# Income Tax



## eliefostermacro (Oct 8, 2014)

My husband and I will be moving to Spain soon. Our only income is from our private UK pension. We will be living permanently in Spain, so we will be tax residents. In the UK we take the maximum of £10600 p.a. each before having to pay income tax. It was our intention to do the same once we get to Spain as my husband read somewhere it was approx Euro12000 you can earn as income prior to paying any income tax, however, I just found a website that says the amount you can earn is a lot lower (said Euro 5151 for tax year 2013/14). Can someone please tell me what the amount is you can earn in Spain before paying income tax. Thanks for your input. Elaine


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

eliefostermacro said:


> My husband and I will be moving to Spain soon. Our only income is from our private UK pension. We will be living permanently in Spain, so we will be tax residents. In the UK we take the maximum of £10600 p.a. each before having to pay income tax. It was our intention to do the same once we get to Spain as my husband read somewhere it was approx Euro12000 you can earn as income prior to paying any income tax, however, I just found a website that says the amount you can earn is a lot lower (said Euro 5151 for tax year 2013/14). Can someone please tell me what the amount is you can earn in Spain before paying income tax. Thanks for your input. Elaine


It's actually zero but then each autonomous region varies. The figure of 5151€ that you mention is an individual's personal allowance.

Try here for more detail; Spanish tax rates and allowances for 2015.


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## eliefostermacro (Oct 8, 2014)

snikpoh said:


> It's actually zero but then each autonomous region varies. The figure of 5151€ that you mention is an individual's personal allowance.
> 
> Try here for more detail; Spanish tax rates and allowances for 2015.


Thanks for the website, I will take a look, but I am little confused by what you say. The personal allowance is what I am referring to in the UK at £10600 and if it is Euro 5151 in Spain then it is a lot lower. Or am I missing the point?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Yes, you haven't missed the point - the threshold is much higher in the UK.

Personal allowances 2015 (i.e. what you can earn before having to pay tax):
Under 65 years old 5,550 Euros
65+ 6,700 Euros
75+ 8,100 Euros

Plus additional allowances for dependents (children or elderly relatives).


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## eliefostermacro (Oct 8, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> Yes, you haven't missed the point - the threshold is much higher in the UK.
> 
> Personal allowances 2015 (i.e. what you can earn before having to pay tax):
> Under 65 years old 5,550 Euros
> ...


Thanks very much for clarifying it.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

eliefostermacro said:


> Thanks very much for clarifying it.


Swings and roundabouts of course - other taxes (council tax, duty on alcohol etc) are much lower here.


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## Cyberia (Apr 10, 2015)

I have a house in France and was paying my tax there, which is a lot, lot lower than the UK, and Spain it seems.

I recently got a Residencia and Padron, though I am only renting in Spain. Do I have to pay my tax in Spain now?


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

snikpoh said:


> It's actually zero but then each autonomous region varies. The figure of 5151€ that you mention is an individual's personal allowance.
> 
> Try here for more detail; Spanish tax rates and allowances for 2015.


Blimey! I looked at this web page and noted their charges - €235 for a married 
couple´s declaration! We pay only €140 a year as a couple, no increase for six years, and sometimes they declare us as a couple and sometimes make two individual declarations, depending on the income each year, but the charge is always the same. And that is a point worth noting - a husband´s income can be shared 50-50 with his spouse (or vice versa) for tax declaration purposes, thereby doubling the tax-free allowance.


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## eliefostermacro (Oct 8, 2014)

The Skipper said:


> Blimey! I looked at this web page and noted their charges - €235 for a married
> couple´s declaration! We pay only €140 a year as a couple, no increase for six years, and sometimes they declare us as a couple and sometimes make two individual declarations, depending on the income each year, but the charge is always the same. And that is a point worth noting - a husband´s income can be shared 50-50 with his spouse (or vice versa) for tax declaration purposes, thereby doubling the tax-free allowance.


