Annual Tax and Customs Control Plan 2026
Annual Tax and Customs Control Plan 2026
The 2026 Tax Control Plan will strengthen the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics to detect fraud, focusing on the digital economy and new payment methods, while intensifying wealth monitoring, tax incentives, and revenue collection.
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On 12 March 2026, the Resolution of 11 March 2026, from the General Directorate of the Tax Agency, was published in the Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE, in Spanish), approving the general guidelines for the Annual Tax and Customs Control Plan 2026.
The Plan maintains the usual structure from previous years, organised around five major areas of action:
– Provision of information and assistance to taxpayers.
– Prevention of non-compliance.
– Investigation and verification of tax fraud.
– Control during the collection phase.
– Customs control.
However, beyond this formal continuity, the document reinforces specific lines of action that reflect the evolution of the Tax Agency’s control model. Key highlights include the increased use of available information, the promotion of digital economy monitoring, and the tracking of new forms of financial intermediation.
The main updates of the 2026 Plan are summarised below.
- Greater use of massive data analytics and AI
A priority of the Plan is to bolster the use of advanced data analysis tools for the early detection of tax risks.
The Tax Agency will continue to develop mass data processing systems, increasingly incorporating predictive models and automated taxpayer selection algorithms. This allows control actions to be targeted at profiles with a higher probability of non-compliance.
This control model is primarily based on:
- The systematic cross-referencing of information from multiple sources.
- The joint analysis of tax, financial, and wealth data.
- The automated detection of risk patterns.
The objective is to anticipate potential irregularities and optimise enforcement resources by focusing inspection efforts on cases with the strongest indicators of fraud.
- Exploitation of Information from Digital Platforms (DAC7)
The 2026 Plan places special emphasis on information provided by digital platforms in application of the DAC7 Directive.
Following the development of the regulatory framework requiring certain platforms to report information on sellers and service providers operating through them, the Tax Agency intends to intensify the systematic analysis of this data to detect undeclared income.
Actions will mainly focus on:
- Sales made through marketplaces and e-commerce platforms.
- Property rentals managed via digital platforms.
- Provision of personal services intermediated by platforms.
Compared with previous years, the main difference is that the authorities now have access to a much larger volume of structured data. This will enable them to increase their monitoring activities in the digital economy.
- Increased control over new payment methods and financial operators
The Plan also strengthens the monitoring of new payment systems and emerging financial operators.
Technological evolution has multiplied the ways of making payments and transferring funds; therefore, the Tax Agency plans to expand its control over:
- Payment services providers.
- Non-traditional financial entities.
- Intermediaries channelling economic transactions through digital means.
The goal is to improve the traceability of economic operations and prevent certain financial flows from remaining outside the tax information system.
1. Strengthening of wealth control for individuals
Another area of increased emphasis is the monitoring of individuals’ wealth, especially where there are signs of discrepancy between wealth levels and declared income.
The Tax Agency will continue using joint analysis of various information sources to detect situations where a taxpayer’s wealth or spending levels are inconsistent with income declared in Personal Income Tax (IRPF).
Key planned actions include:
- Detection of unreported income linked to property rentals.
- Analysis of the ownership and transfer of real estate.
- Examination of shell company structures used by individuals to evade Personal Income Tax or Wealth Tax.
2. Monitoring of specific Corporate Tax incentives
Regarding Corporate Income Tax, the Plan intends to reinforce the control over certain tax incentives that can significantly impact the final tax liability.
Among these, the following stand out:
- Deductions for Research, Development, and Technological Innovation (RDI) activities.
- Incentives linked to film productions and live performances.
- Specific structures using Economic Interest Groupings (EIG).
The Agency aims to verify that these tax benefits are applied correctly, and that artificial structures or aggressive tax planning schemes are not being utilised.
3. Intensification of actions in the collection phase
The Plan also reinforces actions aimed at ensuring the effective collection of tax debts.
Technological evolution has multiplied the ways of making payments and transferring funds; therefore, the Tax Agency plans to expand its control over:
- Payment services providers.
- Non-traditional financial entities.
- Intermediaries channelling economic transactions through digital means.
The goal is to improve the traceability of economic operations and prevent certain financial flows from remaining outside the tax information system.
4. Strengthening of wealth control for individuals
Another area of increased emphasis is the monitoring of individuals’ wealth, especially where there are signs of discrepancy between wealth levels and declared income.
The Tax Agency will continue using joint analysis of various information sources to detect situations where a taxpayer’s wealth or spending levels are inconsistent with income declared in Personal Income Tax (IRPF).
Key planned actions include:
- Detection of unreported income linked to property rentals.
- Analysis of the ownership and transfer of real estate.
- Examination of shell company structures used by individuals to evade Personal Income Tax or Wealth Tax.
5. Monitoring of specific Corporate Tax incentives
Regarding Corporate Income Tax, the Plan intends to reinforce the control over certain tax incentives that can significantly impact the final tax liability.
Among these, the following stand out:
- Deductions for Research, Development, and Technological Innovation (RDI) activities.
- Incentives linked to film productions and live performances.
- Specific structures using Economic Interest Groupings (EIG).
The Agency aims to verify that these tax benefits are applied correctly, and that artificial structures or aggressive tax planning schemes are not being utilised.
6. Intensification of actions in the collection phase
The Plan also reinforces actions aimed at ensuring the effective collection of tax debts.
To this end, the Tax Agency intends to develop new analytical tools that will classify debtors according to their behaviour and the risk of them becoming uncollectable, thus facilitating the adoption of earlier measures.
Planned actions include:
- More frequent use of liability derivations.
- Adoption of precautionary measures in the event of insolvency risk.
- Monitoring of debtors’ assets.
- Oversight of insolvency proceedings and pre-insolvency situations.