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VAT reductions on food end
From January 1st, 2025, the reduced VAT on food shopping in Spain will finally come to an end – something that will make the shopping basket more expensive across the board.
This essentially means that many products will go back to their ‘normal’ prices before the inflationary period. VAT on essential foodstuffs were cut or eliminated by the Spanish government as part of cost of living measures. From October until the end of 2024, the rate of VAT on products such as bread, eggs, fruits and vegetables and olive oil stood at two percent, while pasta and seed oils was 7.5 percent.
But in 2025, VAT will return to four percent for olive oil, bread, flour, milk, cheese, eggs, fruits, vegetables and cereals. Pasta and seed oils will return to 10 percent.
The Three Wise Men arrive
On the night of January 5th, the Three Kings will arrive in Spain, bringing with them stacks of presents for Spanish children all over the country. Most cities in Spain hold Three Kings’ parades on the night of the 5th when Melchior, Gaspar, Balthazar and their entourage bring elaborate costumes, music, sweets and floats to streets around the country.
Monday January 6th, Epiphany Day or Día de Los Reyes is another public holiday in Spain, a time when families gather to open presents and enjoy more feasting. Most shops and public institutions will be closed on this day.
READ ALSO: Why Spain loves the Three Kings more than Santa
Winter sales begin
January is also synonymous with the winter sales in Spain, las rebajas de invierno.
In Spain the festive season runs all the way up to January 6th in Spain with Three Kings’ Day, so typically winter sales don’t start until after that date – on Tuesday January 7th.
New low-emission zones begin
From January 2025, tougher regulations will come into force in Spain’s Low Emission Zones (ZBEs) in some parts of the country.
According to the law, all cities in Spain with over 50,000 inhabitants must enforce a ZBE. But, as of the end of 2024, only 30 of the 149 municipalities have actually done it.
It basically means that cars will need a low-emission sticker to be able to drive in inner-cities. Cars that are not eligible for a low-emissions sticker are petrol vehicles that were manufactured before 2001 or diesel vehicles manufactured before 2006.
Many cities will be introducing them in 2025 including Palma de Mallorca, Zaragoza and Alicante.
Of the confirmed cities, only Palma de Mallorca will start enforcing the rules as of January 1st.
ZBEs are organised by local councils, so be sure to check with your town hall for the rules in your area.
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Pension changes
Spanish state pensions rise by 2.8 percent in 2025, effective from January 1st.
Similarly, workers who want to retire with 100 percent of their pension will have to be 66 years and 8 months old, although retirement at 65 will continue to be possible if you have 38 years and 3 months of social security contributions.
End of golden visas expected in January
The abolishment Spain’s divisive golden visa scheme was finally approved in the Congress in late December, eight months after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced he would be scrapping it.
Now all that’s left is for the cancellation of the scheme to appear in Spain’s Official State Bulletin (BOE) and from that day on no more golden visa applications will be accepted.
This is expected to happen at some point in January 2025.
For those not in the know, the golden visa scheme has for over ten years now granted Spanish residency to non-EU nationals who purchased a €500,000 property in Spain (among other large investments that could be made in Spain).
Transport discount to continue
As anticipated, Spain’s Cabinet has given the green light to keeping the transport discount for travellers for at least half of 2025, updating the discounts from January 2025, news The Local Spain covered recently.
This includes free tickets or discounted prices for buses, Cercanías commuter trains, Catalonia’s Rodalies rail network and mid-distance trains.
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Changes expected to the income requirement for Spain’s digital nomad visa
The requirements for one of Spain’s most popular visa schemes could also change in January.
One of the financial requirements for the digital nomad visa is to earn a certain amount of money – €2,646 a month in 2024 – either as a remote employee from a company abroad or from being self-employed.
The financial requirement is linked to Spain’s minimum wage, which is almost certainly going to rise in 2025.
Spanish media think that this will most likely happen in January, but no date has yet been fixed.
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Lower wages in January
A net salary drop, and one that’s more noticeable the higher the earnings, is in store for contract workers in Spain.
The main reason for this is that they will be taxed more, firstly through Spain’s Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI), and secondly because your company in Spain is obliged to withhold a certain percentage of your IRPF (income tax), which gets passed on to Spain’s Hacienda tax agency.
READ MORE: Why you should expect a lower salary in Spain in January
Lots of changes for self-employed workers in Spain
A new retirement age, higher taxes, changes to monthly social security contributions, another way of invoicing – January 2025 will see several important changes for the self-employed in Spain.
You can read all about them in detail here.
Cold January weather, as it should be
Despite all the recent rain, 2024 is on track to being one the hottest year on record in Spain, so it’s good news that temperatures in January 2025 are expected to be what they should be for this time of year – low.
They will only be slightly higher than usual in Andalusia, Murcia, Valencia and the Canaries.
January 2024 was the hottest month of January ever recorded in Spain, after temperatures neared 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions.