The electronic structure of 16 complex compounds of RE (Y, La–Tb) with the same ligand – nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) [NTP, N(CH2PO3)3H6] and with different coordination symmetries of the RE atom is investigated. The structure of XP‐spectra of a valence band in this area significantly differs for structures with non‐octahedral O‐coordination of the RE atom, on the one hand, and those with pseudo‐octahedral O‐coordination of the RE atom, on the other hand. In the XP‐spectra of non‐octahedral O‐coordination complexes the O2s‐states have a maximum at EB = 24–26 eV and are poorly overlapped with Ln5p‐states. For pseudo‐octahedral O‐coordination structures a wide strip is observed in the field of EB = 20–28 eV corresponding to an overlap M5p‐ and O2s‐states with formation of internal valence molecular orbitals (IVMO). Apparently, in pseudo‐octahedral O‐coordination structures the arrangement of O atoms agrees with the octahedral symmetry of RE p‐orbitals and leads to the formation of IVMO M5p+O2s.