Taxation on Spanish properties for non residents- PART 1- Rates and wealth tax in Spain

 If you are a Non-Resident in Spain for tax purposes and you are planning to buy a property in Spain you should learn of the Spanish tax obligations you will be liable to.

Once you purchase a real estate in Spain you will be liable to the following Taxes:

• Local Property Tax (Rates)

•  Spanish Wealth Tax.

• Non Resident Income Tax the so called Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes (I.R.N.R.) :

• Income Calculated on Urban property for Personal use (Deemed Income Tax).

• Incomes on Rented Building

Property Tax or rates (called in Spanish I.B.I.- Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles).

This tax in Spain is charged by the Local Councils and paid by all Property owners regardless if they are Fiscal Residents of Non-Residents, and whether the owner of the Spanish property is a private individual or a company.

All properties within a Council are included in a register and are assigned a value called Catastral Value or Rateable Value.  To calculate the Property Tax of each property a rate set by the Council will be applied to the Catastral or Rateable Value.

The Council will inform all tax payers on the amount due every year.  This informative letter will be sent by post to the property around the month of May, June or July and due for payment in September, October and November each year.  But this may vary as each Council sets its own payment date.

The most convenient is to set a direct debit for this yearly payment and ensure that enough funds are held in the account to cover the payment in order to avoid surcharges and penalties for late payment.  Please be aware that if the account does not hold enough funds to cover the payment the direct debit will be immediately cancelled and you will need to set a new direct debit for the following years. More information on this Spanish local tax can be found at the following microweb site of the leading multilingual Spanish law firm, Arcos & Lamers Asociados, your lawyer and tax adviser under one roof!

http://conveyancinginspain.com/running-costs/local-taxes-in-spain/

Wealth Tax in Sain.

The Wealth Tax in Spain was just re-establish for the financial year 2011 as a temporary measure and, up to now, it has been re-established up to and including 2014.

The taxable base will be reduced by means of a minimum exempt of 700.000,00.-Euros.

The obligation to declare and present the declaration is just for those who obtain a positive result and are require to make a tax payment.  As an exemption also all those with rights and assets valued over 2.000.000,00.-Euros are required to present the declaration even if they are not required to make any tax payment.

For instance, if you own a property in Spain with a market value of over 2 million Euros but you obtained a mortgage facility of 1.5 million Euros the nett value of your wealth would be only 500.000 Euros, being the first 700.000 euros exempt no Spanish wealth tax payment would be due. Nevertheless as the asset is worth over 2 million the corresponding Spanish wealth tax should still be presented at Spanish Inland Revenue.

Additional information on the wealth tax in Spain can be obtained at the following links:

Regional taxes in Spain: http://conveyancinginspain.com/running-costs/regional-taxes-in-spain/

Spanish tax adviser informing on the History of Wealth Tax in Spain.

Additional information of the services of the Spanish law and accountancy firm, Arcos & Lamers Asociados, may be found here

Do you wish to emigrate to Spain, Do you need a Spanish accountant that speaks your language? Contact one of the lawyers, tax advisers or accountants of our firm now and they will provide you with efficient tailored advise!.

Sara Duarte, accountant in Marbella, Málaga, Costa del Sol, Spain.