Taxes in Spain for the over 65's

Hi Everyone,

Some help please on taxes we need to pay.  My husband is 65 and I am 60 and we spend approximately 6 - 8 months of the year in Spain.  We still own a house in England and pay taxes in England and have our pensions paid in England.

My husband recently applied for residency and he has his piece of paper.  I didn't apply as I do all the driving in Spain and I understand if I was a resident I would have to change my european driving license for a Spanish one? - Don't know if this is correct.

We own a villa on the Orihuella Costa, Costa Blanca.  Can you tell us what, if any tax forms we need to fill in and which tax office we would need to take them to.  Any help would be appreciated.

Regards

Joan

since you spend more than 183 days in spain you have to pay income tax on all your incomes from the uk, pensions, savings etc.it is a legal obligation, not a choice, as some here seem to think. if you are tax resident in spain, you will benefit  when you sell your house, or deal with inheritance tax.  you have to apply to have your income paid gross of tax so that you pay in spain. otherwise you will end up paying tax in both countries. the tax office in uk will send you  forms, called fd 9, in  spanish and english which you complete and send to the spanish tax office, who will then stamp it and return  the english part to you. you then send it to the  english tax office. eventually they will tell you that you are exempt from uk tax, except on government and military pensions which have to be taxed in the uk. you will  have to find a reliable tax accountant in spain who understands the english and spanish system.some advice we were given was innacurate and misleading. you pay income tax on incomes over approx 80000 euros.  you state you have not taken residency- legally you should, and in order to pay taxes in spain you must do so. as you are 65, surely you want to be on the spanish health system- again you have to be a resident. once you are on it ,you are taken off the english nhs. you apply to DWP  for an EHIC card for spanish residents, used for emergency treatment if you visit other european countries.  you can keep your uk driving licence until it expires, but must have the same routine medical examinations as those with spanish licences. it would be better to change yours to a spanish one.

english tax office which deals with ex pats- oo44-1512102222

correction - the tax threshold is income over 8000, not 80000! wish it was the latter though!

 Not all your income.  If you have a government pension (Forces, police, civil service etc but not NHS) then this is taxed at source in UK and you cannot opt to have these types of pension paid without the tax.  As Spain and UK have a reciprocal agreement, you do not pay tax on them in Spain and nor do you have to declare them.  If you pay tax on savings in UK, you should keep the end of year certificate to show that you have paid the tax and, although they have to be declared in Spain, the tax you have already paid will be offset against the tax you pay in Spain.  

Hello Joan

A  useful fax number for the Nottingham office which deals with expats is 0044 115 974 1950. This seems to change from time to time, and it may be that there are different sections for different parts of the alphabet (depending on your name). Of course if you live part of your year in UK, albeit less than 6 months annually, you will probably fall foul of the average over 5 years rule which may cause a fair bit of trouble. Better  by far to move permanently to Spain but there are views on this in other threads!!

As far as the threshold for tax limitation is concerned, I do not believe it is anywhere near €80000, but as my own main income comes from a civil service pension which of course is exempt in Spain, I pay no tax here anyway. You should lodge a tax return with Hacienda each year (based on previous year's income), in the period May - June, even if your income is too low to pay tax here, since you may need a certificate of tax residency to benefit from succession tax rebates in due course. On the other hand you may prefer to ignore the rules, like so many Brits do, and simply pay as a  non-resident! However the rules are getting tighter!

I am not sure that the FD9 procedure is still used.

My advice is for at least the first year, use a Gestor who speaks English. The fee should not be very high.

I would also recommend the Blevins Franks Financial Guide to Living in Spain for assistance.

Local members in southern Costa Blanca will tell you where the tax office is.

marcbernard/bobaol-you did not read my post carefully enough-i corrected the amount from 80000 to 8000! fd 9 forms still seem to be in use, but he best way is to confirm with the tax office. the tel number i gave was for the tax office in the uk which deals with tax matters for  ex pats in spain, no matter where they come from. i've already said that government and civil service pensions have to be taxed in uk!

 How did I miss that bit?  Sorry, you'd already mentioned it.  In my defence, I was half reading and half watching the Italians beat France at rugby......

Camposol

Your corrective post was not on the thread when I started to write my reply! Your phone number is no doubt correct but the fax number is useful as you avoid waiting an age for a reply. The Italians also interupted me! What a game!!

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your advice, as usual EOS is a mine of information.  Like most of you we enjoyed the Rugby too, especially Italy beating France.  We are looking forward to todays game. !  Good luck England!

Joan

 Yes, great inputs! 

Intersting post, Are the Spanish Taxes based on joint , or individual incomes. My wife and I (now retired) were always taxed seperately when working in the UK.

oldun- you can submit an individual or joint declaration, you will have to ask the accountant which is the cheapest option. unfortunately the personal allowances for income tax are much lower than the uk, and haven't changed for years. also you will have the expense of paying an accountant. make sure he/she is english speaking and knowlegeable about both the uk and spanish system, particularly the double taxation treaty. i found that some spanish accountants did not understand the concerns of the ex pats, giving me incorrect and misleading information. the taxes in spain are one of the reasons i'm leaving, particularly the thought of the inheritance tax.