The widespread use of mobile payments has led the Tax Agency to take a further step in the control of operations carried out through Bizum and other electronic systems. From January 1, 2026, the tax authorities will have much more information, and more frequently, about how services and products are paid for through these platforms.
This change is based on the Royal Decree 253 / 2025which adapts tax regulations to the rise of digital payments in Spain and the rest of Europe. The new framework not only covers traditional banks, but also to payment and electronic money entities, who are now required to provide data to the Treasury with a level of detail never before seen.
What changes with Bizum from 2026 onwards
Until now, the key lay mainly in the high amounts involved and in annual reporting. With the new regulation, The platforms will have to submit information to the Tax Office on a monthly basis.so that the monitoring of economic activity will be much more continuous and accurate than in previous years.
In practice, this means that all professional transactions carried out with Bizum They will be reflected in detailed reports, from a simple home repair to services provided on a regular basis, no matter how small the amounts.
The stated objective of the Government is for the Administration to have updated data to prevent tax fraud and improve collection efficiency, in an environment where millions of daily payments are already channeled through digital means.
End of the €3.000 limit and monthly pattern monitoring
One of the most significant shifts is the elimination of the 3.000 euro threshold which until now required reporting to the Tax Agency. From 2026, there will no longer be a minimum amount required for a professional transaction made via Bizum, card, or transfer to be included in the forms that financial institutions send to the Tax Agency.
Not only does the boundary change, but also the logic of the control: The focus shifts from monitoring primarily large amounts to concentrating on the frequency and pattern of transactions.Repeated payments of 50, 200 or 500 euros per month may be reviewed if they reveal regular activity that is not being properly declared.
Financial institutions and payment service providers will have to submit monthly reports with transactions that show recurring patternseven when dealing with small amounts. What matters is consistency over time, not so much the size of each individual transfer.
This approach seeks to detect, for example, steady income that may conceal unpaid work or ongoing donations that have not been formalized. The idea is that the tax authorities will be able to cross-reference this information with tax returns and, if there are discrepancies, open audits or inspections.
The rise of Bizum illustrates the context: in Spain, transactions are already being carried out around three million daily transactions through this tool, a volume that the Government considers cannot be left out of the tax radar.
Who is affected: companies, the self-employed, and professional fees
The new control system is specifically aimed at companies and self-employed workers that use Bizum or other electronic means as a payment method. Any income linked to an economic activity, even if it is of a small amount, will be included in the reports that the Tax Agency will receive.
In these monthly reports, payment platforms must include, among other data, the identification of the professional or company receiving the money, the telephone number or merchant code associated with the system, the total amount billed in the month and the bank account where the funds are deposited.
A distinction will also be made between Card payments and mobile-linked transactionsThis will allow the tax authorities to trace with considerable accuracy how payments are channeled and detect possible inconsistencies between what is received and what is declared.
For the self-employed, this change means that All payments must be supported by their corresponding invoice.even when dealing with very small amounts. Furthermore, the recommendation to keep personal and professional accounts separate is reinforced to avoid mixing them, which could raise concerns during a potential audit.
Tax advisor associations point out that these new developments could translate into more requirements and inspectionsespecially in those cases where bank transactions do not match the data recorded in the personal income tax return or the VAT return.
Recurring payments and family donations under scrutiny
Beyond purely professional activity, the new approach will also affect periodic transfers that appear to be stable financial assistanceA typical example is that of parents who send a fixed amount to their children each month for rent or mortgage payments.
If, for example, a parent transfers 300 euros every month with no refundsThe tax authorities may interpret this as a pattern of donations. Previously, these types of transactions could go more unnoticed if the amounts weren't very high, but with the systematic analysis of payment patterns They come right onto the radar.
From a fiscal perspective, the problem is not so much the aid itself as the fact that not to regularize it correctlyTo avoid complications, experts remind us that there are two common ways: declare the donation and pay the corresponding tax (in many autonomous communities there are significant discounts) or formalize a family loan without interest, with a contract and repayment schedule submitted to the Tax Agency.
The new regulations will give the Treasury more tools to detect regular income that does not match the tax return or that should have been subject to Inheritance and Gift Tax. In that context, transactions that until now seemed innocuous could give rise to requests for clarification if they are considered suspicious.
