US Social Security in Spain: tax, pensions and healthcare

November 4, 2026

US Social Security in Spain: What every American needs to know

A Spanish tax resident who receives US Social Security pays Spanish income tax on it, and the US may also tax it under Article 20(1)(b) of the Spain-US tax treaty [1][3][4].
Spain taxes the full benefit as employment income and gives a credit for US tax, capped at the Spanish tax on that income [5][6][7].
The 1986 Spain-US social security agreement lets each country count the other’s insurance periods to open a pension right, and each pays only its own pro rata share [12][21].
The agreement covers old age, disability and survivors’ pensions, not healthcare, so there is no S1 route for American retirees [12][21].
A new convention was signed on 8 April 2024, but we have found no BOE publication of its entry into force at 23 October 2026 [12][14][15].
Delaguía y Luzón advises on Spanish law only, so US tax, SSA procedures and Medicare points must be confirmed with a US adviser or the SSA.

Who this guide to US benefits in Spain is for

US Social Security in Spain raises three separate questions: who taxes the benefit, how a pension is calculated when you worked in both countries, and how you get healthcare.

This guide is for American retirees who draw Social Security while living in Spain, and for US employees and self-employed people who are building a contribution record in both countries.

We are a Spanish law firm, so anything about US tax, SSA procedures, or Medicare must be confirmed with your US adviser or the SSA.

Which country taxes US Social Security in Spain

Article 20(1)(b) of the 1990 Spain-US tax treaty says Social Security benefits paid by one State to a resident of the other State, or to a US citizen, may be taxed in the paying State [1].

The wording is “may be taxed”, so the US right is not exclusive, and the 2013 Protocol did not change this paragraph [1][2].

The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) states that these payments may also be taxed in the US, and that a Spanish resident then applies the Spanish double taxation deduction [3].

The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) has confirmed this reading in binding rulings, most recently V2449-24 of 4 December 2024 on a married couple of US citizens living in Spain [4].

For a Spanish tax resident, US Social Security is taxable in Spain and may also be taxed in the US, with Spain giving the credit for double taxation [1][3][4].

So US Social Security in Spain is not taxed only in the US, which is a common assumption among new arrivals.

Our guide to the US Spain tax treaty covers residence, the tie-breaker, and the savings clause, so here we look only at the benefit itself.

How Spain calculates the tax on the benefit

Spanish law treats pensions from public social security schemes as employment income, and the DGT applies this to a US benefit [6][7].

In ruling V1440-14, on a US widow’s pension, the DGT said the benefit is taxed in Spain as employment income on its full gross amount [6].

The benefit joins your general taxable base, so it is taxed at the combined state and regional scale, from 9.5% in the first state band up to 24.5% in the top one, plus the regional rate [7].

Spain then deducts the lower of the US tax actually paid on the benefit and the Spanish average effective rate applied to that income [1][7].

In V5075-16, the DGT applied that deduction to a US Social Security disability benefit received by a dual Spanish and US national [5].

Filing a Spanish return

The SSA does not withhold Spanish tax, so the Spanish filing threshold for employment income falls from €22,000 to €15,876 when the payer is not obliged to withhold [7].

Anyone entitled to the deduction for international double taxation must file a Spanish income tax return in all cases, whatever their income [7].

If the US taxed your US Social Security in Spain and you want the credit, you therefore file even if the benefit is small.

US citizens and non-citizens

For a US citizen, the treaty savings clause lets the US tax as if the treaty did not exist, and Article 24(3) sets how the US relieves double taxation on income it taxes only by citizenship [1][4].

For a non-citizen, the SSA states that it withholds a 30% tax from 85% of the benefit, which is 25.5% of the monthly amount, unless a treaty benefit applies [24].

How either rule applies to you is a US tax question for your US adviser, and we work with them on the Spanish credit.

Regional income tax: Valencia compared with Madrid, Catalonia and Andalusia

If you spend most days of the year in one region, its scale applies to your US Social Security in Spain on top of the state scale [7].

Region	Lowest regional rate	Top regional rate	Top combined rate with the state scale
Valencian Community (2026)	8.8% up to €12,000	29.35% above €200,000	53.85%
Madrid	8.5% up to €13,362.22	20.5% above €57,320.40	45%
Catalonia	9.5% up to €12,500	25.5% above €175,000	50%
Andalusia	9.5% up to €13,000	22.5% above €60,000	47%

Sources: [7][8][9][10][11].

