The Catholic Church has achieved a new maximum revenue collection through the personal income tax box in the income tax campaign for the 2024 fiscal year, submitted in the spring of 2025. According to provisional data released by the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), the institution easily surpasses the 400 million euro mark and consolidates the upward trend of recent years.
In total, the allocated amount is 429.335.080 Euros, which supposes almost 47 million more than in the previous campaign and a relative increase of 12%. This progress comes in a context where, paradoxically, The percentage of taxpayers who mark the X for the Church is slightly reduced., while the group of taxpayers who do not check any of the allocation boxes is growing.
Record-breaking revenue and more statements in favor
The EEC emphasizes that the outcome of this campaign means the highest revenue figure since the implementation of the current tax allocation model in 2007This is based on the 0,7% of personal income tax that taxpayers can optionally allocate to the Catholic Church. For the first time, the amount allocated not only exceeds 400 million euros, but approaches 430 million.
In terms of participation, the total number of declarations that tick the Church box reaches 7.946.347, which it involves 106.363 more declarations than the previous yearThe Episcopal Conference points out that, in addition to this increase, The 208.841 new declarations incorporated in the previous campaign remain in place.This allows us to continue adding new taxpayers who opt for this allocation.
Taking into account the impact of joint declarations, the EEC estimates that More than 9 million people in Spain participate in the allocation in favor of the ChurchThe institution insists that Marking the X does not imply paying more taxes or receiving a smaller refund.but it is simply a matter of deciding the destination of a portion of the revenue that the State already plans to collect.
Behind this increase in funds, the Episcopal Conference interprets that a significant social support for the presence and activity of the Church In Spain, this occurs in both the religious and social spheres. However, it also notes that the relative weight of these statements in the total is gradually decreasing.
More money, but less percentage weight of X
Although total revenue reaches a peak, The percentage of declarations that check the Church box drops slightly.According to provisional data, the proportion is around 30,08% of the total declarations, below the 30,43% of the previous year and far from the 34,8% recorded in 2011. That is to say, There is more money and more declarations in absolute terms, but the relative weight with respect to the total number of taxpayers decreases.
This behavior is largely explained by the number of declarations in which Not checking any of the allocation boxes (neither Church nor social purposes) continues to gain groundThe EEC explains that Declarations without X have increased by 1,09%. in the 2024 tax return campaign, until it almost reached 40% of the total of taxpayers.
At the same time, the box dedicated to other purposes of social interest is also affected. The allocation for social purposes registers a decrease of 1,04%.Thus, both the Church and social entities see the main competition not so much between one box and another, but with the growing group of respondents who choose not to select any option.
In this scenario, the Episcopal Conference reiterates its usual message from previous campaigns: Leaving the box blank means that the State decides the destination of that specific part of the revenue.Whereas selecting either option (or both) allows the taxpayer to direct those resources towards the Church, social entities, or both simultaneously.
Territorial distribution: 16 communities on the rise and Navarre on the decline
The territorial analysis of the Treasury data shows that The number of declarations in favor of the Church is growing in 16 of the 17 autonomous communities....as well as in most of the territories under the common regime. According to the EEC, the largest increases are concentrated in Andalusia, the Community of Madrid, the Valencian Community and Castilla-La Mancha, which are confirmed as some of the main pillars of revenue collection via IRPF.
The exception is once again Navarrawhere declarations in favor of the Church have decreased. A drop in the number of allocations is also observed in the Biscay Provincial Treasury and, in some broken-down data, in Alava, while in the Provincial Treasury of Gipuzkoa For the second consecutive year, a positive trend is maintained, both in the number of assignors and in percentage of the total.
If one pays attention to Percentage of taxpayers who mark the X for the Church In each territory, the EEC points out that the allocation falls in relative terms in almost all communities, with the exception of Guipúzcoa, where the coordinated work between the diocese and the provincial council This would be behind the increase in the box in favor of the Church.
