Five months after the end of the Income Tax payment period (June 30), and with barely 15 days left until the end of the year, the Treasury (Hacienda) has still not refunded the amounts from the last Income Tax declaration to 643,000 taxpayers. If it fails to do so before December 31, it will have to pay late payment interest (intereses de demora) for the delay, provided that the liquidation result was correct.
Sources from the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT) confirmed this to the newspaper Expansión, stating that 15.35 million refund agreements have already been settled “out of a total of almost 16 million refund requests,” which is 1.81% less than during the previous year.
In many cases, the unpaid refunds correspond to results that require review by the tax authorities, so not having received the refund yet could anticipate an inspection check or the receipt of a letter from the AEAT urging the taxpayer to review the declaration.
If the Treasury does not agree to refund the overpaid amount of Personal Income Tax (IRPF) in 2024 before December 31 of this year, and provided the self-assessment submitted is correct, it will be obliged to pay the owed amounts plus late payment interest, which stands at 4.06% annually in 2025.
