Can I open a US brokerage account as a Spanish resident?

Most US brokers (Schwab, Fidelity) won't accept new Spanish-resident accounts post-2014. IBKR Ireland and Tastytrade are the practical workarounds — both treat you as an EU client.

Do I need to declare brokerage accounts on Modelo 720?

Yes if total securities held outside Spain exceed €50k at year-end. Modelo D6 is also required for any foreign brokerage with custodied securities, regardless of value.

Financial

Stock-Market Investing from Spain

Direct equity investing — IBEX 35, Euro Stoxx, S&P 500, Nasdaq — is fully accessible to Spanish residents and non-residents. The real questions are broker choice, withholding-tax recovery on foreign dividends, and whether stock-picking justifies the extra Modelo 720 effort vs a UCITS ETF.

Last updated 1 June 2026

Markets and withholding rates

Market	Dividend WHT (treaty)	Recoverable in Spain?	Notes
Spain (IBEX 35)	19%	n/a	Counts as Spanish savings income
USA (NYSE/Nasdaq)	15% (W-8BEN)	Yes, up to Spanish tax due	Without W-8BEN: 30%
UK (LSE)	0%	n/a	No UK dividend WHT
France	12.8% (after relief)	Yes	Complex relief process
Germany	15% (after relief)	Yes	Reclaim 11.375% via BZSt
Netherlands	15%	Yes	Easy treaty rate at source

Costs and trade execution

✦IBKR — €1–€3 per US trade, 0.05% on EU stocks, FX at mid + 0.002%.
✦DEGIRO — €1 + 0.5% (capped) on US stocks, free on selected ETFs.
✦Spanish brokers (Renta 4, Bankinter) — 0.08–0.15% commission, higher but Spanish-tax friendly.
✦Custody fees — typically zero at IBKR/DEGIRO, 0.05–0.20%/yr at Spanish banks.
✦Spanish Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) — 0.2% on purchases of IBEX-listed stocks >€1bn cap.

Stock-picking vs indexing

After-cost evidence in the EU is the same as elsewhere: 80%+ of active equity funds underperform their UCITS index peers over 10 years (SPIVA Europe).

Direct stock-picking can make sense for: high-conviction concentrated holdings, dividend-aristocrat income portfolios, or tax-loss harvesting at scale (>€200k portfolio).

For everyone else, a 2-fund UCITS ETF core delivers 95% of the after-tax return with 5% of the operational overhead.

FIFO and the 2-month rule

Spain uses FIFO for capital-gains calculations, and disallows loss harvesting if you re-buy the same security within 2 months (Spanish stocks) or 1 year (foreign ETFs/funds). Plan tax-loss trades accordingly.

ETF investing

Lower-cost diversified alternative.

Dividends

Income from equity holdings.

Financial hub

All financial-asset guides.

Taxes

Capital gains and savings income.