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Investment

Funds versus ETFs: what rotating costs

What it costs to change investment several times instead of holding one, counted in euros and with the tax alongside.

What it does

In Spain, money that moves from one investment fund to another by means of a transfer is not taxed at that moment; an ETF is listed on the stock exchange and, in general terms, swapping it for another requires selling and paying tax. The calculator projects two columns with the same investment, the same return and the same number of years. In one of them, the transfer is not taxed and the taxation arrives only once at the end, on the accumulated capital gains. In the other, each change of investment sells, pays tax on the capital gains accrued since the last one and reinvests the net amount. The difference between the two final amounts is the cost of rotating.

Key concepts

  • Transfer: the movement of money from one investment fund to another without being taxed at that moment; the accumulated capital gains are carried forward and taxed when it is redeemed. It is a regime specific to funds: an ETF, in general terms, cannot avail itself of it.
  • Capital gains: the difference between the sale price and the purchase price of what is being sold. It is the base on which the tax is applied, and a loss is not taxed.
  • 2025 general savings scale: the combined rates (state plus regional) applied band by band to that capital gain: 19 % up to 6.000 €, 21 % up to 50.000 €, 23 % up to 200.000 €, 27 % up to 300.000 € and 30 % from there on, applied progressively, that is, each band at its own rate. The source is the AEAT IRPF 2025 Practical Manual. It does not include loss offsetting, minimums or any other personal circumstances.
  • Net amount reinvested: what is left after paying the tax. When that net amount is reinvested, the next capital gain is measured from there and not from the previous value, which is what gives each rotation its own cost.
  • Change of investment: each sale that reopens the calculation base. The more changes there are, the more times the tax is paid on capital gains accumulated in progressively higher bands.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the difference only measure the cost of rotating?

Because both columns start from the same investment, with the same amount, the same annual return and the same number of years. The only thing that changes is when each of them is taxed, so that the difference between the final amounts is exactly what rotating has cost.

What happens if there is no change at all?

Both columns are taxed only once, on the same capital gain, and give the same number. The difference is exactly zero, and that zero is the check that the account is not measuring anything else.

How are the changes spread over time?

Between the first and the last year, at equal intervals. They are not concentrated in the final moment because a change at the same time as the final sale would tax the same thing twice, and would make the account more confusing without making it any more accurate.

Is a loss taxed?

No. If in a change the value is below what was paid, the amount due is zero and the next capital gain is measured from that lower value. The law allows losses to be offset against gains, within limits, and the calculator does not do so: with returns that change sign, the figure may overstate the cost of rotating.

Which taxes are applied?

Only the 2025 general savings scale (state and regional rates added together), applied band by band and progressively to the capital gain. Loss offsetting, minimums and any other personal circumstance are not included, so the figure is an approximation and not a tax calculation.

The rates the account uses are the combined rates of the savings scale —the state rate plus the regional rate of the region where each person is taxed for tax purposes—, which is what arts. 66 and 76 of Ley 35/2006 on the IRPF set out (the taxable base of savings and its scale, in the wording of Ley 7/2024). What comes out is the result of applying that scale to the band that falls in, not the tax payable: the figure is an approximation and not a tax calculation. For the development of each year and its bands, the reference is the AEAT IRPF Practical Manual; the consolidated text of the law is on the BOE. Neither page replaces the view of the Agencia Tributaria on a specific case.

And if the return is negative?

The value falls and there are no capital gains to tax, so the tax in both columns is zero and so is the difference. In that case the cost of rotating, as this page measures it, is exactly zero.

Does the account take splits, distributions or dividends into account?

No. The model is annual and compounded, with one sale for each change indicated and nothing else. Any other operation that modifies the number of units or the value per unit falls outside the account.

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