapper. GOV.UK describes it as a way to “save tax-free”, and it is open only to UK residents (or Crown servants and their spouses abroad). The 2026 to 2027 limit is £20,000, but that limit matters only while you are UK resident.

The treaty has no ISA clause and does not mention ISAs at all. The articles that apply put the income in Spain: interest is taxable only in the country of residence (art. 11), and gains from shares and funds likewise (art. 13.6). Dividends may be taxed in both countries (art. 10). With Spain taxing residents on worldwide income, interest, dividends and gains inside an ISA go on your Spanish return, and a UK exemption does not carry over. No Spanish ruling settles every ISA type, so confirm with a Spanish tax adviser before you sell holdings.

Foreign accounts and funds can also trigger the modelo 720 filing and the wealth tax.

The S1 form: healthcare paid by the UK

If you receive a UK State Pension (or another qualifying exportable benefit) and live in Spain, you may be entitled to an S1. The UK pays Spain for your care, and you get state healthcare “on the same basis as a Spanish citizen”, according to GOV.UK. The steps:

1. Phone NHS Overseas Healthcare Services on +44 191 218 1999 and ask for the application form. GOV.UK says to request it by phone.
2. Register the S1 at your local INSS office or through the INSS online portal.
3. The INSS posts you a Spanish social security number. Take it to your health centre for a medical card.

GOV.UK also says an S1 holder gets a UK-issued GHIC or EHIC for travel. A dependant’s S1 ends when the pensioner starts claiming their State Pension, and a new one is sent to be registered. If the UK funds your care, you cannot join the Spanish Convenio Especial or register as a permanent resident for care. More on options in healthcare in Spain.

Retirees on a visa should read the non-lucrative visa rules, since a pension counts as proof of income.