The short answer: if you give your child money to keep, with no obligation to pay it back, it is a gift, whether it goes by Bizum, bank transfer or cash. The person who declares it is your child, the recipient, and if Valencian rules apply to them they have one month to do so. If it is documented properly, gifts between parents and children get a 100,000 euro allowance and a 99% tax credit that bring the tax down to almost nothing. Covering what they need to live or study, or a real loan, is different.
In this article
When a Bizum to your child is a gift and when it is not
For the Spanish Civil Code, a gift is giving something for free to someone who accepts it (article 618). Money can be given verbally if it is handed over at the same time (article 632), and a Bizum is a handover. If the money is meant to become your child's, it is a gift even with nothing signed.
Three situations are not a gift, or not quite:
- Maintenance. Parents and children owe each other maintenance (article 143): food, housing, clothing, medical care and education while the child has not finished studying through no fault of their own (article 142). Paying tuition or a student's rent can be meeting that duty if your child really needs it and has no means of their own (articles 146 and 152). If they have means, or you pay more than they need, it can be a gift.
- Loan. If your child has to pay the money back, it is not a gift (article 1753). Loans are exempt from transfer tax (article 45.I.B.15 of the transfer tax law), but it has to be real. It need not be in writing to be valid, but document it (amount and repayment) and keep proof of each repayment to show it is not a gift.
- Customary presents. The Civil Code does not count them in the later inheritance (article 1041). But the tax law sets no exempt amount for them.
Who declares it, which form and the deadline
With gifts, the tax is paid by the recipient (article 5 of Law 29/1987 on Inheritance and Gift Tax).
With money, as a general rule, the region that counts is the one where your child spent the most days in the five years before the gift, which is not always where they live today (articles 28 and 32 of Law 22/2009). If that is the Valencia region, the deadline to file the self-assessment is one month from the day of the gift (article 12 ter of Valencian Law 13/1997). Under the national rule the general deadline is 30 working days (article 67 of the tax regulations). The gift tax self-assessment is form 651, and in the Valencia region it is filed with the Valencian Tax Agency (ATV).
How much your child pays in the Valencia region
Under Law 13/1997 as it stands, a gift from parent to child gets two benefits that stack:
| Item | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Allowance, child aged 21 or over | 100,000 euros off the taxable base (article 10 bis.2.a) |
| Allowance, child under 21 | 100,000 euros plus 8,000 for each year under 21, up to 156,000 |
| How the allowance is counted | Everything received from the same donor in the previous 5 years is added up |
| Tax credit | 99% between parents and children, also grandchildren and grandparents (article 12 bis.1.b) |
To qualify for the allowance and the tax credit, the law requires three things (articles 10 bis.2 and 12 bis.4):
- A notarial deed. The gift must be made before a notary, or put into a deed within the filing period. If you send the Bizum today, you have that month to go to the notary.
- Proof of where the money came from. The origin of the funds must be justified.
- The payment identified. The document must state how it was handed over (the specific transfer or Bizum).
The exception for small amounts. When the same parent gives the same child no more than 4,000 euros over the previous three years, in one or several payments, the deed can be replaced by documents signed through a qualified trust service under EU Regulation 910/2014. The origin of the funds and the means of payment are still required.
If the requirements are not met, your child loses both benefits and pays under the rate scale. The comparison with inheriting is in lifetime gifts or inheritance in the Valencia region, and the tax in more detail in gift tax in the Valencia region.
Does the Spanish tax office see Bizum payments?
Since 1 January 2026, banks and payment institutions file a monthly return listing card payments and payments linked to a mobile number, but only those received by businesses and self-employed professionals (article 38 bis of the tax management regulations, as amended by Royal Decree 253/2025). A Bizum between parent and child is not part of it.
That does not make it invisible. Banks report every account and its holders monthly, and once a year its balances and the total debits and credits (article 37 of the same regulations). And the tax office can ask the bank for the detail (article 93 of the General Tax Law).
The risks of not declaring it
- Late filing surcharges. If your child files late without being asked and there is tax to pay, there is a surcharge of 1% plus 1% per full month, and 15% after twelve months, plus late interest (article 27 of the General Tax Law). With zero tax due there is no surcharge, but there may be a penalty for not filing.
- Penalties. If the tax office finds it first, there may be a penalty for unpaid tax, if its conditions are met: 50% of the unpaid amount if minor, more if serious or very serious (article 191).
- Losing the credit. The 99% applies to what is fully declared on time, or late before any request from the tax office (article 12 bis.3 of Law 13/1997). Whatever the tax office uncovers gets no credit.
- If you give assets, not money. If you give a flat, shares or gold, you may also have a capital gain in your income tax on the difference between cost and current value (articles 33 and 36 of the Income Tax Law). Not with money.
- The future inheritance. What you give in life to a child who will later inherit with their siblings is brought into the inheritance calculation (article 1035 of the Civil Code), unless you expressly waive it (article 1036). More in forced heirs and the reserved share.
Common mistakes
- Going to the notary after the month is up. No deed in time means no allowance and no credit, except for the digital signature route for gifts of up to 4,000 euros.
- Giving cash. Without a bank trail, it is very hard to prove the origin and the means of payment.
- Splitting payments to stay under 4,000 euros. The law adds up every payment from the same donor over three years.
When it makes sense to get help
Before you make the transfer, not after. Especially if the amount is large, if it is for a home or if you have other children and want to treat them equally.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to declare the Bizum I send my child?
You do not. If it is a gift, your child declares it as the recipient. In the Valencia region they have one month from the payment.
Is there an amount below which nothing needs to be declared?
There is no exempt minimum. What the Valencia region offers is a simpler way to document gifts of up to 4,000 euros over three years between the same people: a qualified digital signature instead of a notarial deed.
How much does my child pay if I give them 30,000 euros in Valencia?
If they are 21 or over and the gift is put into a deed within the month, with the origin and means of payment justified, and you have given them nothing else in the previous five years, it falls within the 100,000 euro allowance, so the taxable base after the allowance is zero.
Is paying my child's studies or rent a gift?
It can be meeting the maintenance duty you owe them by law, if they really need it and lack sufficient means (articles 142, 146 and 152 of the Civil Code). If they have the means, or you pay more than needed, it can be a gift.
Does the tax office see Bizum payments between private individuals?
The 2026 monthly Bizum return only covers businesses and self-employed professionals. But banks report accounts, balances and total movements, and the tax office can ask for the detail.