# How to defer or pay a tax debt to Hacienda in instalments

URL: https://melso.ai/en/blog/hacienda-payment-plan
Published: 2026-10-12 · Updated: 2026-10-12

How to get a Hacienda payment plan in 2026: which debts you can defer (not collected VAT or withholdings), the €50,000 limit without collateral, how many months, 4.0625% interest, the steps on the AEAT portal and a worked example.

## Can you defer a tax debt with Hacienda? The short answer

Yes. You can defer a debt with Hacienda (the Spanish tax authorities) or split it into monthly instalments if you ask for it on the AEAT's online portal before the payment deadline ends. Up to €50,000 you need no collateral, and a self-employed person can get up to 24 months. You pay 4.0625% interest a year and, if the request is admissible, you avoid the enforcement surcharges.

> [!RESUMEN]
> - Ask for the deferral by the last day of the voluntary payment period at the latest (for example, for the Q3 2026 Form 303, up to and including 20 October). If the request is admissible, there is no enforcement surcharge, only interest.
> - Up to €50,000 in total, no collateral is required and, on the automated route, the answer is almost immediate.
> - In 2026 late-payment interest is 4.0625% a year and is paid with each instalment.
> - You cannot defer withholdings (Forms 111 and 115) or VAT you have already collected from your customers.
> - If you miss an instalment, the AEAT starts enforced collection with a surcharge and can end up seizing assets.

The AEAT (Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria, Spain's tax agency) calls it a **deferral** (aplazamiento) when you pay the whole debt later, and an **instalment plan** (fraccionamiento) when you split it into several payments. This applies to both in the common tax territory; the Basque Country and Navarre have their own tax authorities.

## What the law says: when you can defer

[Article 65 of the General Tax Law](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a65) lets you defer or split tax debts "when your economic and financial situation temporarily prevents you from paying within the set deadlines". The key word is **temporarily**: you can pay, just not today. The details are in [articles 44 to 54 of the General Collection Regulation](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2005-14803#a44).

You can ask at two points, under [article 46 of the regulation](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2005-14803#a46):

1. **In the voluntary period**, within the normal deadline to pay. For a self-assessed return such as [Form 303](/en/blog/how-to-file-modelo-303) or [Form 130](/en/blog/how-to-file-modelo-130), that is the same as the filing deadline. If you file the return late, the request only counts as made in the voluntary period if you send it together with the return.
2. **In the enforcement period**, after the deadline, at any time before you are notified of the agreement to sell (enajenación) the seized assets.

The money difference is large. An admissible request made in the voluntary period **stops the enforcement period from starting** while it is processed ([article 161.2 of the law](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a161)), so you do not pay the enforcement surcharges, only interest. There are two limits: it does not remove the surcharge for filing the return late, and if another voluntary-period request for that same debt was already refused, a new request made within the new payment deadline does not stop the enforcement period from starting if that deadline passes without payment (the same article 161.2 excludes it). If you ask in the enforcement period, the surcharge is already running and the AEAT can carry on with enforced collection while it decides.

### Which debts you cannot defer

Article 65.2 lists the debts that cannot be deferred. These matter for a self-employed person (where it says "can be requested", the AEAT then decides whether to grant it):

| Debt | Can you defer it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| IRPF (income tax): Form 130 or the annual return (Form 100) | Yes | It is your own tax |
| Form 303 VAT you have already collected from your customers | No | It is a tax passed on to others (art. 65.2.f) |
| Form 303 VAT on invoices your customers have not paid you | Yes, if you prove it | Exception in the same art. 65.2.f |
| Withholdings on Forms 111 and 115 | No | The withholding agent must pay them in (art. 65.2.b) |
| An assessment issued by Hacienda | Can be requested, unless an exclusion applies | Depends on the tax: a VAT assessment follows the VAT rule |
| A fine | Can be requested, unless an exclusion applies | It is not a tax debt ([art. 58.3](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a58)), but [article 44 of the regulation](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2005-14803#a44) allows deferring public-law debts |
| Debt in insolvency that is a claim against the estate | No | Art. 65.2.c |
| Final ruling on an appeal after the debt was suspended | No | Art. 65.2.e (stamped documents and recovery of State aid are excluded in letters a and d) |

If you ask to defer a debt on that blacklist, the AEAT declares it **inadmissible**. And the voluntary period keeps running, so you can still end up with a surcharge.

