# Taxes



## Brulee (Jan 13, 2021)

Hello
I have arrived in Spain on August 20th. Does this mean my tax year starts on January 2022 to December and when do I have to fill in a form to declare my assets.
Many thanks for any replies


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

If you have been less than 183 days by December 31st 2021 you shouldn't need to pay tax. However, you will need to have paid tax in UK over that period. If you have residency then be careful with things like UK house sales where you might not incur CGT in UK but the Spanish might then use the residency rule combined with centre of financial interest to levy Spanish CGT. In short, make sure that any income you receive now is declared in UK until Jan 1st. Dont liquidize any assets assuming that there is no Spanish tax ( there could be depending on how the Hacienda see things). Finay if in doubt go to a good English/ Spanish financial advisor ( like B....F....) and dont take what we say here as gospel as tax can be quite an individual thing here in Spain


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## Brulee (Jan 13, 2021)

Thanks very much for the reply. So when would I have to fill in the Modello 720 form in. Jan _ March 2022 or 2023


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

I have the answer from the Spanish tax office this week. The tax year in which you have been in the country for 183 days becomes the year that you have to declare your assets at the end of the year so if its next year then it will be in December next year. As Kaipa says you have to continue to pay any dues in the UK until you become domiciled here. The Spanish will give you a form when you become domiciled to give to HMRC to inform them you are now under Spanish jurisdiction. Your residency is not actually connected to your tax domicile and it is perfectly possible to be resident in Spain and tax domiciled elsewhere or even dual domiciled.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

I have been investigated by the Hacienda this year for 2016 and what people need to realise is that things are not as fixed as they like to think. If you look at the big firms blogs you will see they often introduce the caveat " might" when talking about the norms. This is because the Spanish Hacienda are all too aware of how persons attempt to avoid taxes or hide assets. So various things like residency, 183 days, centre of interest are all played against each other when they come to determine tax liability. My ex used to work for a large lawywrs office dealing with foreigners tax and there were always investigations going on where she said Hacienda would be looking at persons tax dealings between various countries. Admittedly most of them were people who were " absent mindedly" forgetting various foreign accounts or trying to play the residency / non residency card. Incidentally one thing the hacienda would apparently do was check peoples facturas to determine how long they were living in Spain ( as they can ask the providers for that information)


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Brulee said:


> Thanks very much for the reply. So when would I have to fill in the Modello 720 form in. Jan _ March 2022 or 2023


Modelo 720 isn't a tax form, just a declaration of overseas assets. 

Do it at the beginning of 2023 once you are officially tax resident (i.e. you have lived in Spain for more than half of a calendar year).


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

kaipa said:


> I have been investigated by the Hacienda this year for 2016 and what people need to realise is that things are not as fixed as they like to think. If you look at the big firms blogs you will see they often introduce the caveat " might" when talking about the norms. This is because the Spanish Hacienda are all too aware of how persons attempt to avoid taxes or hide assets. So various things like residency, 183 days, centre of interest are all played against each other when they come to determine tax liability. My ex used to work for a large lawywrs office dealing with foreigners tax and there were always investigations going on where she said Hacienda would be looking at persons tax dealings between various countries. Admittedly most of them were people who were " absent mindedly" forgetting various foreign accounts or trying to play the residency / non residency card. Incidentally one thing the hacienda would apparently do was check peoples facturas to determine how long they were living in Spain ( as they can ask the providers for that information)


Kaipa, many people I know have been "investigated" for 2016, including my husband. We've been paying taxes here since 2010, with the help of a gestor, and have never hidden anything. They found a mistake relating to his UK teachers' pension and he had to pay another €200. No big deal and nothing to worry about - unless you are genuinely trying to avoid paying what you owe.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Alcalaina said:


> Kaipa, many people I know have been "investigated" for 2016, including my husband. We've been paying taxes here since 2010, with the help of a gestor, and have never hidden anything. They found a mistake relating to his UK teachers' pension and he had to pay another €200. No big deal and nothing to worry about - unless you are genuinely trying to avoid paying what you owe
> 
> 
> It can be a costly problem . Initially I was told that I would need to have my HMRC documents and supporting evidence translated to Spanish and I think there is a poster here who had to do that on their investigation


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

The tax I do not understand is the ‘’Non-Resident Tax’’. Could anyone explain the justification for this tax? Why is a non-resident charged this tax by the Spanish government on a property they have bought and paid for with tax-paid money? If the owner only uses the property for themselves, has no rental income, and has no rental license, it cannot be an imputed tax if there is no income or no benefit in kind.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

woodpecker9 said:


> The tax I do not understand is the ‘’Non-Resident Tax’’. Could anyone explain the justification for this tax? Why is a non-resident charged this tax by the Spanish government on a property they have bought and paid for with tax-paid money? If the owner only uses the property for themselves, has no rental income, and has no rental license, it cannot be an imputed tax if there is no income or no benefit in kind.


... but that's what imputed means - it's tax on the income that you MIGHT have earned


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

_Hi snikpoh, I am not looking for an argument with anyone and I suppose it is what it is, a discrimination rip-off tax. There is no might if you do not have a rental license. Sounds like Jim Bowen on BullsEye, look at what you could have won._
_







_


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

woodpecker9 said:


> The tax I do not understand is the ‘’Non-Resident Tax’’. Could anyone explain the justification for this tax? Why is a non-resident charged this tax by the Spanish government on a property they have bought and paid for with tax-paid money? If the owner only uses the property for themselves, has no rental income, and has no rental license, it cannot be an imputed tax if there is no income or no benefit in kind.


Even owners of Spanish properties who are not full time residents expect roads to be provided and maintained for them to travel on when they visit, expect hospitals and other emergency services to be available should they ever need them, and to have the rubbish collected regularly and the streets lit and cleaned. Therefore a contribution to these costs is expected from them.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

woodpecker9 said:


> _Hi snikpoh, I am not looking for an argument with anyone and I suppose it is what it is, a discrimination rip-off tax. There is no might if you do not have a rental license. Sounds like Jim Bowen on BullsEye, look at what you could have won._


There are still a lot of places being rented to holidaymakers without rental llicences.


That aside - there's no discrimination at all. Anyone who owns a property in Spain which isn't their primary residence has to pay the tax on that property.

This is regardless of nationality & includes Spanish nationals who have a main residence & a holiday home.


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

_Yes, but non-residents are still paying full annual IBA taxes even though they have much less limited access to their properties. Why penalize those already disadvantaged with an extra tax._


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

_This tax is targeted at non-residents. That is why it is a discrimination tax._


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

If you own a second home in UK you pay council tax. You might only use it for 4 weeks a year- you cant ask for only 1/12 council tax can you?. Its the same in Spain.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Don't like it, sell it don't pay, simples.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

woodpecker9 said:


> _Yes, but non-residents are still paying full annual IBA taxes even though they have much less limited access to their properties. Why penalize those already disadvantaged with an extra tax._


People who can afford to buy and maintain a second home can hardly be described as "those already disadvantaged".


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

woodpecker9 said:


> _This tax is targeted at non-residents. That is why it is a discrimination tax._


No, it isn't targeted at non-residents.

It's targeted at anyone who owns property which isn't their primary residence, including residents of Spain who own more than one property here.


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## timwip (Feb 27, 2017)

As Benjamin Franklin said, “… in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.”


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