Colombian pop star Shakira has won a significant legal victory against Spain’s tax authorities, with the country’s National High Court acquitting her of tax fraud for 2011 and ordering the Spanish Treasury to repay more than €60 million in taxes, fines, interest and legal costs.
In a ruling made public on May 18, 2026, the Audiencia Nacional annulled tax assessments and penalties of about €55 million imposed by the Spanish State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT) and determined that the authorities had failed to prove the singer was a tax resident in Spain during 2011.
Under Spanish law, an individual is considered a fiscal resident if they spend more than 183 days in the country in a given year.
The court found that Shakira spent at most around 163 days in Spain that year, largely due to her Sale el Sol world tour, and had no primary economic or family centre in the country at the time. Her defence put the figure even lower, at 143 days; the court held that, either way, the total fell short of the 183-day threshold and that her absences could not be treated as merely “sporadic”.
The decision requires the Treasury to return approximately €54.7 million paid under protest, plus roughly €9.2 million in interest and legal costs, bringing the total reimbursement above €60 million, according to the singer’s legal team.
Shakira’s legal team described the outcome as the end of an eight-year battle. Her lawyer, José Luís Prada, said the resolution followed “an eight-year ordeal that has taken an unacceptable toll”.
In a statement, the singer said there had “never [been] any fraud” and expressed relief after years of what she called sleepless nights and reputational damage.
According to Shakira, the tax authorities used her name and public image to send a threatening message to other taxpayers in Spain.
“There was never any fraud, and the administration itself could never prove otherwise, simply because it wasn’t true. Yet, for nearly a decade, I was treated as guilty,” she said.
The dispute centred on income and wealth tax declarations for 2011.
The AEAT had argued Shakira should be treated as a Spanish resident and taxed on her worldwide earnings for that period.
The singer maintained she was not resident, citing her international touring commitments and residence arrangements.
She said she was on a world tour in 2011, performing 120 concerts in 37 countries, according to her lawyers.
The case is not completely over yet, as the tax authorities can still take it to the Supreme Court. The ruling does not affect tax years after 2011.
This case is distinct from a separate tax fraud investigation concerning 2012-2014, which Shakira settled in November 2023.
In that earlier matter, she agreed to pay a €7.3 million fine and accepted a suspended three-year prison sentence to avoid trial, while continuing to deny intentional wrongdoing. She had earlier repaid about €14.5 million in unpaid tax for 2012-2014. A further 2018 probe was dismissed in 2024.
Spain has pursued high-profile tax cases against international celebrities and sports stars in recent years as part of a broader crackdown on tax evasion, with footballers Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among those previously pursued by the authorities.