Valencian Law 5/2026 lowers each Valencian band slightly from 1 January 2027, to 8.7% in the first band and 29.25% at the top [8].

For a typical retiree whose benefit falls in the lower bands, the gap between regions is small, while the difference grows with other income such as US dividends or rent.

Most retirees also hold US accounts and investments, which our guide to Modelo 720 in Spain covers, and those who keep a US company should read about US LLC taxation in Spain.

Totalization: counting US and Spanish periods for a pension

The Spain-US social security agreement was signed in Madrid on 30 September 1986 and has been in force since 1 April 1988 [12].

In Spain, it covers the General System and the special systems, including the self-employed, for disability, old age, death and survivors; in the US it covers old-age, survivors and disability insurance [12][21].

For US Social Security in Spain, the first test is simple: if you already qualify in one country on its own periods, that country pays a benefit based only on those periods [12].

If you do not, the agreement adds the periods of both countries, as long as they do not overlap [12].

For totalization, one US quarter of coverage counts as 91 days of Spanish contributions, and the US credits one quarter for each 91 days of Spanish contributions in a year, up to four [12].

Rule	Spanish pension	US benefit
Minimum own periods before the other country’s periods count	At least one year of Spanish insurance, unless totalization of shorter periods opens a right	At least six US quarters of coverage
Calculation	Theoretical pension as if all periods were Spanish, then reduced pro rata to Spanish periods	Prorated amount based on US earnings and the share of US coverage
Periods before 1 April 1988	Counted	Counted

Sources: [12][21].

For the Spanish retirement pension, the general rule is 15 years of contributions, two of them within the last 15 years [16].

In 2026, the ordinary retirement age is 65 with at least 38 years and 3 months of contributions, or 66 years and 10 months otherwise, rising to 67 in 2027 for those below 38 years and 6 months [16].

Periods worked in the US that fall within the period used to calculate a Spanish pension are valued at the Spanish minimum contribution bases for your professional category [12].

Claiming benefits while living in Spain

An application filed in one country counts as an application in the other, if you ask for that or mention periods in the other country, and each country decides under its own law [12][21].

Step	Where
1. Gather US and Spanish social security numbers, proof of age and your Spanish contribution record	TGSS for the Spanish record [21]
2. Apply for a Spanish pension and ask that it count as a US claim	Any Spanish social security office (INSS) [21]
3. Apply for US benefits directly	Federal Benefits Unit, US Embassy, Serrano 75, Madrid [21]
4. Check that payments continue while you live abroad	SSA payments abroad screening tool [23]
5. Declare the benefit in your Spanish return	AEAT, annual income tax return [3][7]

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed on 5 January 2025, ended the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset for benefits payable from January 2024, including for people whose work was covered by a foreign social security system [22].

The effect on your own benefit is an SSA matter, so confirm it with the SSA or the Federal Benefits Unit.

Documents for Spanish offices are exempt from legalisation under Article 23 of the agreement, but translations may still be asked for, as our guide to the apostille and sworn translation in Spain explains [12].

Working in Spain: which system you pay into

An employee working in Spain pays into the Spanish system, and a self-employed person who would be covered in both countries stays only in the system of the country where they live [12].

A worker sent by a US employer can stay in US Social Security if the posting is not expected to exceed five years, extendable since 2014 by up to two years with the competent authority’s agreement [12][13].

Situation	Social security that applies
Retiree with no work in Spain	No contributions; benefit paid by the SSA
Employee posted by a US employer	US system with a certificate of coverage, up to five years plus two
Self-employed person resident in Spain	Spanish system only
Employee hired locally in Spain	Spanish system only

Sources: [12][13][21].

The certificate of coverage and its link with the Beckham regime are covered in our guide to the Beckham Law for Americans, and Spanish registration as a freelancer in our guide to becoming self-employed in Spain.

Spanish periods you build up now can later be totalized with your US record for US Social Security in Spain and for a Spanish pension.

The 2024 convention: signed, not yet in force

A new Spain-US social security convention was signed in Madrid on 8 April 2024 [14].

The government announced a double calculation of the Spanish pension, with and without US periods, paying the higher amount, the inclusion of the Clases Pasivas scheme for civil servants and postings of up to five years plus two [14].

The Cortes Generales have authorised it, but at 23 October 2026 we have found no BOE publication of its entry into force, and the BOE record of the 1986 agreement shows no replacement [12][15].

Until that publication, the 1986 agreement and the 2014 exchange of notes continue to apply.