### The VAT case: you cannot always defer VAT

The law says you cannot defer debts "arising from taxes that must legally be passed on, unless it is duly proven that the amounts passed on have not actually been paid". In plain words: the VAT you charged your customers (output VAT, IVA repercutido) is money they gave you for Hacienda, so you cannot use it to finance yourself.

But if you issued an invoice in September and the customer has not paid yet, you do not have that VAT, so you can ask to defer that part if you **prove** it. On the automated route (debts up to €50,000), the AEAT asks for no evidence: under section 2.3 of instruction five of its [Instruction 2/2023](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/static_files/Sede/Tema/Normativa/Regul_AEAT/Instrucciones/Instr_2_2023_AF.PDF), it presumes the VAT has not been paid on the strength of the request itself. Collected VAT still cannot be deferred. Outside that route (instruction six, section 5) you must provide the list of unpaid invoices with customer, due date and amount, plus your payment reminders; if you do not provide it after being asked, the request is declared inadmissible, and if it does not convince the AEAT, it is refused. If the non-payment drags on, see the guide to the [corrective invoice](/en/blog/corrective-invoice-spain), because in some cases you can recover that VAT. For how the tax is worked out, see the guide to [VAT for the self-employed](/blog/iva-autonomos).

> [!IMPORTANTE]
> Asking for a deferral does not excuse you from filing the return. Under article 47 of the regulation, if the debt comes from a self-assessed return and you have not filed it before or together with the request, the AEAT declares the request inadmissible. Always file Form 303 or Form 130 on time, even if you cannot pay it.

![Withholdings on Forms 111 and 115 cannot be deferred. Collected VAT cannot either, unless you prove unpaid invoices. For the rest you can ask, if no other exclusion in article 65.2 applies: up to €50,000 without collateral and, above that, with a bank surety or other collateral unless it is waived.](https://storage.googleapis.com/albert-489117-melso-blog-media/diagrams/en/aplazar-deuda-hacienda/1-decision-3f489bc5c7.png?w=1600&h=2052&m=1&mw=1080&mh=3324 "Can you defer this debt with Hacienda?")

## Limits, months and interest in 2026

### Up to €50,000 without collateral

Since 15 April 2023, [Order HFP/311/2023](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2023-8119) exempts you from providing collateral when the debts "taken together do not exceed €50,000". The limit used to be 30,000. Watch the words "taken together": at the time of the request, the AEAT adds up:

- the debt you are asking to defer now,
- any other request of yours already submitted and not yet decided,
- the outstanding instalments of plans already granted without collateral.

With €8,000 still owed on last year's plan and €4,000 you now want to defer, €12,000 counts.

Above €50,000, as a general rule, you will have to provide collateral. [Article 82.2 of the law](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a82) allows the collateral to be waived in full or in part, for example if you do not have enough assets and seizing them would put your business at risk.

### How many months you can get

Neither the law nor the regulation sets a general maximum. The AEAT's [Instruction 2/2023](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/static_files/Sede/Tema/Normativa/Regul_AEAT/Instrucciones/Instr_2_2023_AF.PDF) does (instruction five, section 3, and instruction seven, section 1.2), as summed up in its [press release of 5 April 2023](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/static_files/Sede/Actualidad/Notas_prensa/2023/05-04-23_NP_AEAT_Aplazamientos.pdf). Under the general rules:

| Type of request | Maximum term |
|---|---|
| Automated, total debt of €3,000 or less | The instalments you propose, of at least €50 each |
| Automated, no collateral, individual (self-employed) | 24 monthly instalments |
| Automated, no collateral, legal entity (company) | 12 monthly instalments |
| With a bank surety or surety insurance | 60 months |
| Secured on an unencumbered urban property | 36 months |
| With other collateral | 24 months |
| With the collateral waived in full or in part | 12 months |
| Exceptional cases, with prior authorisation | Up to 60 months |

Careful with [Form 130](/en/blog/how-to-file-modelo-130): if your request does not go through the automated route and only covers IRPF advance payments, the deferral cannot run past the start of the annual income tax return period in which those payments are included (instruction seven, section 1.2.3). On the automated route that limit does not apply.

