Income statements are among the few pleasures that come with the duty to the Treasury. When payments run late, people naturally worry, and rightly so. For years, new technologies and the efficiency of tax administrations have helped many taxpayers invest their refunds promptly. But when delays occur, alarms ring, and the agency often requests extra documentation or launches an investigation into the affected individual.
That’s when deadlines stretch out. Year after year, thousands of taxpayers see year-end pass without receiving their refunds. In one province, the balance sheet from the Tax Office shows that 561,538 out of 572,538 residents received their refunds last year. Across the region, over 10,800 taxpayers were under review, with more than 375,000 similar reviews across the country.
As explained by José María Mollinedo, the general secretary of the Gestha union of farm technicians, one objective of the Tax Office is to avoid paying interest on late refunds, so those affected typically receive payment on the designated date. When communications disrupt deadlines, the administration may face six-month periods during which it would owe roughly 4 percent annually. The concern is real: returns often reflect detected irregularities or inconsistencies.
Inconsistencies can range from something as simple as an incorrect account number—sometimes even a spouse’s account being listed—to genuinely undeclared income. For instance, refunds may occur when a taxpayer forgets to include certain forms of revenue, a scenario that has become a frequent occurrence. Requests for funds tied to electric vehicle purchases are almost automatically monitored by the Treasury, and similar scrutiny often follows during property sales. Movements, as Mollinedo notes, are subject to review.
In other cases, the Treasury may require additional documents; this tends to happen with income from self-employment activities when those figures don’t perfectly align with the information held by the treasury.
In this sense, Mollinedo notes that declarations submitted for refunds are typically among the first to be scrutinized, especially to prevent late payments from triggering late-payment interest. They are not the only ones beneath the lens, however. Traditionally, different delegations begin their audits as the year starts, expanding to limited testing campaigns that cover all declaration types, including those already deemed payable.
Leases from individuals generate nearly $2.3 billion annually for the Valencian Community
Beyond the income of self-employed workers, inspectors focus on leasing arrangements of every kind, which have become a core focus for the tax office in recent years to curb fraud. The administration deploys every available tool to detect undeclared earnings, even monitoring water and electricity consumption in rental properties.
Balance
During the last revenue campaign in the province, a total of 899,719 declarations were filed, up 5.18 percent from the prior year. Of these, 572,343 qualified for refunds totaling €384.4 million. By December 29, 561,538 refunds had already been paid, amounting to €368.3 million. About 1.9 percent of total refunds remained pending.
Platforms like Wallapop and Vinted are required to report transactions to the Treasury
This year introduced a notable change: platforms that enable person-to-person sales, such as Wallapop or Vinted, must report buyer-seller transactions to the tax authorities. This helps ensure that purchases not included in income declarations can be flagged during reviews. Currently, the reporting obligation applies to users with more than 30 transactions or a total of over €2,000.