Non-residents tax in Spain - how to get it done with all the guarantees you want without spending the earth!

Take advantage of the PALS Solicitor package in Puerto de Mazarrón and Condado de Alhama

For those of us who own property in Spain or carry out some kind of economic activity in Spain but are not actually registered as resident in the country, one of the many administrative procedures which must be adhered to in Spain is the annual filing of a non-residents’ income tax return, along with the prompt payment of the amount due.

This applies in the most part to those who own holiday homes, and especially those who gain extra income by renting out those properties when they are not occupying them, but also to various other cases (such as capital gains on property sales, earnings from work carried out in Spain or pensions derived from employment provided on Spanish territory).

And let’s face it, few of us dare to complete our own tax returns in the UK, let alone in a foreign language in Spain, so how do we go about it?

We pay someone else to do it for us, of course.

But the next questions is the important one - who should we pay to take on this job, which might prove impossible for us but is routine for them? Do we search for the finest tax lawyers in Spain or do we look for the cheapest option? Or something in between?

Well, for many people the answer to this one is obvious as well: we want to fork out as little cash as possible, so the cheaper the better. There are some Spanish advisers and solicitors who will do the job for you for only 35 euros or so, and (perhaps surprisingly) in the UK there are others who might offer their services for as little as £25!

Problem solved, quick and easy – lovely jubbly, as Del Boy Trotter would say!

BUT…

What if legal notifications are sent to your property concerning irregularities in the tax return? Or about other taxes? After all, you’re not there most of the time, so how will you know?

And even if you happen to pick them up before any deadline expires, are you going to understand the notification? Will you know what to do about it?

Such notifications, regarding this tax or any other (IBI property tax, the quirky “pasarelas” pavement tax if you happen to live in the municipality of Cartagena, etc) could be sent by the Agencia Tributaria (the national Tax Office), the Town Hall or any other public administrative body, but if you’re not occupying your registered address, you won’t be able to receive them or do anything about them.

How will your cheap-and-cheerful approach to Non-Residents’ Tax help you in this case?

You might feel as if you’d bought a new TV with no guarantee, no instructions manual and nobody to contact if it suffers a problem.

SO WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Some Spanish solicitors and tax advisors offer a package which includes not only the handling of your Non-Residents’ Tax but also a raft of back-up measures, ensuring you aren’t caught out by unforeseen developments. This involves the following:

• Registering your fiscal address at the office of the solicitor or advisor so that all related mail is delivered direct to the office, where it will be opened and dealt with.
• The setting up of a direct debit payment of non-residents’ tax and others.
• Consultations regarding all correspondence received from the authorities.

One of the most popular packages of this kind in the area of Mazarrón is the one offered by PALS Solicitor, who have offices both in Puerto de Mazarrón and in the Condado de Alhama development, where there is a particularly high proportion of non-resident owners.

At PALS you can entrust the experienced and friendly team with your Non-Residents’ Tax, change your fiscal address to whichever of the two offices you prefer (this will not affect other mail) and enjoy the comfort of knowing that free advice will be provided in the case of unexpected (or unwanted!) letters arriving from the taxman.

Their package is priced at 54 euros + IVA per year. That’s a grand total of precisely 65.34 euros, certainly more than the “Del Boy approach” but a great option for those who want the peace of mind of knowing that our affairs in Spain looked after properly while we are at home in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandinavia or elsewhere!

Image 2: olia danilevich/Pexels