If you are in a pre-insolvency procedure or in insolvency proceedings (concurso de acreedores), separate rules apply: instructions nine and ten respectively, after the amendment made by [Instruction 3/2025](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/static_files/AEAT_Intranet/Normativa_Intranet/Instrucciones/Instruccion_3_2025_Recaudacion.pdf).

According to the same press release, automated requests "are decided within seconds", and you get a notice if you have signed up for the AEAT's alert system. The rest have a six-month decision period, as the [procedure page](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/procedimientos/RB01.shtml) states. If that time passes with no answer, article 52.6 of the regulation lets you treat the request as refused in order to appeal, or you can keep waiting.

Ask only for instalments you can really pay: the longer the plan, the more interest.

### The interest you pay: 4.0625%

It is not free. You pay **late-payment interest** (interés de demora), which in 2026 is **4.0625% a year**. It was set by [additional provision 42 of Law 31/2022](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2022-22128#da-42), the 2023 Budget Law, and still applies because that budget has been rolled over; if a new budget were passed, the rate could change. If you cover the whole debt with a bank surety or surety insurance, you pay the legal interest rate, 3.25% ([article 65.4 of the law](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a65)).

[Article 53 of the regulation](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2005-14803#a53) explains the calculation: in an instalment plan, each instalment carries interest from the day after the voluntary period ends until its own due date. Each instalment's interest is paid with it. The formula: instalment amount × 4.0625% × days / 365.

## How to ask for a payment plan, step by step

If the debt comes from a self-assessed return you are about to file (Form 303 or Form 130), you ask from the return itself. For an existing debt (an assessment, a fine or a return filed unpaid), use the general form.

### From Form 303 or Form 130, when you file it

As the [AEAT's technical help for Form 303](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/ayuda/consultas-informaticas/presentacion-declaraciones-ayuda-tecnica/modelo-303.html) describes it:

1. **Fill in the return** as usual and validate it.
2. **For the payment method, choose debt acknowledgement (reconocimiento de deuda).** Form 303 offers several debt acknowledgement options; the one you want is **debt acknowledgement with a deferral request** (or instalment request).
3. **Sign and submit.** Download the receipt: your return is now filed on time.
4. **Click "Tramitar deuda".** On the response page there is a link to submit the deferral. You will see the assessment with its settlement code (clave de liquidación) and choose to defer.
5. **Complete the request** with the details in the next section and click **Firmar Enviar**.

Do steps 4 and 5 together, by the last day of the voluntary period at the latest (that day counts). If you submit it after the deadline has passed, you are already in the enforcement period ([article 161.1.b of the law](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a161)).

### For a debt that already exists

Go to [Pay, defer and check](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/deudas-apremios-embargos-subastas/pagar-aplazar-consultar/aplazar-fraccionar-deudas.html) (Pagar, aplazar y consultar) and choose "Solicitar aplazamiento o fraccionamiento de deudas". According to the [technical help on deferrals](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/ayuda/consultas-informaticas/pago-impuestos-deudas-tasas-ayuda-tecnica/aplazamiento-fraccionamiento-deudas.html):

- You log in with a certificate, electronic ID, Cl@ve or eIDAS. With Cl@ve you can only handle your own debts; an accountant (gestoría) does it as a registered tax intermediary (colaborador social) or with your power of attorney.
- One request can include **up to 5 debts**, each with its settlement code (the letter A followed by 16 digits). Check any pending notifications first so the debts load automatically.

### What details you are asked for

| Field | What you enter |
|---|---|
| Settlement code and amount | Filled in automatically if you come from Form 303 |
| Collateral | Exemption, if you are not over €50,000 in total |
| Direct debit account | Your account IBAN; payment is by direct debit |
| Number of instalments and frequency | For example, 6 monthly instalments |
| Date of the first instalment | The 5th or the 20th of the month (or the next working day) |
| Reason | Your temporary lack of cash, explained in one or two sentences |

Due dates fall on the 5th or the 20th, as [article 52 of the regulation](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2005-14803#a52) requires; if that is a Saturday or a non-working day, they move to the next working day ([article 11.2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2005-14803#a11)). Since Order HFP/387/2023, the account can be at a bank that does not collaborate with Hacienda, as long as it is in the SEPA area.

