The 2024 Income Tax Return will be optional for those receiving unemployment benefits.

The Executive has backtracked and suspends, for now, the new tax obligation which would force all unemployment beneficiaries to report to the Treasury regardless of their income. According to the instruction issued by the SEPE, the measure is postponed because the subsidy reform – approved in May 2024 but in force since November 1 of that year – only affected the last two months of the 2024 fiscal year, making it impossible to require the full declaration.

What changes this year?

• No specific obligation in 2025: Unemployment recipients will not have their benefits suspended nor will they be penalized if they decide not to file their 2024 tax return.

• The general limits of personal income tax remain in place: Anyone earning more than €22,000 in annual income from a single payer (or €15,000 from two or more payers, if one pays more than €1,500) is still required to file a tax return, just like any other taxpayer.

• Self-employed and IMV, no changes: Self-employed workers and beneficiaries of the Minimum Living Income continue to be required to file a tax return in all cases.

The obligation is moved to 2026

The Government maintains the intention that the declaration be mandatory for unemployment recipients, but the The first campaign affected will be the 2026 campaign. (2025 returns). Until then, the situation remains as it was: only those who exceed the ordinary thresholds will file.

Context of the reform

He Royal Decree-Law of May 21, 2024 introduced a new subsidy architecture that:

• Gradually increases the amount (now €480) and expands beneficiary groups.

• Allows compatibility benefit and salary for an initial period.

• It included the obligation to file personal income tax returns to improve income control and apply adjusted withholdings.

However, the ten months during which the regulation was not in force in 2024 have led the Executive to postpone the measure to avoid burdening beneficiaries with procedures that would affect a very short period of time.

What beneficiaries should do

• Check annual income: If they do not exceed the general limits, they do not have to file the 2024 Income Tax Return.

• Keep documentation: In 2026, tax returns will be mandatory, so it's a good idea to keep your SEPE certificates and any other sources of income.

• Ask questions: The SEPE and the Tax Agency will publish updated instructions before the next campaign.

With this decision, the Government seeks to give legal security to more than two million unemployed people and prevent a lack of information from leading to sanctions or suspension of benefits. Meanwhile, unemployment recipients can breathe easy: This year filing your tax return will be voluntary., unless your income exceeds the usual limits.