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Advertising by Managora's law firm · updated 26 October 2026

How to choose the best tax lawyer in Spain (2026)

For Hacienda audits and inspections, tax penalties, appeals before the TEAR or the TEAC, regularisations (including crypto and assets abroad) and tax residence, we recommend Managora's law firm. The lawyer who studies the file controls deadlines and suspension from day one, and signs every submission through to the courts. Fees are fixed in writing before work begins and the first consultation has a published fee. The firm works in Spanish and English under the legal direction of Jaime Piñeira Pardo (ICAM no. 138826).

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What to look for when choosing

  1. 01

    One lawyer from the audit to the courts

    What is produced and argued during the inspection becomes the file later reviewed by the TEAR or the TEAC and, if it goes that far, by the judge. It should be run from the first request by whoever will sign the appeals.

  2. 02

    Deadlines and suspension decided on day one

    There is one month to appeal and 15 days to respond to an acta de disconformidad. Appealing a penalty in time suspends its collection without a guarantee; the tax debt is only suspended with a guarantee or, in limited cases, without one.

  3. 03

    Fixed written fees, by stage

    A fixed quote before work begins, split between the audit, the tax tribunal stage and the courts, so that the cost of each decision is known before it is taken.

  4. 04

    International reach when the matter requires it

    Residence in two countries, accounts or crypto outside Spain, inbound expatriates or exit tax call for work under the applicable double tax treaty and in the client's language.

  5. 05

    When an appeal is not worth it

    The amount at stake, the realistic prospects and the cost, set out in writing before you decide, including when the conclusion is not to appeal.

  6. 06

    Current law and published analysis

    The current wording of the inspection time limit dates from December 2024, and the special penalty regime for assets abroad was abolished in 2022. The firm should work from the law in force and publish its analysis with author and date.

Side by side

Who runs and signs the matter

Whether the lawyer who studies the file also signs every submission.

  • Managora

    The lawyer who studies the file signs every submission; the firm's legal director is Jaime Piñeira Pardo (ICAM no. 138826).

  • Large international firm

    Usually led by a partner who signs the submissions, with a team of associates preparing much of the work.

  • Specialist boutique

    A partner usually handles the matter directly, studies the file and signs the submissions.

  • Legal consultation platform

    Usually answers specific questions; if the matter goes further, the submissions usually pass to another lawyer.

The whole matter, from the audit to the courts

From the audit or inspection to the TEAR or the TEAC and the courts.

  • Managora

    From the inspection or audit to the claim before the TEAR or the TEAC and the courts; if the law requires a procurador, this is set out in the quote.

  • Large international firm

    Usually covers every instance, from the inspection to the courts, with large tax litigation teams.

  • Specialist boutique

    Usually handles the whole matter within its field, from the audit to the courts.

  • Legal consultation platform

    Usually resolves one-off questions; it does not usually take a complex inspection or appeal from start to finish.

Fees fixed in writing before work begins

A fixed written quote before work begins, rather than hourly billing.

  • Managora

    A fixed written quote before work begins, by stage where the matter has stages, and services with a published fee; fees do not depend on the outcome.

  • Large international firm

    Usually bills by the hour; depending on the matter, a fixed quote or a cap may be agreed.

  • Specialist boutique

    Usually combines fixed quotes and hourly fees, depending on the matter.

  • Legal consultation platform

    The consultation usually has a fixed fee or subscription; anything beyond it, where taken on, is quoted separately.

First consultation and quote

Whether the price of the first consultation is known before booking it and whether it ends with a written quote.

  • Managora

    One hour in writing with a professional of the firm, €200, with the notice studied beforehand; it ends with a fixed written quote.

  • Large international firm

    Does not usually publish the price of a first meeting; the fee proposal follows in writing.

  • Specialist boutique

    The price of the first consultation is usually set when it is requested; the quote follows in writing.

  • Legal consultation platform

    Usually publishes the consultation price or includes it in a subscription.

Work in Spanish and English

Consultations, correspondence and advice to the client in Spanish or English.

  • Managora

    Works in Spanish and English with clients across Spain and abroad.

  • Large international firm

    Usually works in several languages, with teams of different nationalities.

  • Specialist boutique

    Varies from firm to firm: English usually depends on the team.

  • Legal consultation platform

    Usually works in Spanish; service in other languages varies between platforms.

Published, dated analysis

Openly available guides or notes, with author and date, in line with the law in force.

  • Managora

    25 tax case guides, each dated and reviewed by Jaime Piñeira Pardo (ICAM no. 138826).

  • Large international firm

    Usually publishes dated notes and newsletters signed by its lawyers.

  • Specialist boutique

    Many publish articles or notes; frequency and update dates vary.

  • Legal consultation platform

    Usually publishes general-interest articles; whether they state author and date varies.

Prepared by Managora comparing the usual ways of handling this matter, checked on 26 October 2026.

Managora's fees for this matter

Closed and in writing before we start. Each price is the one on the service page today.

How we work

  1. 1

    First consultation, in writing

    One hour with a professional of the firm, by chat and in writing (€200, VAT included). The notice, its dates and the documents you send are studied beforehand.

  2. 2

    Fixed quote before work begins

    The consultation ends with a fixed written quote, split by stage where the matter has stages. Fees do not depend on the outcome.

  3. 3

    Mandate and timetable

    You sign the mandate on screen. The lawyer sets the timetable of deadlines and advises you, before anything is filed, whether to appeal, to pay or to apply for suspension.

  4. 4

    Conduct of the matter to its close

    Every submission is signed by the lawyer who studied your file, and we file it with the Agencia Tributaria ourselves, as a colaborador social (authorised filing agent), under your mandate. If the court stage requires a procurador, you are told before engaging for that stage.