![Five steps: fill in and validate Form 303, choose debt acknowledgement with a deferral request, sign and submit, click Tramitar deuda and complete the account, instalments, first due date and reason by the last day of the voluntary period at the latest.](https://storage.googleapis.com/albert-489117-melso-blog-media/diagrams/en/aplazar-deuda-hacienda/2-steps-67b68bddf1.png?w=1600&h=1168&m=1&mw=1080&mh=1683 "How to ask for a deferral when filing Form 303")

> [!CONSEJO]
> While the AEAT processes the request, you have to keep paying the instalments you proposed (article 51 of the regulation). If a request made in the voluntary period is refused, a new period opens to pay without a surcharge, but interest runs from the end of the original deadline. If you submit another request in that new period, it does not hold off the enforcement period: if the deadline passes without payment, enforcement starts anyway ([article 161.2 of the law](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a161)).

> [!MELSO]
> To ask for a deferral when you file, you need to know how much Form 303 will come to before the deadline ends. If [Form 303](/en/tramites/modelo-303) is included in your service, Melso and its professionals prepare and review it with you; check with Melso when you need to hand in the complete paperwork and when you will have the draft to decide how to pay. The deferral request itself is not part of that service unless Melso confirms otherwise.

## Worked example: Lucía splits her Q3 Form 303

Lucía is a self-employed designer. Her Q3 2026 Form 303 comes to €3,600 to pay, from two projects invoiced in September that her clients will pay at 60 and 90 days. For this example we assume that the unpaid output VAT fully covers those €3,600 and that Lucía can prove it has not been paid; only then is the whole amount deferrable under [article 65.2.f of the law](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a65). If part of that VAT had already been collected, that part would have to be paid.

**Step 1. File on time.** On 16 October she files Form 303 with debt acknowledgement and a deferral request, within the deadline that ends on 20 October 2026 ([AEAT 2026 taxpayer calendar](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/ayuda/calendario-contribuyente/calendario-contribuyente-2026/plazos-presentacion-autoliquidaciones-domiciliacion-bancaria.html)). In the same session she clicks Tramitar deuda.

**Step 2. Choose the instalments.** She has no other outstanding debts, so she is well below €50,000: she asks for the collateral exemption. She picks 6 monthly instalments of €600, the first on 20 November 2026.

**Step 3. Work out the interest on each instalment.** Each instalment carries 4.0625% a year from 21 October until its due date. Three of the 20ths fall on a weekend (20 December 2026 is a Sunday; 20 February and 20 March 2027 are Saturdays), so they move to the following Monday (article 11.2 of the regulation). We assume the rate stays at 4.0625% in 2027 and that no other public holidays shift the dates:

| Instalment | Due | Days | Principal | Interest | Instalment total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 Nov 2026 | 31 | €600.00 | €2.07 | €602.07 |
| 2 | 21 Dec 2026 | 62 | €600.00 | €4.14 | €604.14 |
| 3 | 20 Jan 2027 | 92 | €600.00 | €6.14 | €606.14 |
| 4 | 22 Feb 2027 | 125 | €600.00 | €8.35 | €608.35 |
| 5 | 22 Mar 2027 | 153 | €600.00 | €10.22 | €610.22 |
| 6 | 20 Apr 2027 | 182 | €600.00 | €12.15 | €612.15 |
| **Estimated total** | | | **€3,600.00** | **€43.07** | **€3,643.07** |

Days are counted from 21 October, the day after the voluntary period ends, up to the due date, both included: from 21 October to 20 November is 31 days (11 + 20), and to 22 February 2027 it is 125 (11 days in October + 30 + 31 + 31 + 22), hence the €8.35 on instalment 4 (600 × 4.0625% × 125 / 365). Instalment 3, for example: 600 × 4.0625% × 92 / 365 = €6.14. This is an estimate: the exact figure comes from the AEAT in the approval decision, which works out the interest on each instalment under [article 53 of the regulation](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2005-14803#a53), and if the late-payment rate changed in 2027, the part of each instalment that runs in 2027 would have to be recalculated. Just to show how it works, with a hypothetical 5% rate from 1 January (not an announced rate), the last instalment would pay about €1.70 more for its 110 days in 2027 (600 × 0.9375% × 110 / 365).

