Non-Resident taxes

 How easily we are shocked.....

I just received my non-residents tax demand for 2008.

It has more than doubled since 2007.

I am advised by my Spanish tax advisor that the rateable value of my property has been increased 3 fold.

I would like to use the figure increased by 300%  but it is incorrect as there cannot be more than 100 percent.

It is very difficult to believe that someone, somewhere, who is desperately short of money, is permitted to arbitrarily decide to increase the value of our properties by such an exorbitant amount. 

Is there no method of challenging this dictatorial increase on our taxes? Spain is already over burdened with empty properties due to the financial situation and greed and corruption in all quarters. Surely taxing those that are clinging on to their dream by a thread will only result in more empty properties coming on an already flooded market. Resulting in a further reduction in property values. Or does this not matter to the Mandarins, they will just increase the taxes further still until the bubble does a reverse burst.

I do despair sometimes at the injustices involved with owning a property in Spain.

Any words of collective wisdom will  be gratefully received.

Cheers

Leo

Join the club!  Mine doubled last year.  At least next year you will be able to deduct some of this year's expenses. They have more than compensated for the abolition of the wealth tax!

I have never received a demand for non-residents tax, I have always completed the renta and patrimonio forms myself and then paid at the bank. The wealth tax (patrimonio was abolished effective Dec 2008).

Which non residents tax was the demand for? was it the renta?

The only demand I ever receive is for IBI and I pay on direct debit.

Thanks

Hello Leon,

You will probably find that the tax bill you have been sent by your solicitor includes his large fee.  With wealth tax no longer being paid, the majority of non resident tax bills have gone down quite dramatically.  However, if your Valor Catastral has been revised then this will naturally have an effect on your non resident tax bill as well.  One way to save money is to cancel your solicitor - you can set up all your other bills to pay by direct debit, the only form which needs completion each year is the modelo 210 non resident tax form to pay your renta tax.  We can complete both tax forms on a jointly owned property for  £50 or £35 if the property is in just one name.  You then take the form to your Spanish bank to make the payment and the bank send a copy to the tax office for you.  Our website is www.spain214.com if you would like more details.

By the way Manilvajl you will not receive a demand - it is your responsibility to submit a self assessment as a non resident.  Details of this are issued on the Spanish tax office website, and although details on how to complete the form are only given in Spanish, there are information pages available in English which outline your responsibility to declare in your capacity as non resident.

Leswill, thanks for the reply. I know its my responsibilty to pay these taxes thats why I was surprised that Leoleon had received a demand.

I stopped using a solictor as they charge over 200 euros for what is 15 minutes per form.

I have done my own taxes for the last few years using the old 214 forms, and will use 210 this year.

I am guessing Leo's 'demand' is from his solicitor as it is for the current year's bill.  However, I have come across a few people this year in the course of my business who have owned properties for 4 or 5 years and never paid the tax  who received bills plus fines for the unpaid years from the tax office - you know what they say - you cannot hide from the tax man forever!!

Leswill

Just for interest sake, how much is the fines for not paying the non residents tax?

Just like to add, it will not affect us as we have paid ours, at first through our solicitor and from this year we filled in and paid the tax ourselves

many thanks

 Thanx Guys for your comments.... It does help knowing that I am not alone in this rip off.

My concern is not with the charges of nice English lady who looks after my affairs in Spain.

She is extremely reasonable and a good friend. We don't pay silly fees to Abogados.

She did advise us that the Repuesto de No Residente was due again. It is easy to overlook when living away.

She also explained that the increase in this tax was due to the fact that the Valor Catastral had been increased more than 3 fold.

My initial shock was at the cavalier manner in which the authorities can increase our costs without any apparent democratic process. Just because they are broke and desperate for money. They should look under the matrasses of their Mayors and Councillors.

So many thanks for all your useful information.

Cheers

Leo

For info Peteranne, the documents which came my way this year via customers who paid late in previous years showed a 20% penalty for payments made over 12 months late, plus interest charges (percentage not given).  Over a 4 year period this added up to an extra bill of 400 euros.

I have friends who have never paid their non residence taxe.  They do not go on web sites like this and had never rented out their property and had never even heard of the taxes until I mentioned it to them.  They have owned their property for at least 5 years.  They are now getting very worried and are trying to decide what to do. Can they just start paying now or do they have to back date it to the time they purchased, they will also be liable for Wealth Tax for 2 to 3 years.  I have to say I do not envy them .  Would they need to get an "expert" to fill in the forms for the past 5 years and what would the situations with Interest and fines etc be?

Hello Stronge, my advice for your friends would be to pay their taxes up to date, as the longer it is left, the higher the penalties will be.  There does not seem to be any 'logical system' in operation at the tax office which can explain why suddenly some people get fines and others do not.  It could be that notifications from the tax office are not received in many instances as they are sent via a postal service which requires a signature on point of delivery.  They try a few times, and if unsuccessful a notification would be placed in the official bulletin to advise that there is communication waiting for collection at the tax office.  Many non residents are unaware of this system and could not even read the bulletin anyway as it is in Spanish only.  However, at some point the properties will either be sold or passed on via inheritance and there would be a massive tax bill to be paid at that point if the non resident tax had never been paid - every outstanding year plus fines would be taken at this point.  We are able to complete tax returns for all outstanding years and offer discounts in such circumstances.  If your friends are interested have a look at our website www.spain214.com for more details. 

Some of you may be interested in seeing an example of the official bulletin so I have pasted a link to one from last week's website for Alicante region.  Page 5 on the bulletin dated 2 november shows outstanding traffic fines, giving names and  identification numbers and amount of the fine.  The tax office notifications appear in the same format. http://seguro.dip-alicante.es/.

Hi All,

I wonder How many people  have used.............. website www.spain214.com......... services  and are happy with outcome. How long has this has been running

Thanks

Rather than reply to PMs I have posted a reply here:-

Look at website http://www.agenciatributaria.es the forms are on here at renta 2008 section. You may need some knowledge of Spanish to find your way around the site,

instruction to fill in are here but codes will change if you are not in mijas http://www.inmalagatoday.com/pdf/instructions210english.pdf 

You will need to go to a local tax office to buy the forms at 1.5 euros each and get the NIE stickers, look up Agencia Tributaria in local telephone directory or on the web.

I have heard that some forms are available at tobacco shops I don't know if this is true. 

I think the easiest way to do your tax is use a low cost service the first time and then use a copy of the forms to do next years when its due, this gives you time to buy the forms and learn a few words of Spanish to help you in future years.

In reply to Acune, some of my clients have told me that they found my details on this forum, but obviously they are not watching this posting!!!  I started my business 2 years ago and if you have a look at my website their are some testimonials on there from clients and I can give you many more if necessary.  My service includes the initial check to see if you have been registered to pay non resident tax,  I also obtain the tax identification stickers for you.  I keep up to date with legislation changes directly from the Spanish tax office website and infact if you look back over posts earlier this year you will see that I was the first to advise of the correct situation regarding non resident tax changes.  If you have any doubts at all just give me a ring and I can put your mind at ease that you can deal with spain214.com with confidence.   www.spain214.com