New royal decree-law limits the reimbursement of DANA advance payments

The Council of Ministers on September 29, 2026, approved Royal Decree-Law 24/2026, which modulates the obligation to return advances on aid granted for damages caused by the DANA of October and November 2024. The regulation is published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) no. 241, of September 30, 2026, in Section I (pp. 127748 to 127754), with the official reference BOE-A-2026-20264, and enters into force the day following its publication, that is, October 1, 2026.

The text is issued under article 86 of the Spanish Constitution and at the proposal of the Ministers of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory and of the Interior, and is signed by King Felipe R. and by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón. It is structured into a single article, a single repealing provision, and three final provisions, and is based on the emergency regulatory framework approved after the catastrophe: Royal Decree-Law 6/2024, of November 5; Royal Decree-Law 7/2024, of November 11; and Royal Decree-Law 8/2024, of November 28, in addition to Royal Decree 307/2005, of March 18, on subsidies for emergency or catastrophic situations.

Who is exempt from returning the advance

The single article regulates the reimbursement of the advances provided for in article 3 of Royal Decree-Law 6/2024. Recipients shall only be required to reimburse the amounts received in full or in part when any of these circumstances occur:

• That the sum of the general taxable base and the savings base of the 2025 IRPF (Personal Income Tax) exceeds 42,000 euros.
• That said sum does not exceed 42,000 euros, but the 2025 net worth exceeds 300,000 euros, according to information from the State Tax Administration Agency; the primary residence is not counted and, if its value exceeds that figure, only the excess is considered.
• That the recipient is not within the subjective scope of application of Royal Decree-Law 6/2024, as defined in its article 1.3.

The amount to be returned may not exceed the difference between the sum of the bases declared in the 2025 IRPF and 42,000 euros.

Procedure, notification, and payment facilities

The procedure is governed by Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Subsidies Law, and by its regulation, approved by Royal Decree 887/2006, of July 21, with the specificities of the new royal decree-law. The authority that granted the advance will determine ex officio the appropriateness and the amount of the reimbursement based on data from the State Tax Administration Agency and information held by the public administrations.

The resolution shall be notified to the interested party in a single act, including the amount and the payment deadlines for the voluntary period in accordance with the General Collection Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 939/2005, of July 29. If the verifications determine that the reimbursement is not applicable, the termination of the procedure shall be notified. Reimbursements may take advantage of current payment facilities, and the affected party shall not be required to provide documents already in the possession of the administrations.

Urgency, condonation, and legal framework

The preamble justifies the use of the royal decree-law due to the imminence of the verification and settlement procedures for reimbursements already received and the need to provide legal certainty to both the affected parties and the administrations. The regulation invokes the doctrine of the Constitutional Court regarding the relationship of congruence between the urgent situation and the measure adopted, and is issued under rule 14 of article 149.1 of the Constitution, concerning General Treasury and State Debt.

The partial condonation is supported by article 75 of Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax Law, and article 7.2 of Law 47/2003, of November 26, General Budgetary Law, and aligns with the partial exemption regime for public credit introduced in 2022 in the consolidated text of the Insolvency Law, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2020, of May 5. The text also declares its compliance with the principles of article 129 of Law 39/2015, of October 1.

The impact is direct for thousands of victims who still bear the economic consequences of the catastrophe: those with moderate income and assets are released from returning advances conceived as urgent aid, while the requirement for reimbursement is reserved for recipients with sufficient economic capacity. The measure prevents the immediate relief mechanism from becoming, over time, a new burden for the affected families.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 241, of September 30, 2026, Sec. I. General Provisions, pp. 127748-127754 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-20264).