**Step 4. Compare with doing nothing.** If Lucía files Form 303 without paying and without asking for anything, the enforcement period starts on 21 October ([article 161.1.b of the law](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a161)). The surcharges in [article 28](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a28) are calculated on the whole debt:

- **5%, enforcement surcharge (recargo ejecutivo):** €180, if she pays everything before receiving the enforcement order (providencia de apremio).
- **10%, reduced enforcement surcharge (apremio reducido):** €360, if she pays the debt and the surcharge within the period the enforcement order gives her.
- **20%, ordinary enforcement surcharge (apremio ordinario):** €720, plus late-payment interest, if she does not pay within that period.

Splitting costs her about €43.07. Waiting costs her at least €180, and it can reach €720 plus interest.

![The Q3 Form 303 is due on 20 October 2026. Lucía splits it into 6 instalments between 20 November 2026 and 20 April 2027, of €602.07 to €612.15 each, about €3,643.07 in total.](https://storage.googleapis.com/albert-489117-melso-blog-media/diagrams/en/aplazar-deuda-hacienda/3-timeline-b43ce22956.png?w=1600&h=1448&m=1&mw=1080&mh=2139 "Illustrative example at the 2026 rate of 4.0625%, assumed unchanged in 2027. 20ths that fall on a weekend move to the Monday.")

![Splitting into 6 instalments costs about €43.07 in interest. Without asking for anything, the enforcement surcharge is €180, the reduced enforcement surcharge €360 and the ordinary enforcement surcharge €720 plus interest.](https://storage.googleapis.com/albert-489117-melso-blog-media/diagrams/en/aplazar-deuda-hacienda/4-bars-d23c7fd0b8.png?w=1600&h=834&m=1&mw=1080&mh=1386 "Illustrative example, with 4.0625% assumed unchanged in 2027. The 20% surcharge also adds late-payment interest.")

## What happens if you miss an instalment

[Article 54 of the regulation](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2005-14803#a54) is tough on missed payments. In an instalment plan without collateral for a debt requested in the voluntary period, like Lucía's:

1. If she misses an instalment, the AEAT starts enforced collection **for that instalment**: it demands the instalment, its interest and the enforcement surcharge on the total.
2. If she does not pay that either within the period set by the enforcement order, **all the outstanding instalments fall due** and enforcement extends to the whole debt.
3. From there, the AEAT can seize bank accounts, payments from clients or tax refunds.

The AEAT can also offset refunds it owes you (for example, your income tax refund) against the outstanding instalments. Article 52.2 of the regulation provides for this in deferrals without collateral, even if it brings due dates forward.

If you cannot make an instalment, ask to change the terms before it falls due; the request does not suspend the due date (article 52.3 of the regulation).

## When does a tax debt with Hacienda expire?

Hacienda's right to collect a debt expires after **four years** ([article 66.b of the law](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a66)), counted from the day after the voluntary payment period ends (article 67).

Do not count on it. Under article 68.2, the clock is interrupted, and starts again from zero, with:

- any AEAT action to collect the debt that you are formally notified of (an enforcement order, a seizure, a formal demand),
- appeals and claims,
- **any action of yours aimed at paying**, such as asking for a deferral or paying an instalment.

Whether a specific debt has expired depends on which interrupting actions are on record and when they were notified, so review it with a professional. You can check your outstanding debts on the portal, in the same Pay, defer and check section.