Hello Skipper, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by sharing. Our only income will be our UK personal pensions. How can we share the income, if we are both receiving the same amount from each of our pensions? Thanks Elaine


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

The Skipper said:


> Blimey! I looked at this web page and noted their charges - €235 for a married couple´s declaration! We pay only €140 a year as a couple, no increase for six years ...


€140? Blimey! We pay the local gestor €20 to do our joint IRPF declaration - cheaper than what we'd spend on petrol and parking if we drove to the AT office.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> €140? Blimey! We pay the local gestor €20 to do our joint IRPF declaration - cheaper than what we'd spend on petrol and parking if we drove to the AT office.


Being cheapskates, we won't be paying anything for ours, but will make an appointment to go to the Hacienda office 3 minutes away and they will do it for free. We'll do a joint declaration this year as I had no income apart from a bit of savings interest last year, but individual ones from then on.

We popped in last week as we thought we'd have to fill in Modelo 030 forms, especially my OH who has never paid even non-resident tax here, as the house is in my name. We were quite surprised when the man said no, it's not necessary, and called up the OH's details on screen to show us! So if anybody is registered as a resident, and has a bank account, Hacienda must know they are here.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> Being cheapskates, we won't be paying anything for ours, but will make an appointment to go to the Hacienda office 3 minutes away and they will do it for free. We'll do a joint declaration this year as I had no income apart from a bit of savings interest last year, but individual ones from then on.
> 
> We popped in last week as we thought we'd have to fill in Modelo 030 forms, especially my OH who has never paid even non-resident tax here, as the house is in my name. We were quite surprised when the man said no, it's not necessary, and called up the OH's details on screen to show us! *So if anybody is registered as a resident, and has a bank account, Hacienda must know they are here*.


of course they do..... & they know if you're on the padrón, too


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

eliefostermacro said:


> Hello Skipper, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by sharing. Our only income will be our UK personal pensions. How can we share the income, if we are both receiving the same amount from each of our pensions? Thanks Elaine


Sorry, didn´t appreciate that your circumstances were different from ours. We have only my company pension and investment income (we are both under State pension age). My wife has no income of her own yet so 50% of my income is declared as hers. All perfectly above board and legal according to our Spanish accountant.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

The Skipper said:


> Sorry, didn´t appreciate that your circumstances were different from ours. We have only my company pension and investment income (we are both under State pension age). My wife has no income of her own yet so 50% of my income is declared as hers. All perfectly above board and legal according to our Spanish accountant.


yes, you can file jointly - my daughters are included in mine


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## CapnBilly (Jun 7, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> The Skipper said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry, didn´t appreciate that your circumstances were different from ours. We have only my company pension and investment income (we are both under State pension age). My wife has no income of her own yet so 50% of my income is declared as hers. All perfectly above board and legal according to our Spanish accountant.
> ...


There's a big difference between filing a joint return, and declaring 50% of your income as hers. 

If you file a joint return as a couple you just get an extra €3400 allowance, so you don't need to declare your income as your partners, as there is no benefit. 

If however you declare 50% of your income as your partners, and submit individual returns, that is not allowed.

I suspect it's the former, but if is the latter I would be looking for a new accountant.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

CapnBilly said:


> There's a big difference between filing a joint return, and declaring 50% of your income as hers.
> 
> If you file a joint return as a couple you just get an extra €3400 allowance, so you don't need to declare your income as your partners, as there is no benefit.
> 
> ...


I suspect you are right! I never pay too much attention to what the accountant actually tells us so have probably not remembered exactly what we were told!


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## rubytwo (Jun 22, 2015)

Alcalaina said:


> Yes, you haven't missed the point - the threshold is much higher in the UK.
> 
> Personal allowances 2015 (i.e. what you can earn before having to pay tax):
> Under 65 years old 5,550 Euros
> ...


Does the Personal Allowance work the same a tax free threshold? As detailed earlier in this thread the Spanish tax bands start at first dollar earned.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

rubytwo said:


> Does the Personal Allowance work the same a tax free threshold? As detailed earlier in this thread the Spanish tax bands start at first dollar earned.


Yes, they are the same thing. You don't pay tax on the first €5,550 or whatever.


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