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Tax

Tax appeals and claims

If you have received a tax assessment, a penalty or the refusal of a refund, you can challenge it within the deadline, usually one month from notification. You can also correct your own self-assessments and recover any overpayment until the right becomes time-barred. We study the decision, choose the right route, request suspension of collection where appropriate and represent you until it is resolved.

By Elena Fernández Ruiz, ICAB member no. 43871 · Updated on 14 October 2026

In brief

Deadline to appeal
One month from the day after notification, both for an appeal for reconsideration and for an economic-administrative claim (arts. 223 and 235 of the General Tax Law).
Decision deadline
Reconsideration, one month; economic-administrative claim, one year, or six months under the fast-track procedure. If the deadline passes without a decision, the appeal or claim may be treated as dismissed and you can move on to the next stage (arts. 225, 240 and 247 of the General Tax Law).
Where it is handled
Before the body that issued the decision and, for economic-administrative claims, before the Regional Economic-Administrative Tribunal of Catalonia (TEAR, Barcelona) or the Central Tribunal (TEAC); municipal taxes, before the city council.
Fees
We quote them in the first consultation (€40), with the option to pay in instalments.

When you can claim

  • Appeal for reconsideration (recurso de reposición), optional, before the body that issued the decision, within one month; if not decided within one month, you may treat it as dismissed.
  • Economic-administrative claim before the TEAR or TEAC, within one month; below €6,000 (€72,000 for tax bases or valuations) it follows the fast-track procedure.
  • Appeal to the TEAC against TEAR decisions, within one month, if the amount exceeds €150,000 (€1,800,000 for tax bases or valuations) or cannot be quantified.
  • Suspension of collection: automatic if you secure the debt with a deposit, bank guarantee or surety insurance; appealed penalties are suspended without security.
  • Judicial review (recurso contencioso-administrativo), within two months of notification of the decision that ends the administrative route.
  • Correction of self-assessments and refund of overpaid tax until the right is time-barred (four years); for income tax, VAT and other taxes whose rules provide for it, by corrective self-assessment.
  • Municipal taxes: appeal for reconsideration within one month; in Barcelona, an appeal to the Mayor within one month, with an opinion from the Tax Council (Consell Tributari).
  • Catalan Tax Agency (Agència Tributària de Catalunya) decisions: optional reconsideration and an economic-administrative claim; we tell you whether it goes to the Junta de Tributs de Catalunya or the TEAR.

How we help you

  1. We analyse the notice

    We check what decision you have received, the deadline, the amount at stake and whether reconsideration, a direct claim or a correction is the better route.

  2. We prepare the appeal

    We draft the grounds with the supporting evidence and, if you want to avoid collection while it is decided, arrange the security and the request for suspension.

  3. We file and argue your case

    We file the document through the relevant e-office, request the case file when needed and submit arguments to the tribunal.

  4. Follow-up

    We monitor decision deadlines, the implementation of any favourable ruling and refunds with interest; if dismissed, we assess with you whether to go to court.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay while my appeal is pending?

Not necessarily. For State taxes, including those ceded to the Catalan Government, if you secure the amount with a deposit, bank guarantee or surety insurance, collection is suspended automatically, and appealed penalties are suspended without security. If payment would cause you harm that is difficult or impossible to repair, the tribunal may waive the security. Municipal taxes have their own rules.

Reconsideration or economic-administrative claim?

Reconsideration is decided by the same body that issued the decision, within one month; the claim, by a functionally independent economic-administrative tribunal, within one year; if they do not decide in time, you may treat them as dismissed. They cannot run at the same time: the claim is filed once the reconsideration is decided or can be treated as dismissed. We advise you case by case.

I overpaid in a self-assessment. Can I get it back?

Yes, provided four years have not passed. For income tax (from the 2024 tax year), VAT (from September or the third quarter of 2024) and other taxes whose rules provide for it, you correct it with a corrective self-assessment; otherwise, with a request for rectification, which must be decided within six months. Refunds of overpaid tax include late-payment interest.

Legislation

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