## Common mistakes when deferring a debt with Hacienda

- **Asking after the deadline has passed.** The request must be submitted by the last day of that debt's voluntary period at the latest (for the Q3 2026 Form 303, 20 October). One day later you are in the enforcement period, with a surcharge.
- **Not filing the return.** Without Form 303 or Form 130 filed, the request is declared inadmissible. If you file late of your own accord, before Hacienda asks you to, you pay the surcharge in [article 27](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a27): 1% plus another 1% for each full month of delay, and after 12 months, 15% plus late-payment interest for the time after those 12 months. If you do not file and Hacienda demands the return, there is no longer a surcharge but a possible fine ([article 191](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186#a191)).
- **Trying to defer withholdings.** Forms 111 and 115 cannot be deferred. Set that money aside when you pay invoices or rent.
- **Deferring collected VAT.** If your customers paid you, the law does not let you finance yourself with that VAT.
- **Forgetting the next quarter.** If you do not pay the next Form 303 while you are paying off the plan, the AEAT can make the agreement conditional on you being up to date (article 52.2 of the regulation). Plan ahead with the [2026 tax calendar](/blog/calendario-fiscal-2026).

## How Melso helps

Melso is your AI tax agent, with human professionals behind it. It organises your income and expenses from WhatsApp, where you also get reminders, and, depending on your activity and tax profile, it prepares and reviews your [quarterly returns](/en/tramites/impuestos); you approve the exact draft in the app and, with your authorisation, a professional files that version with the AEAT; what proves the filing is the filing receipt. With the paperwork complete and the draft ready, you can review the amount due and decide whether to pay or ask for a deferral; a reminder does not mean a service is included, so check with Melso whether the deferral request is part of your service. See the [plans](/en/pricing), click **Get started** at [melso.ai](https://melso.ai) or **Message us on WhatsApp**.

> This article is for information only and does not replace professional advice for your case. Last reviewed: 12 October 2026.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I ask Hacienda for a payment plan?

Use the deferral or instalment request (solicitud de aplazamiento o fraccionamiento) on the AEAT's online portal, logging in with Cl@ve, a digital certificate or your electronic ID. If the debt comes from a self-assessed return such as Form 303 (modelo 303), you first file it with the option of debt acknowledgement with a deferral request and then click Tramitar deuda. You give the direct debit account, the number of instalments, the date of the first one and the reason, and you sign.

### How long can I defer a debt with Hacienda?

Neither the law nor the regulation sets a general maximum; the AEAT's Instruction 2/2023 does. On the automated route without collateral (up to €50,000), an individual, such as a self-employed person, can ask for up to 24 monthly instalments and a company 12. If you owe €3,000 or less, your own proposal is accepted with instalments of at least €50. With a bank surety or surety insurance, up to 60 months.

### How much interest does Hacienda charge on a payment plan?

Late-payment interest (interés de demora), which in 2026 is 4.0625% a year. It was set by the 2023 Budget Law and still applies because that budget has been rolled over. It is worked out for each instalment, from the day after the voluntary payment period ends until that instalment falls due. If you cover the whole debt with a bank surety or surety insurance, you pay the legal interest rate, 3.25%.

### What happens if I don't have the money to pay Hacienda?

File the return on time anyway and ask for the deferral within the deadline. An admissible request made in the voluntary period stops the enforcement period (periodo ejecutivo) from starting while it is processed: you avoid the 5, 10 or 20% surcharges and pay late-payment interest. It does not remove the surcharge for filing late, nor stop the enforcement period if an earlier request for that debt was refused and the new deadline passes unpaid (General Tax Law, art. 161.2). If you file without paying or asking, enforcement starts the day after the deadline. If you do not file, Hacienda can demand the return and fine you.

### Can I defer my quarterly VAT?

Only the VAT you have not collected. Article 65.2.f of the General Tax Law excludes taxes that are passed on to customers, such as VAT, unless you prove your customers have not paid you those amounts. On the automated route (up to €50,000) the AEAT presumes the non-payment when you submit the request. Outside it, the AEAT will ask for the list of unpaid invoices, and if you do not provide it, the request is declared inadmissible.

### Can I defer Form 111 or Form 115?

No. Article 65.2.b of the General Tax Law excludes debts that the withholding agent must pay in. The withholdings you apply to professionals, employees or the landlord of your premises are not your money: you kept them back when paying those people so you could pay them in to Hacienda. The request is declared inadmissible, so it pays to set that money aside every month.

