The basics
TIN and TAE: what they are and how they differ
Two interest rates in every Spanish offer: one to work out the payment and one to compare.
Updated 6 November 2026
- TIN
- Tipo de interés nominal, the nominal rate. It's the annual percentage applied to what you owe or hold. If interest is paid monthly, a twelfth of it is applied each month.
- TAE
- Tasa anual equivalente, Spain's APR or AER. It's the rate at which what you receive and what you pay over the life of the product balance out, with all interest and costs included 1.
- Variable TAE
- The TAE of a variable-rate product. It's worked out assuming the reference index, such as the Euribor, stays at its latest known value 2.
What a loan's TAE includes
For loans, the TAE includes the interest, fees and other costs you must pay the bank for the loan, and also life, disability or unemployment insurance when the bank requires it to lend to you 2. It doesn't include what you'd pay if you fell behind on payments 3.
What a deposit's TAE includes
For deposits and savings accounts, the TAE includes the interest and any fees you must pay for the product, using interest before tax 2. At the same TIN, the more often interest is paid, the higher the TAE:
| Interest paid | TAE |
|---|---|
| Once a year | 3.00% |
| Every quarter | 3.03% |
| Every month | 3.04% |
The formula
The TAE is the rate X at which everything you receive from the bank is worth, in present value, the same as everything you pay it, with the time of each payment measured in years 3. For a loan with equal monthly payments, that means finding the monthly rate at which the discounted payments add up to the money received and annualising it: (1 + monthly rate) to the power of 12, minus 1.
Is the TAE always higher than the TIN?
On a loan with monthly payments, yes, because it allows for paying interest every month, and more so with fees. On a deposit that pays interest once a year with no fees, the TAE and TIN are the same.
What should I look at to compare two loans?
The TAE, the total cost and the payment. The TAE ranks offers by what they cost; the total cost and the payment tell you whether you can afford it.
Sources
- Orden EHA/2899/2011, de 28 de octubre, de transparencia y protección del cliente de servicios bancarios. Texto consolidado, BOE. www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2011-17015
- Circular 5/2012, de 27 de junio, del Banco de España, sobre transparencia de los servicios bancarios y responsabilidad en la concesión de préstamos. Texto consolidado, BOE. www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2012-9058
- Ley 16/2011, de 24 de junio, de contratos de crédito al consumo. Texto consolidado, BOE. www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2011-10970
General information, not financial advice. The calculators give estimates: what counts are the terms of your bank's offer. bancos.app is not a bank and isn't linked to any bank.