Recaliming 5% property tax

I sold my house in September 2005 - only had it 12 months and made a loss (family split up) - the 5% was withheld as I am non-resident. I applied through my Gestor for the refund in April 2006 and I am still waiting. My Gestor seems useless - everytime he comes back from Alicante he tells me ´no news´or ´the person wasn´t there´. Can anyone advise where the delay could be, how much longer I may have to wait. Is there anything else I can do.

I desperately need this money - any help appreciated.

Thanks

Simon

In theory the process by which a retention is reclaimed from the Hacienda is straightforword but in reality it can be somewhat frustrating as your case demonstrates. Following Completion the buyer / Notary / their legal representative will pay 3% (formerly 5%) to the tax authorities using modelo 211. A copy of this should then be forwarded to your legal representative / tax advisor so that they can then present modelo 212 quoting the appropriate reference for the payment lodged previously.

Once lodged the tax authorties should in theory review the application and either arrange for a refund of monies witheld (normally paid into a nominated account with appropraite authorities) or they may wish to substantively review the transaction. From experience the latter of the two applies in circumstances where all or a large part of the monies retained are claimed.

In practice this process can take some time and it is not unheard of for one to wait up to 12 months or more for a refund of monies retained. By way of an example I am presently awaiting a devolution of money from the tax office on behalf of a client for a purchase finalised in February last year.

From a practical perspective if you had the relevant reference number for the modelo 212 application you could contact the appropraite tax office and they can normally provide information on the progress of the matter. Whether this means that they will act any quicker is a matter of debate but I think it unlikely.

Regrettably they are exceedingly slow at refunding monies but as we are all aware if you fail to pay them within the stipulated time period you are at risk of attracting penalties.

Glyn Moran

I would reccomend you find another lawyer to check on this matter Simon.

A good friend of mine is a Spanish lawyer and once told me there are lots of Gestoria´s who claim UK non-residents retentions for themselves.  Often the UK client isn´t aware they can claim back this amount and are lead to believe it is not refundable.  Even some less honest Spanish lawyers do the same.  The client is usually long gone back to the UK by the time the unscrupulous individual has pocketed the money!

I would suggest you get someone else to check into this matter to at least assure you the refund was not repaid months ago.

Good luck Simon.