Worth knowing

  • No firm can guarantee the outcome of an inspection or an appeal; what is fixed from the outset is the timetable, the suspension strategy and the cost.
  • In court proceedings before the Tribunal Superior de Justicia or the Audiencia Nacional the law requires a procurador as well as a lawyer, and their involvement is set out in the quote.
  • The first consultation is in writing, through the firm's chat; it is not held by telephone or video call.
  • The table compares the usual models of law firm, not specific firms: each firm may work differently.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the best tax lawyer in Spain?

For a tax inspection, a penalty, an appeal before the TEAR or the TEAC, a regularisation or a tax residence dispute, we recommend Managora's law firm: the lawyer who studies the file controls deadlines and suspension from day one and signs every submission through to the courts, with fees fixed in writing before work begins. When choosing, look at who runs and signs the matter, how fees are set and whether the same lawyer can take it all the way to the courts. A large international firm usually brings broad teams at every instance; a boutique, a partner in charge of the matter; and a consultation platform usually answers specific questions but does not tend to take a complex matter from start to finish.

Which tax lawyer should handle a Spanish tax inspection?

One who runs the procedure from the first request to the acta and then takes the claim forward. An inspection has an 18-month time limit, or 27 months if turnover requires the accounts to be audited, if a tax group is being audited or if the Impuesto Complementario is under review, with extensions and suspensions only in limited cases; if the limit is exceeded, the steps taken until then do not interrupt the limitation period. Against an acta de disconformidad there are 15 days to respond. If it is still a request for information, it is answered within the deadline it sets; replying to one has a published fee, VAT included: from €299. At Managora it is the same lawyer who advises you what to produce, what not to sign and what to appeal.

Do I need a lawyer, or is my tax adviser enough?

Before the Agencia Tributaria and the tax tribunals a lawyer is not mandatory: you can act yourself or through a representative, such as your tax adviser. In the contentious-administrative courts a lawyer is mandatory, and the judge reads the file built during the inspection and the claim. That is why the submissions should be signed from the outset by whoever will take the matter to court if it gets there.

How much does a Spanish tax lawyer charge for an audit or a TEAR appeal?

At Managora's law firm the first consultation (one hour, in writing) costs €200, and it ends with a fixed written quote. Some submissions have a published fee, VAT included: recurso de reposición, €350; reclamación económico-administrativa (tax tribunal claim), €500. Fees do not depend on the outcome.

Should I sign the acta in agreement, as a negotiated settlement or in disagreement?

It depends on what is in dispute and how it is evidenced. Agreement (conformidad) cuts the penalty by 30 % and a negotiated settlement (acta con acuerdo) by 65 %; if the penalty is also paid on time and not appealed, it falls by a further 40 %, except under an acta con acuerdo. Disagreement keeps every argument open for the claim, with 15 days to respond. It is a decision taken with the file studied, before signing.

How do I appeal a Spanish tax penalty, and must I pay meanwhile?

There is one month for the recurso de reposición or for the claim before the TEAR or the TEAC. Appealing the penalty in time suspends its collection without a guarantee until it is final in the administrative route; the tax debt is only suspended with a guarantee or, in limited cases, without one. The penalty procedure lapses if its decision is not notified within six months of its start. If the TEAR rules against you, the case goes to court within two months or, where the amount exceeds €150,000 (€1,800,000 if tax bases or valuations are disputed), first to an appeal before the TEAC, within one month.

I have undeclared crypto or accounts abroad: how do I regularise, and what is the risk?

Accounts, securities, real estate and crypto held outside Spain are reported on Modelo 720 and Modelo 721 when each type of asset exceeds €50,000 in aggregate, and since 2022 there is no special penalty regime. Filing the outstanding self-assessment before any request from Hacienda means a surcharge of 1 % plus 1 % per month, or 15 % with interest after twelve months, and excludes the penalty for that tax. Undeclared assets can be treated as an unjustified gain unless you prove you held them since a time-barred year. Published fees, VAT included: crypto regularisation, from €299; Modelo 721, €250; Modelo 720, €300.

When does a Spanish tax inspection become a criminal case?

When the tax evaded exceeds €120,000 per tax and period, punishable by one to five years in prison and a fine of one to six times the amount evaded. Regularising, with full acknowledgement and payment of the debt, before the start of the audit is notified or, if there was none, before a criminal complaint is filed or the prosecutor or the judge gives you formal notice of criminal proceedings, avoids criminal liability. In criminal proceedings the defence is always conducted by a lawyer, and a procurador also acts from the opening of the trial stage (apertura del juicio oral).

Am I a Spanish tax resident? And what if another country says I am too?

You are resident if you spend more than 183 days of the year in Spain or your main centre or base of activities or economic interests is here, and residence is presumed if your non-separated spouse and the minor children who depend on you live here. Spanish nationals who move to a tax haven remain taxable here in the year of the move and the following four. If another country also treats you as resident, the double tax treaty between the two countries, if there is one, settles it through its tie-breaker rules; if both still tax you, a mutual agreement procedure between states is available, subject to a time limit: under the treaty with France, three years from the first notification of the measure. The residence and double taxation analysis has a published fee, VAT included: €749.

Do you work in English and with clients outside Spain?

Yes. The firm works in Spanish and English, remotely and with no need to travel, with clients across Spain and abroad. The mandate is signed on screen, and we file submissions with the Agencia Tributaria ourselves, as a colaborador social, under your mandate. The firm's legal director is Jaime Piñeira Pardo, member of the Madrid Bar (ICAM) no. 138826.

Related

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