A bit of a technical post this week that will only be of much interest to non resident Spanish taxpayers. The system for paying taxes as a non resident changed on 1st April. The changes are not huge but the bureaucratic fiddling about is likely to cause some confusion.To recap for those of you who are not familiar with Spanish non resident taxes, the tax system in Spain is a bit different to that in the UK when it comes to foreign property owners. In the UK, and most countries, a foreign property owner would only pay tax if they actually earned income in the country e.g. they rented out the house when they weren't there.
Spain taxes rental income like that but also has a quirky and irritating rule that even foreign property owners who don't rent out their property and have no Spanish income must register for and pay income tax. The tax can vary from 20-30€ up to several hundred € a year depending on the rateable value of the property. There is a full description on our main website - Spanish Tax Form 210.
The tax is still payable and the form for paying is still the same (modelo or form 210) but:
- there is no longer a paper copy of the form available so you can't go to the tax office and get a form to fill in
- you either have to complete the form online or print out a copy from the website and present it at the bank
- where there is NIL tax to pay or a return to the taxpayer then this has to be presented (or posted "certificado") at the Agencia Tributaria office
- it can now be used for whatever income non residents have, the main categories being earned income from Spanish assets (e.g. rent or dividends), capital gains and imputed income from property.
- the modelo 215 which was used for rent in the past has now been replaced by the 210
- returns of tax to a taxpayer can now be made to an overseas account (non-Spanish)
That's about it but it's a new law so as we go through the year and start doing our clients' non resident tax returns then we may learn more about how this is all going to work in practice. I will post any updates here or on the main site here: Changes to Spanish tax form 210
Hi there, awesome site. I thought the topics you posted on were very interesting. I tried to add your RSS to my feed reader
ReplyDeleteand it a few. take a look at it, hopefully I can add you and follow.
Property for Rent in Manchester
Hi, thanks for the info. I've just returned from Marbella and paid my tax on a paper form 210 through my bank as usual. I still have a few of these 7 page forms - I bought 4 last year - would you know if they are identical to the ones that are now printable off the tax agency website please? If not and I need to print off a new form next year, is it ok to take it to the bank without the official envelope that usually comes with the old paper form 210s? The bank usually need them. Thanks
ReplyDeleteNot really sure to be honest as we submit all our returns electronically. To be sure I would go with the returns printed off the Agencia Tributaria website.
ReplyDeleteAlthough my Spanish Bank accepted the paper form 210 in September together with the cash, the Agencia Tributaria have now written in January to say I have to get it from the internet and send direct to them. The form is exactly the same as the paper sets except the number above the scan on right hand top side is different. I don't know if you have to still put the ethi kethers (stickers on any more). Does anyone know. I do believe there is a way in which you can submit directly on line to the Agencia Tributaria and put your account number. This is something I will have to find out. It would actually be easier to do this rather than print it all out from the internet (which is a drain on your ink cartridges) and then go to the Spanish Bank with it. Spanish Bank seem to charge me a fee to do this anyway.
ReplyDelete