Healthcare for American retirees in Spain

Drawing US Social Security in Spain does not bring health cover with it, and Medicare usually does not cover care outside the US, apart from narrow exceptions [25].

The Spain-US agreement does not cover healthcare, and the SSA warns that workers exempted from Spanish coverage generally cannot receive Spanish health benefits [12][21].

Spanish law gives public healthcare to foreign legal residents only if they are not required to prove health cover by another route, and those outside that rule can buy in through a convenio especial [17].

A non-lucrative residence permit, the usual route for American retirees, requires health insurance both to obtain and to renew it [19].

After one continuous year of residence, the convenio especial costs €60 a month under 65 and €157 from 65 [18].

Working in Spain and paying Spanish contributions is the other route into the public system.

The UK route for pensioners is explained in our guide to the S1 form in Spain, while American retirees usually start with private health insurance for expats and may later join the convenio especial.

In the Valencian Community, the convenio especial is arranged with the regional health administration of the municipality where you are registered on the padrón [18].

Modelo 720 and the account that receives the benefit

A right to a US Social Security benefit is not one of the Modelo 720 asset categories, which cover accounts, securities, insurance and annuities, and real estate abroad [20].

The US bank account that receives your US Social Security in Spain is reportable, however, if your foreign accounts exceed €50,000 at 31 December or on average in the last quarter [20].

Checklist before and after the move

Your SSA earnings record and any Spanish contribution record (informe de vida laboral).
US and Spanish social security numbers; our guide to the social security number in Spain explains how to get one.
Health insurance that meets the residence permit rules, as our guide to the Spanish non-lucrative visa explains.
Padrón registration, which starts the one-year clock for the convenio especial.
Annual SSA benefit statement and proof of any US tax paid on the benefit.
A record of days spent in Spain and in your region for the residence tests.

Common mistakes

Assuming the benefit is taxable only in the US and not filing in Spain.
Declaring only the US taxable portion instead of the full gross benefit.
Claiming a Spanish credit for US tax without keeping proof of the tax paid.
Relying on the 2024 convention before the BOE publishes its entry into force.
Expecting Medicare to pay for treatment in Valencia.

How Delaguía y Luzón can help

Our tax law and accounting team in Valencia has advised international clients on Spanish law since 1960.

For US Social Security in Spain, we prepare your Spanish income tax return, calculate the double taxation credit, file Modelo 720 and review your Spanish contribution record before a pension claim.

We also help with residence permits, the padrón and the convenio especial for public healthcare.

We advise on Spanish law only, so US tax, SSA procedures and Medicare must be confirmed with your US adviser or the SSA, with whom we are happy to work.

Speak to our team about your US benefits in Spain

Contact our legal team for personalised guidance on your case.

We work in English, French, Spanish and Russian from our office in Valencia.

Email: felix.delaguia@delaguialuzon.com
Phone: +34 963 74 16 57
Office: Avinguda Regne de València, 6, 1º-2º, 46005 Valencia

Frequently asked questions about US Social Security in Spain

Do I pay Spanish tax on my US Social Security?

Yes, if you are a Spanish tax resident.

The treaty lets the US tax it too, and Spain gives a credit.

Is the whole benefit taxed in Spain?

Yes, the DGT treats it as employment income on its full gross amount.

It is added to your other general income.

Do I have to file a Spanish return for a small benefit?

The threshold is €15,876 because the SSA does not withhold Spanish tax.

You must file in all cases if you claim the double taxation credit.

Can a US citizen claim the Spanish credit?

Yes, the DGT has applied it to US citizens resident in Spain.

The credit cannot exceed the Spanish tax on the benefit.

Does it matter where in Spain I live?

Yes, the regional scale of the region where you spend most days applies.

Valencia has a lower first band than Andalusia and Catalonia but a higher top rate.

Can my Spanish work years help me qualify for US benefits?

Yes, if you have at least six US quarters of coverage.

The SSA then pays a prorated benefit.

Can US years help me get a Spanish pension?

Yes, if you have at least one year of Spanish insurance or totalization opens a right.

Spain pays only the share for Spanish periods.

Where do I apply for US benefits from Spain?

At the Federal Benefits Unit of the US Embassy in Madrid or any Spanish social security office.

One application can count for both countries.

Is there an S1 equivalent for Americans?

No, the agreement does not cover healthcare.

Retirees use private insurance and may later join the convenio especial.

Is the 2024 Spain-US convention in force?

Not at 23 October 2026, as far as BOE publications show.

The 1986 agreement still applies.

References

Living in Spain, Tax Law