Shakira Wins $64M From Spain After Years of Tax Court Wars

After nearly a decade of legal wrangling with Spanish tax authorities, Shakira finally has something to celebrate. In May 2026, a Spanish court acquitted the Colombian singer in a high-profile tax fraud case tied to 2011 and ordered the government to return more than $64 million in wrongfully imposed fines. It’s a dramatic vindication—but don’t expect her to see that money anytime soon.

The core dispute hinged on a deceptively simple question: Did Shakira actually live in Spain? Under Spanish law, anyone spending at least 183 days in the country during a calendar year qualifies as a tax resident and gets taxed on worldwide income. Non-residents? They only owe taxes on earnings connected to Spain. Spanish authorities claimed Shakira was a resident in 2011, pointing to her relationship with now-ex Gerard Piqué as evidence she’d planted roots there. The court disagreed. Investigators could only prove she spent 163 days in the country that year—20 days short of the threshold. Her defense team’s trump card: she was literally touring the world. A grueling, globe-spanning schedule meant she had ironclad documentation proving she wasn’t hanging around Spain long enough to qualify as a resident.

But here’s where the victory gets complicated. Tax authorities have already announced plans to appeal the ruling all the way to Spain’s Supreme Court. While that case winds through the system, the $64 million payout stays frozen. Legal experts say it could be years before any money actually changes hands.

This latest win doesn’t erase Shakira’s other tax troubles, though. Back in November 2023, she’d already settled a separate case over unpaid taxes between 2012 and 2014, accepting a suspended three-year sentence and a €7 million fine to avoid prison time. She defended that decision publicly, writing that she made the choice“to protect my children and to get on with my life, not out of cowardice or guilt.”A third case from September 2023 is still pending—Barcelona authorities are alleging she failed to pay €6.7 million in 2018 through an offshore company.

Throughout the ordeal, Shakira has maintained that Spanish authorities unfairly targeted her while she actually overpaid her taxes. In a 2024 essay for El Mundo, she described the toll the legal battles took: sleepless nights, health problems, and strain on her family. She shares sons Milan and Sasha with Piqué. The two split in June 2022 after 12 years together, and Shakira has since relocated to Miami while Piqué, now retired from soccer, remains in Spain. The case may have been about numbers on a tax form, but the real cost has been measured in years of her life.