Gestoría Carrasco asesores expertosResident or not resident.

According to art. 8 of the Income Tax Law, it is understood that a taxpayer has his habitual residence in Spain when:     

  1. Stay more than 183 days, during a calendar year, in Spanish territory.     
  2. Settle in Spain the main nucleus or base of your economic activities or interests, directly or indirectly.

When a foreigner lives more than half of the year in Spain, he receives a pension or other income from his country of origin, but does not declare his income because he mistakenly thinks that he is not obligated to do so by withholding an amount of his pension in his country of origin. origin for the income tax, you can take an unpleasant surprise and receive a letter from the Tax Agency claiming the taxes of the last 4 years plus the corresponding penalties.

Spain has signed agreements to avoid double taxation and tax evasion with most countries, so that most of the income obtained by a person is taxed in the country where they reside except, in some cases, the retirement pensions received as a consequence of having worked as a public official in the country of origin, for example, police, military, professor, etc.

Spain is currently crossing information of financial and fiscal relevance automatically with more than fifty countries in order to avoid tax evasion. Therefore, if a person comes to Spain with the intention of spending most of the year in the country, it is advisable to carry out all the necessary procedures to avoid unpleasant surprises and pay taxes where applicable according to the applicable double taxation agreement.

First of all, the authorities of both countries, the origin and the destination, must be informed of the residence in the second, in order to avoid double taxation and be taxed on income, whether public or private retirement pensions, account returns banking, dividends, etc, in the place where it should be taxed according to the double taxation agreement signed between both countries.

In addition, if you intend to bring your car from your country of origin with you, you must know that you must register it in Spain, and you can benefit from an exemption in the registration taxes of the vehicle if it is done within a certain period of time from the moment you move to your new home . If you do not do so, you may find yourself with the unpleasant surprise that the authorities sanction you and withdraw the vehicle until you have registered and paid the corresponding taxes. You must also exchange your driving license for a Spanish driver’s license.

In the event that you have assets outside of Spain for an amount greater than € 50,000, you must make a declaration at the beginning of the year using the Model 720 of the Tax Agency to communicate all the information about said assets. Failure to do so or declare late may result in significant penalties. Finally, every year you must present the Personal Income Tax in case you are obliged to do so.