CAPITAL GAINS TAX DUE ON SALE OF UK PROPERTY

Hi,

If i sell my UK property in the first six months of the year  I move to Spain am I due to pay Capital Gains . Any idea how much this would be in Costa del Sol or North of Alicante (no further up than Moraira).

Thanks

If it's your place of residence in the uk I'm wondering why you would be required to pay capital gains.  

briando 55

If one is tax resident in Spain then CGT is payable on a property sale anywhere in the world. However if you are a U.K. tax resident then one does not pay CGT on the sale sale of ones MAIN RESIDENCE. Second and more properties in the U.K. attract CGT in the U.K.

Hi,

Sorry I didn't make myself very clear. When we sell our uk property we will be moving to Spain with the intention of staying permanently. I understand that you have to become a tax resident after 183 days and that the Spanish government can tax you on any gains made in the UK depending on when you sold your UK house and moved to Spain.

I doubt you will have to pay tax on your UK sale as it was made before you move to Spain but please check with an expert HMRC is a good start.

Timing may be critical i.e UK & Spanish fiscal tax years overlapping etc

If you sell your UK house after you move to Spain permananetly then I would guess the rules change as you will be a Spanish tax resident at the time of sale

You will be tax resident on day 1 of your arrival in Spain (not after 183 days) as it is your intention to reside in Spain permanantly.

As the sale will be before moving, you will be subject to that tax in the UK

costa67

 I understand that you have to become a tax resident after 183 days and that the Spanish government can tax you on any gains made in the UK depending on when you sold your UK house and moved to Spain

Not quite. If you intend to stay over 3 months you should register on the EU foreigners residing in Spain register. If you spend more than 183 days in Spain then you become a tax resident in Spain. Your tax return completed the following year will only be for the time your were resident in Spain during that year. For example, become resident in March and your tax return the following year will only reflect that, not the total year.

You could, for example, still have a job in UK until March and will pay PAYE in UK up until then. You don't have to declare that for Spanish tax in the following year, just your income from March to December. Same with property, if you sell it before moving to Spain then no tax will be liable in Spain. 

This 6 month thing is designed for those who are temporary visitors to Spain (or any other EU country). You can keep a car for up to 6 months as long as it is not your intention to remain longer than that in which case you have 30 days from arrival to start the re-registration process as it your intent to remain. .The 3 month and 6 month rules do not apply if you intend to move to Spain on a permanent basis. 

Many people quote the time limits but they are wrong. 

We actually did move to Spain in March after selling our property in February. None of our income prior to March was taken into account by our gestor and, in fact, it took us about a month to actually get the resident certificate and all income was only calculated from the date of the certificate (middle of April). 

On another point, we had to take our UK reg car back to UK before we got the resident certificate (we didn't intend to keep it here) as we were informed that, as Spanish residents, we couldn't drive a UK plated car.

Thanks for the info. I didn't realise the rule about the car We were intending to bring our Uk car and thought that if you intended to be a permanent resident then it would be ok to keep it in Spain as long as we informed the authorities. Can you not register a uk car in Spain?

Yes, of course you can register a UK car. But it must be put on Spanish plates and, if it is your intention to become a resident, then the process has to be started within 30 days of arrival. The car can be kept in Spain, on UK plates, for up to 6 months provided you do not intend to stay in Spain (in fact, the car can stay as long as it likes as long as you don't go over the 6 months) but it must remain UK taxed, insured and MOTd for the entire time it is here. As soon as you become resident then it is no longer legal to drive it in Spain on UK plates (same the other way round, a UK resident cannot drive a foreign registered car in UK except under certain circumstances like diplomats, visiting forces etc).