### Do I need to give collateral to defer a debt with Hacienda?

No, if the total of your debts pending deferral does not exceed €50,000, under Order HFP/311/2023. That total adds up the debt you want to defer, any other requests of yours not yet decided and the outstanding instalments of plans already granted without collateral. Above €50,000, as a general rule, you will have to offer a bank surety, surety insurance, a mortgage or other collateral, unless the AEAT waives it in full or in part.

### What happens if I miss an instalment?

In an instalment plan without collateral requested in the voluntary period, the AEAT starts the enforced collection procedure (vía de apremio) for the unpaid instalment and demands the amount, the interest and the enforcement surcharge. If you do not pay that either, all the outstanding instalments fall due and enforcement extends to the whole debt, with possible seizure of assets. This is governed by article 54 of the General Collection Regulation.

### When does a tax debt with Hacienda expire?

Hacienda's right to collect a debt that has already been assessed or self-assessed expires after four years from the end of the voluntary payment period. But the clock is interrupted and starts again with any AEAT action to collect it that you are formally notified of, and with any action of yours aimed at paying, such as asking for a deferral or paying an instalment.

### How long does Hacienda take to approve a payment plan?

For automated requests, up to €50,000 and without collateral, the AEAT says the answer comes within seconds. The rest are processed within a maximum of six months; if you get no answer in that time, you can treat the request as refused in order to appeal, or keep waiting. While it is processed, you must keep paying the instalments you proposed (article 51 of the General Collection Regulation).

## Sources

- [Law 58/2003 of 17 December, General Tax Law (consolidated text): articles 26, 27, 28, 58, 65, 66, 67, 68, 82, 161 and 191](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2003-23186), BOE, accessed 2026-10-12
- [Royal Decree 939/2005, General Collection Regulation (consolidated text): articles 44 to 54](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2005-14803), BOE, accessed 2026-10-12
- [Order HFP/311/2023 of 28 March, raising the collateral-free limit for deferrals to €50,000](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2023-8119), BOE, accessed 2026-10-12
- [Law 31/2022, 2023 General State Budget: additional provision 42 (legal and late-payment interest)](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2022-22128), BOE, accessed 2026-10-12
- [Deferral and instalment payment of debts: procedure page](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/procedimientos/RB01.shtml), AEAT, accessed 2026-10-12
- [Technical help: requesting deferrals and instalment plans](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/ayuda/consultas-informaticas/pago-impuestos-deudas-tasas-ayuda-tecnica/aplazamiento-fraccionamiento-deudas.html), AEAT, accessed 2026-10-12
- [Technical help: filing Form 303 (debt acknowledgement and Tramitar deuda)](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/ayuda/consultas-informaticas/presentacion-declaraciones-ayuda-tecnica/modelo-303.html), AEAT, accessed 2026-10-12
- [IRPF 2025 practical manual, other points of interest: legal interest (3.25%) and late-payment interest (4.0625%) for 2026](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/eu_es/ayuda/manuales-videos-folletos/manuales-practicos/irpf-2025/guia-principales-novedades/otras-cuestiones-interes.html), AEAT, accessed 2026-10-12
- [Instruction 2/2023 of 3 April of the Collection Department on managing deferrals and instalment plans (instructions five, six and seven)](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/static_files/Sede/Tema/Normativa/Regul_AEAT/Instrucciones/Instr_2_2023_AF.PDF), AEAT, accessed 2026-10-12
- [Instruction 3/2025 of the Collection Department, amending Instruction 2/2023 (new instructions nine, pre-insolvency, and ten, insolvency and special procedures for microbusinesses)](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/static_files/AEAT_Intranet/Normativa_Intranet/Instrucciones/Instruccion_3_2025_Recaudacion.pdf), AEAT, accessed 2026-10-12
- [2026 taxpayer calendar: filing deadlines for self-assessed returns and direct debit](https://sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/ayuda/calendario-contribuyente/calendario-contribuyente-2026/plazos-presentacion-autoliquidaciones-domiciliacion-bancaria.html), AEAT, accessed 2026-10-12