income tax

can anyone tell me if i pay income tax on my pensions in the uk  and live most of the time in spain do I still have to pay tax here in spain and do I have to fill any forms here in Spain

It's a question of residency.

If you are tax resident in Spain then you pay tax in Spain and not UK.

forgive my lack of understanding of the tax system, but what makes you a tax resident in Spain ? My pensions are paid into a uk bank and the tax is taken out at source, I have an addess in the uk and use it  about two months of the year and I need  uk bank again I appologise for my lack of knowledge

If you reside in Spain permanently or If you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain then you are regarded as resident for tax purposes.

I suggest you find a local gestoria/accountant to discuss you situation.

It might be you are actually better off becoming resident.

You are allowed 183 days per year in Spain as non-resident., and still pay taxes in U.K. at source.  An asesoria in Spain would calculate your tax return as non-resident once a year.  Should you decide to become resident in Spain, because you live here for most of the year, a tax return has to be calculated by the same asesoria or similar professional between april and mid june for the previous year...as tax resident.  All must be declared with proof etc., total income from january to december, on world-wide assets.

You would pay less income tax in Spain than U.K.  Once you have decided which category is better for you either non-resident or resident in Spain.... it is always best to do everything correctly.  Keep your tax situation in U.K. with no changes if you are spending only 183 days total per year, and remainder 182 days in Spain. This is the easiest solution to avoid form filling.

The Inland Revenue has to be notified in U.K. and form filling is essential should you become tax resident in Spain[ staying more than 183 days per year.]..their website gives all the information you would need .  It takes a little time for the change-over but it is not a daunting experience. 

haydngj- phone 00441512102222- this is a tax office in the uk which deals specifically with the tax concerns of ex pats. it will advise you and send the correct forms for obtaining extemption from paying tax in the uk. you may pay more out here(contrary to what basildon bond says) and you will have to pay for the tax return to be prepared.more helpful hints;

paying income tax in spain is not a choice, but an obligation-you live  hee, so you pay here- don't listen to those who say different

you pay tax in spain on all your income, whether it is from savings interest in british banks, ( yes, really!) nvestments or your pensions, wherevever they are paid , into uk banks or whatever. exeptions are government pensions which have to be taxed in the uk.

until you have sorted exemption out, the tax accountant in spain will subtract any tax already paid. tax is paid a year in arrears, so this year you will be paying tax for 2009, and the spanish tax year goes from jan-dec.

make sure you go to a qualified tax accountant, not one of these "pub lawyers" people who are jack and jills of all trades eg getting licences,nie's etc. tax is specialised. some lawywers advertise this service but do not havethe expertise-one told us we did not receive enough to pay tax, the other said we had to pay a high amount ! if your tax is wrong the spanish tax office will hold you responsible. it's refreshing to see that someone wants to sort their tax affairs out- so few ex pats do, and i hope they feel the wrath of the tax man

income tax must be declared by june 30th, so get moving and good luck

I am in the process of trying to pay my income tax.  I have sent my NIE certificates to the company sorting out our taxes and they have just told me the wrong address is on the certificate.  When I applied for my number I completed the form  with my address in Spain under 'Domicillio En Espana' and my Lawyer's address under 'Domicilio a Efectos De Notificaciones'.  However, each certificate contains our name with our Lawyer's address under them.  Therefore, I cannot pay my taxes until this is changed to our property address.   Naively, it did not occur to me that anything was wrong as my Lawyer did not say anything and I was still able to get a mortgage.   I didn't even notice.  We are not going out to Spain until end of August when, I have been told, I can get it changed at the Local Police Station - but probably accumulate penalties.  Anyone else come across this?

I know this thread is a bit old now and the originator has probably found out all she/he needs to know. However, there is a piece of information which can save people a fair bit of money.

If you have a self-employed pension, then in Spain you only pay tax on 25% of it. The reason is that the pension source is an insurance company and this makes the difference.

However, even some accountants don´t know this. We went to a well-known account in Puerto de Mazarron, who disputed this with us. He eventually looked into it and conceded that we were correct. This man does over 200 returns for ex-pats!

we also were given the wrong tax information by a well known firm in puerto de mazarron-wonder if it's the same one, but obviously can't name it.  other firms also gave us varying and misleading information, stating we did not have to pay any income tax, which would have been nice, but unfortunately we did!  many of these firms are solicitors, not tax accountants, and have no idea how to deal with the tax concerns of expats from  uk., especially regarding the process of arranging to be exempt from uk tax on pensions and other income. we now go to a tax accountant in mazarron town. i would advise others to seek professional help from qualified accountants, not people who offer to do your tax along with your NIE, licences etc. this is a specialised and often complicated procedure and you can end up paying too much (or not enough) and the tax office will blame you, not the person who did your tax return.  also there is a lot of information to arm yourself with eg-eye on spain, so that you know whether what you are told is correct.many ex pats refuse to pay income tax  in spain on incomes from the uk, but at last the tax offfice here is realising what it is missing out on!

This may help you:

http://www.eyeonspain.com/spain-magazine/non-resident-taxes.aspx

Best wishes,

Maria

Hi everyone,

Does anybody know what is the procedure to calculate and pay for the "Income and Wealth Tax for Non Resident"?

Can I do it on internet?

My lawyer does it at the moment, but his fees are more expensive than the taxes...

Thanks

Hi... If you have an online Bank Account over here, there is usually a facility to submit your taxes within that account, but is it not easy, I rather pay someone to do it, in the hope that it is correct, than make a hash of it myself. I paid 300€ for the privilege this year, and received a refund of 4c from the Tax Dept., so it is not a cheap option, I agree!

Hi ozgarcia. For £19.95 per property these will do it, small price to pay I think (though we calculate & pay our own). There's so much on this forum to enable you to do it yourself but I'd just cough up the £19.95 rather than worry if you've done it right.

http://spanishtaxforms.co.uk/page/1on0t/Spanish_property.html#order%20form

Hi Flybynight,

Have you used these guys? I visited their website and they talk about Banco Santander, but the link the put it goes to Santander shares, so although £20 is not a fortune, I am not really confortable giving my details away, if they are not a well known and reputed company.

Hi Ozgarcia

No, I haven't used the company but people on here were talking about using it & I thought I'd hang onto the info but then decided, with all the help on here regarding working it out yourself & paying it yourself, I'd do it myself. I've just paid it this week. Try searching for it, see what others say.