What about Bizum transactions between individuals?
The expansion of the monitoring system has generated concern among many users who use Bizum daily to split a dinner, pay for a group gift, or settle small debts with friends. The Spanish Tax Agency has sought to clarify these doubts and has been clear: Payments between individuals are excluded from the new information system.
The entities will only report those transactions in which the recipient has professional or entrepreneur status and a specific collection agreement. In other words, Bizum will not report one-off transfers between family or friends to the tax authorities if the recipient is not using that account for financial purposes.
This means that the everyday payments for meals, gifts, or shared expenses These transactions will not be included in the monthly reports received by the tax authorities. Only when a professional contract underlies the phone number or linked account will the transaction be considered relevant for tax purposes.
However, experts recommend avoiding covert economic activities are disguised as transactions between private individualsIf a user systematically charges for services or sells products through Bizum and does not declare it, the information that the Tax Office receives from the entities may end up exposing that behavior.
More control also over bank accounts and cards
The reinforcement doesn't stop at Bizum. Royal Decree 253/2025 expands and updates the information that the Tax Office receives about bank accounts and cards, with the idea of ​​covering all the usual payment and funds disbursement channels.
In the case of accounts, the obligation to report remains. economic data for the last monthly period of the fiscal yearThis allows the tax authorities to know the balance and some key transactions at year-end. Furthermore, new requirements are being introduced regarding cards and other similar instruments.
Entities must report annually on transactions carried out with any type of card: charges, credits, top-ups, cash withdrawals and payments in storesOnly those cards whose total transaction volume, including all inflows and outflows, does not exceed 25.000 euros per year will be excluded.
These lists will include data such as contract number linked to the card, the identifying data of the holder, the type of product, the number and total amount of payments and charges, as well as the identification of the associated account by means of IBAN or equivalent code.
With this additional information, the Treasury intends to achieve a global view of taxpayers' payment habitsso that it becomes more difficult to hide income through little-used accounts or cards that until now barely appeared on the radar.
How will the information be structured and what is the Treasury aiming to achieve?
The new model redefines the well-known model 170 This will cover all types of cards, physical or virtual, as well as payment systems that operate via mobile phone numbers. In this way, banks, payment institutions, and electronic money providers will be on a level playing field regarding their reporting obligations.
In the specific case of Bizum and other mobile payments, the information provided will include the full identification of the professionals adhering to the system, the merchant or telephone number they use, the monthly amount billed, broken down between card payments and mobile-related payments, and the bank accounts through which the amounts are received.
All this data will be cross-referenced with tax returns to detect differences between actual and declared incomeIf relevant inconsistencies are found, the Tax Agency may initiate verification proceedings and, if appropriate, impose penalties.
The penalties for failing to declare income that is actually being received can be significant: they are contemplated penalties of between 50% and 150% of the undeclared amountto which the corresponding late payment interest would have to be added. The degree of seriousness will depend on whether it is considered that there has been deliberate concealment or simple negligence.
Meanwhile, the Treasury is already sending Informative communications to professionals and companies to anticipate the changes coming in 2026 and prevent the new developments from catching taxpayers completely unprepared.
A leap forward in the oversight of digital payments
The set of measures included in Royal Decree 253/2025 is framed within a context of rapid digitization of payments in Spain and EuropeBizum, cards and transfers have become the default channel for a large part of everyday transactions, from shopping in stores to occasional services.
With the new system, the Tax Agency hopes that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep economic activities hidden Behind small electronic payments that, due to their individual amounts, previously went unnoticed. The focus is no longer solely on large, isolated transactions, but on the pattern formed by these movements over time.
For individual users who use Bizum sporadically to settle accounts with friends, The main conclusion is one of tranquility.: as long as the recipient does not act as a professional or entrepreneur, these transfers will not be systematically reported to the Tax Office.
However, for the self-employed, businesses, and those who receive recurring payments, the entry into force of the new rules will require greater rigor when documenting income and separating personal finances from professional financesThe massive cross-referencing of data between banks, payment platforms and the Tax Agency paints a picture in which the underground economy will find it increasingly difficult to camouflage itself in the digital world.