At the top of the table are Castilla-La Mancha (42,6%), Extremadura (42,1%), La Rioja (around 41,9%), Murcia (41,3%) y Castile and León (40,3%)all of them above the national average, which is around 30%. On the other hand, there are Canary Islands (24%), Galicia (23,5%) y Catalonia (15%), with clearly lower allocation rates.
Balearic Islands and other regions: increases and decreases
Within this autonomous map, The Balearic Islands also show an increase in revenue for the Churchalthough with a percentage of assignors below the national average. In the archipelago, the allocated amount reaches 9.746.129 Euros, compared to 8.761.953 euros the previous year, which represents growth of 11,2%, equivalent to almost one million additional euros.
The number of declarations in the Balearic Islands rises to 162.940, with 3.362 new taxpayers who check the Church box. Despite this increase in absolute numbers, the The proportion of assignors decreases by 0,47%., in line with what is happening in Spain as a whole, due to the increase in declarations without any X.
Across the country, the more pronounced percentage decreases in the number of assignors They focus on Navarre (-0,84%), Cantabria (-0,65%) y Castilla-La Mancha (-0,61%)However, the EEC clarifies that these setbacks are somewhat milder than those recorded the previous yearAt the opposite extreme, the lightest falls occur in Galicia (-0,09%), Extremadura (-0,15%) y Canary Islands (-0,22%).
By revenue volume, Madrid, Andalusia and Catalonia account for more than half of the total increaseThese three regions alone account for approximately 55% of the €46,9 million increase: the Community of Madrid alone contributes 14 million additional eurosAndalusia contributes around 7,5 billion more and Catalonia incorporates around 4,7 million increase, according to the data detailed by the Episcopal Conference.
The “More than 9 million thanks” campaign and the role of the Xtantos family
In light of these results, the Secretariat for the Support of the Church has launched a new thank you campaign aimed at those who tick the box in favor of the institution on their tax return. Under the slogan “More than 9 million thanks”The Church wants to focus on the people who, year after year, support its work through the tax allocation system.
The EEC explains that The protagonists of the campaign are precisely those more than 9 million taxpayers who have decided to check the Church box, many of them integrated into what they call the “Xtantos family”This expression refers to the group of faithful, collaborators, and beneficiaries who participate in the life of the Church, whether contributing financial resources, time, volunteering, or prayeror receiving spiritual support and social assistance.
The campaign relies on a specific web dedicated to tax allocation, which includes a central video with testimonies linked to the telephone line “105 Xtantos”This is the central theme of this year's tax return campaign. Through these personal stories, the aim is to show the real journey of the money received through the Church tax box and how it is used for pastoral, social, and welfare projects.
In addition, on that same page, a Interactive map of Spain which allows users to consult allocation data broken down by autonomous communities. The tool displays different rankings of tax delegations and communities that lead the ranking by percentage of assignors, absolute number of X or revenue volume, with the objective of easily visualize the impact of the decision to tick the box in each territory.
A complex picture of the relationship between taxpayers and the Church
In light of the provisional income data for 2024, the picture that emerges is nuanced: on the one hand, The Church clearly increases the funds it receives through income tax.breaking its historical record and surpassing the €400 million mark for the first time. Furthermore, The relative weight of taxpayers who tick the box continues to decrease, while a significant block of declarations with no option selected grows.
The combination of higher revenue and a lower percentage of assignors explains to the general increase in the number of taxpayers, the evolution of incomes and changes in tax behavior of the citizens. In this context, the Church interprets that there is still a broad social support to their work, while the figures make it clear that Competition for that part of the personal income tax is becoming increasingly intense.not so much between the Church and social goals, but rather in the face of the option of leaving the box blank.
Looking ahead to future campaigns, everything points to the fact that The battle for X will continue to be fought in the arena of information and transparency.: explain what marking or not marking a box entails, clearly detail the destination of the funds raised and to tangibly demonstrate the projects supported by that 0,7% of the tax. In a scenario where the amounts continue to grow but the percentage of support is declining, the challenge for the Church lies in maintain the confidence of current taxpayers and, at the same time, try to convince those who have not yet chosen any option in their declaration.