# UK/Spain Tax Advisor



## chris&vicky (Feb 6, 2013)

Can anyone recommend a decent tax advisory service where they are experts in both UK and Spainish tax law? I hear all the adverts for Blevins Franks but have no idea if they are any good. They sound just the job, but guess their advertising may be a tad biased lol.

I have a Spanish tax consultant but their knowledge of UK tax is very limited. Before I move permanently to Spain I have a UK property that I need to sell, so capital gains tax implications. I need to buy a Spanish property. Set up a will. I am currently Spanish tax resident but obviously want to be UK tax resident to sell my house. 

There are so many horror stories I hear it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. I just want to pay somebody I can trust to help me.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Well, some people on here have used Blevins Franks and speak very highly of them
I think it was Hepa?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Blevins Franks, I use them as financial advisors, they have however helped me with capital gains tax advice on the disposal of my properties in the U.K. They have also pointed me in the direction of an accountant here in the Canary isles, who submits my tax returns.

Perhaps you should have a word with them. I did and I have profited.


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## chris&vicky (Feb 6, 2013)

Hepa said:


> Blevins Franks, I use them as financial advisors, they have however helped me with capital gains tax advice on the disposal of my properties in the U.K. They have also pointed me in the direction of an accountant here in the Canary isles, who submits my tax returns.
> 
> Perhaps you should have a word with them. I did and I have profited.


I will. Thank you.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

chris&vicky said:


> Can anyone recommend a decent tax advisory service where they are experts in both UK and Spainish tax law? I hear all the adverts for Blevins Franks but have no idea if they are any good. They sound just the job, but guess their advertising may be a tad biased lol.
> 
> I have a Spanish tax consultant but their knowledge of UK tax is very limited. Before I move permanently to Spain I have a UK property that I need to sell, so capital gains tax implications. I need to buy a Spanish property. Set up a will. I am currently Spanish tax resident but obviously want to be UK tax resident to sell my house.
> 
> There are so many horror stories I hear it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. I just want to pay somebody I can trust to help me.


MY son, who is a lawyer, had a professional relationship with Blevins Franks in France for about five years and he recommended them to us when we moved to Spain. They have given us good, tax-efficient investment advice but we do not use them for tax returns. We use a firm called Abaco, who have offices in Alicante and Torrevieja. They have English staff but whether or they can advise on UK tax matters I´m not sure. Might be worth giving them a call.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

What are there fees like?


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

cambio said:


> What are there fees like?


Blevins Franks fees can appear high but, at the end of the day, they give investment advice that gives good, tax-efficient returns. We´ve paid them several thousand pounds over the last seven years but we couldn´t have secured the net income we have enjoyed without them, so we´re happy. Abaco charge us €140 a year for a joint Spanish tax return and this fee has remained the same for seven years.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

The Skipper said:


> Blevins Franks fees can appear high but, at the end of the day, they give investment advice that gives good, tax-efficient returns. We´ve paid them several thousand pounds over the last seven years but we couldn´t have secured the net income we have enjoyed without them, so we´re happy. Abaco charge us €140 a year for a joint Spanish tax return and this fee has remained the same for seven years.


Huge commision for restructuring your finances? 
So you you have to be pretty well off to go to them in the first place then?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

extranjero said:


> Huge commision for restructuring your finances?
> So you you have to be pretty well off to go to them in the first place then?


Our local branch will only handle accounts with a minimum 100k euros.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

extranjero said:


> Huge commision for restructuring your finances?
> So you you have to be pretty well off to go to them in the first place then?


Standard commission for all Advisors, set the commission against the returns and they become marginal, plus the fact that our investments are secured free from inheritance tax, and we no longer need to complete a 720.

Without advice, this would not have been possible. I have used a financial advisor since 1997, most of the time my investments have increased, but you have to pay, I do not mind paying someone to make me money.


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## alborino (Dec 13, 2014)

Hepa said:


> Standard commission for all Advisors, set the commission against the returns and they become marginal, plus the fact that our investments are secured free from inheritance tax, and we no longer need to complete a 720.
> 
> Without advice, this would not have been possible. I have used a financial advisor since 1997, most of the time my investments have increased, but you have to pay, I do not mind paying someone to make me money.


Sorry but I have studied this in great detail. Honest IFAs will tell you that unless you have a wealth over a limit (and £100,000 is small) and unless you have very unusual circumstances the safe investment strategies freely available make sense.

The IFAs I know need to pay their mortgages and earn a living like every one . And what Hepa is suggesting (and good luck to him) is a rarity. The job of an IFA is in simple terms to match your risk threshold with your investments , and thus balance your portfolio to match that risk level. And to charge a valid sum to re-balance that portfolio each year or so (less frequently for safer portfolios). And then to explain that 5 years in investment terms is a very short term. They do not in any way guarantee higher rates of profit., That is down to the markets.

If you are simply talking about tax avoidance that is certainly a different matter  

OK incoming but I stand by what I say and I doubt any legit IFA would disagree lane:


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