# Selling your ISA once tax resident in Spain



## PeterDonald (Feb 28, 2017)

Hi

Has anyone any experience of how you are taxed on the sale of shares held in an ISA once you are tax resident in Spain? Specifically with regards to whether you pay Capital Gains relative to when you put the money into the ISA or relative to when you bought the shares that you sold (the two situations being different if you've moved the funds between shares during the life of the ISA)

I ask because I'm under the impression that....

The correct situation is that you should be taxed relative to when you bought the shares rather than you put the money in the ISA (which to me seems like the obvious way things would be done)

However...

British ISA are sometimes not well understood here in Spain and can be mistakingly treated the same as a type of Spanish investment which are sold in the banks here and allow you to move your money between funds but you're not taxed until the the very end when you move your money out of the investment.

Does anyone have any real experience of selling an ISA while in Spain and how they were taxed?

(Please note, to hopefully stop this going off at a tangent, I am aware that that an ISA provides you with no Tax advantage in Spain. I am also aware that i should have sold the shares before I arrive, but I'm not that well organised  )


----------



## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

PeterDonald said:


> Hi
> 
> Has anyone any experience of how you are taxed on the sale of shares held in an ISA once you are tax resident in Spain? Specifically with regards to whether you pay Capital Gains relative to when you put the money into the ISA or relative to when you bought the shares that you sold (the two situations being different if you've moved the funds between shares during the life of the ISA)
> 
> ...


As far as I'm aware you have 2 choices sell the shares in your ISA before becoming tax resident in Spain. Or let your ISA Share dealing account freeze after Spanish residency. That is no money in and no money out.
Which might be useful if your were investing for the long term and you had every intention of returning to
the UK sometime in the future and then selling the shares in your ISA once you have become fully tax resident
and by every other measure a fully fledged UK resident again.

You still have to declare all savings and investments worth 50,000 Euros or more to the Spanish Tax office
including ISA accounts.


----------



## PeterDonald (Feb 28, 2017)

I've already sold the shares!!!! Yes, I should have researched all this first, but that would have been too easy.

By the way, as i understand it, even if you "freeze" your ISA you're still liable to pay tax on the dividends etc here in Spain.


----------



## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

PeterDonald said:


> I've already sold the shares!!!! Yes, I should have researched all this first, but that would have been too easy.
> 
> By the way, as i understand it, even if you "freeze" your ISA you're still liable to pay tax on the dividends etc here in Spain.


Yes any dividends or interest ( eg on saving accounts ) are declarable in the Renta. Including any interim or annual
dividends from your Shares whether they be in a UK ISA or not.

Also by Freeze I mean leaving your UK ISA inactive.


----------



## CharlieMCFC (Jan 27, 2016)

I was advised that I can take money out of the ISA tax free (since the money put into it has already been taxed) but any interest/dividends are taxable.


----------



## PeterDonald (Feb 28, 2017)

And did you do it? Am curious if the Spanish tax man agreed with that.


----------



## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

CharlieMCFC said:


> I was advised that I can take money out of the ISA tax free (since the money put into it has already been taxed) but any interest/dividends are taxable.


Yes but the original poster was talking about Share Dealing ISA's and not Savings account ISA's.


----------

