Shakira’s years-long battle with Spanish tax authorities took a dramatic turn in May 2026, when a Spanish court acquitted the Colombian singer in a tax fraud case tied to the 2011 tax year — and ordered the government to return more than $64 million in wrongfully imposed fines.
The ruling is the latest chapter in a saga that has spanned three separate cases, a multimillion-dollar settlement and years of public scrutiny tied to Shakira’s former residence in Spain.
Here’s everything to know about how Shakira got here — and what comes next:
Shakira’s Spain Tax Residency Defense Explained
The disputes all hinge on one question: Was Shakira a Spanish tax resident? Under Spanish law, anyone who spends at least 183 days in the country during a calendar year qualifies as a tax resident and is taxed on worldwide income. Non-residents are taxed only on income earned in or connected to Spain.
“The key issue was residency under Spanish law,” Rachael Bennett, a certified family law specialist and senior attorney at Sullivan Law & Associates with no ties to the case, explained to Us Weekly in May 2026. “Shakira would generally be treated as a tax resident if she spent more than 183 days in Spain within a calendar year … while a non-resident is generally taxed only on income that’s earned or connected to Spain itself.”
Shakira Wins 2011 Tax Fraud Acquittal
Spanish authorities had alleged that Shakira was a resident in 2011, pointing to her relationship with now-ex Gerard Piqué, whom the singer dated from 2010 to 2022. The court ultimately rejected that theory, finding authorities could only prove the singer spent 163 days in Spain that year — 20 days short of the legal threshold.
According to legal expert Bennett, Shakira’s grueling tour schedule helped seal her defense.
“One of the biggest pieces of evidence her defense team leaned on was the fact that she was actually on a world tour in 2011,” Bennett said. “Because she had such a grueling tour schedule, that gave her significant evidence that she was physically outside of Spain.”
The court ordered the Spanish government to return more than $64 million — but Shakira won’t see the money anytime soon. Tax authorities, meanwhile, plan to appeal to Spain’s Supreme Court, and any payout will be frozen until a final ruling.
“For this 2011 resolution, there really hasn’t been any repercussions yet for the Spanish tax agencies,” Bennett told Us. “Once this ruling came out, they instantly announced their intent to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court in Spain, and under Spanish law, the government can legally freeze the payout while a case is pending appeal.”
Shakira’s 2023 Settlement Over 2012-2014 Taxes
Long before the 2026 acquittal, Shakira had already reached a deal in a separate tax case. In November 2023, she settled with Spanish prosecutors over allegations that she failed to pay more than €14.5 million (about $15.8 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014. Prosecutors had claimed she lived in Catalonia while declaring residency in the Bahamas.
She accepted a suspended three-year sentence and a €7 million ($7.6 million) fine to avoid jail.
“I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight,” Shakira said at the time.
She later defended the decision in an essay for El Mundo, writing in part, “I did it to protect my children and to get on with my life, not out of cowardice or guilt.”
Shakira Faces Separate 2018 Tax Charges
In September 2023, Barcelona authorities also charged Shakira with a third tax case, accusing her of failing to pay €6.7 million ($7.1 million) in 2018 through an offshore company in a tax haven. The case was opened that July, and Shakira has maintained she was not a Spanish resident during the disputed period.
Shakira Speaks Out on Spanish Tax Battle
Throughout the ordeal, Shakira has repeatedly insisted she paid more than she owed and accused Spanish authorities of targeting her unfairly.
“They wanted to make the public believe that I did not pay my taxes when the truth is that I paid much more than I should have,” Shakira wrote in her 2024 El Mundo essay, noting the personal toll the legal battles have taken, including “sleepless nights that ultimately impacted my health and my family’s well-being.”
Shakira shares sons Milan and Sasha with Piqué. The two split in June 2022 after 12 years together, and the singer has since relocated to Miami while Piqué, now retired from soccer, remains in Spain.
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
