Expats Hit Hard By Property Tax Probe

Published on 7/7/2011 in Your Spanish Home

Several expat property owners have been hit with huge bills as the regional tax office probe into back-dated property tax hots up - as warned by CBNews two weeks ago.

One reader has informed that the regional government in Valencia via the economy, tax and occupation council has revalued the property he purchased and slapped a hefty unpaid tax bill on him.

Our reader said that he and his wife purchased a property near Ayora in 2007 after agreeing a price of 200,000 with the vendor.

The correct procedure for the purchase was followed at all times and all relevant taxes, totalling 14,000 euros were paid. At the time of purchase the property had been on the market for 18 months, given the collapse of the real estate sector.

Just over two months ago, our readers received a letter from the Valencia government stating that when the house was purchased in 2007 it was worth almost 250,000 euros and therefore they had underpaid their taxes and owed 3,300 euros plus 700 euros in accrued interest.

Tax bill The couple's lawyer advised them that regional government was doing this to everybody who purchased a house less then four years ago. He added that the tax was worked out using a formula that only officials in Valencia can understand and that at no time does a valuer visit the property.

The cost of taking the matter to court added to the outstanding tax and interest bill is making it hard for our readers to fight this case but they firmly believe it is a 'legalised scam' being carried out by Valencia to get money into its empty coffers.

This reader is not the only one to contact Costa Blanca News on this subject.

Another couple who purchased their new property in Busot in 2007, said they received a visit from a 'very unpleasant' Spanish man who insisted they sign for a letter.

On opening the letter they found that the taxman (Agencia Tributaria) had revalued their home, which cost 287,000 euros new and that they now owed 27,552 euros in tax. Given the size of the bill and the fact they paid almost 14,000 euros in tax in 2007, the value of their property is now in the region of 500,000 to 600,000 euros, a massive increase in today's market where just about every property has dropped in value.

This horror story was followed by another which stated that a couple who purchased a small villa in the Valencia area in 2008 for the asking price of 265,000 euros has been told by their lawyer that the tax office has revalued the property to 369,000 euros and that it is demanding an unspecified amount of underpaid taxes.

CBNews has in its possession copies of the documents sent to the couple who live in Ayora and although the revalued price of the property is clear, the mathematics used to calculate the tax and the new value would confuse Albert Einstein.

It is also unclear why there is such disparity between the tax bill from regional government and the one from the taxman.

If regional government is calculating back tax of 3,300 euros on a 200,000 euros resale property, how can the Agencia Tribuitaria calculate 27,552 euros on a new property that cost 287,000 euros?

All of the parties mentioned in this article are appealing the tax demands via their lawyers and each has been told that the appeal costs will be anywhere between 1,500 and 3,000 euros and that there is no guarantee they will win or get the costs back if they do.

Written by: Tom Cain

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This article was originally published in the Costa Blanca News

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Comments:

Gladys said:
Friday, August 9, 2013 @ 1:28 AM

You will need the following.1. Medical Exam Records (You need to obiatn the medical test records through the USCIS approved doctors).2. Joint Assets (Provide bank statement, lease, and other documents which shows that you have joint assets).3. Your marriage certificate4. Birth Certificate for you and your husband.5. Photos of you two together (as many as you can).6. Emails, or any other stuff shows that you have been in contact with your husband.7. Affidavits from your family and friends who knows you two together as a couple.8. Your W-2s, and recent two pay stabs.9. Previous Immigration Records (Approval notice etc).10. Criminal Records (if you were ever arrested).That's all I can think of for now I recommend you to file your !-130 before July 31 because the fees are going to go up by 300% or so.Hope this helps!!Florida Paralegal with a BS degree in Social-Pyschology

Janet G said:
Thursday, December 6, 2012 @ 11:56 AM

I received a bill for over 10,500 euros for my property which i bought earlier this year. This too is because the Junta have valued the Cortijo more than twice the price I paid in July. I don't have the money and am having to swallow my pride and borrow from friends to pay this. I cannot risk a challenge as if it fails I will have even greater debt.
Very disappointed.

Jennifer Steele said:
Monday, July 18, 2011 @ 7:52 PM

The biggest mistake I have made in my life is to purchase a property in Spain!
Don't expect their legal system to support the obvious injustices to foreigners - what happens to innocent British Citizens there would never happen to a Spaniard in the UK!
Buy at your peril!

Higgy said:
Monday, July 18, 2011 @ 12:26 PM

I entirely agree with Mark B. I purchased a house in Granada last year for 99000, the declared value was 56000. This figure was from the properies previous sale some 9 years ago and obviously under declared even then.

I wasn't warned I may get an additional tax bill, but one year later I have. The property value has been re-calculated at 76000, which is fair enough. My solicitor appealed anyway and I have now received a document that itemises all aspects of the property and land and how the value of 76000 is derived. The calculations are perfectly easy to understand. The letter includes a section where one can make a further appeal (to a higher authority), or just agree. The appeals cost nothing at this stage. (Perhaps a solicitors fee if done through your solicitor but mine didn't charge).

I for one think I have been treated fairly. If you think you haven't there is the no cost, 2 stage appeals process. Having to go beyond that no doubt gets tricky and perhaps this is where there are issues.

Spain definitely has some issues, but so does the UK and in my personal experience the Spannish govt. are amateurs at ripping people off compared to the UK govt. but your stories may vary!

Fred said:
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 @ 3:05 PM

Can anyone tell me how to find out the Reviewed Value on the Tax Office website also the URL of the website
Thanks
Fred

Anne in Glasgow said:
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 @ 3:38 AM

I had the opposite problem when I purchased my apartment in Torremolinos in July 2004.
I was paying cash and had everything including tax on the full purchase price worked out to the last penny but on the day, in the bank my lawyer states they were underdeclaring 10% of the price. I was very annoyed at being informed of this at the last minute and stated I did not want to underdeclare to which I was told that this was the done thing in Spain and I really did not have a choice.
I then refused to pay the full amount ststing that if he was underdeclaring then I was refusing to hand over the full amount. His answer was that I was just to pay it. It would not be a problem and I would get my refund once they had returned to work at the end of August as the office was shut for the holidays during August. I point blank refused to pay and we had one enormous row in front of the bank manager and anyone else who happened to come in to the bank at that point in time. Very unprossesional I thought. In the end there was nothing he could do about it so had to accept my refusal to pay the tax on the portion he was underdeclaring or have everything screwed up before the notaries also closed for the month of August.
What chance do you have with lawyers like this when you want to be honest and up front!

Mark B. said:
Monday, July 11, 2011 @ 12:35 PM

Firstly: Why do most of the above responses imply that this is “hit the Brits”?

Taxes are taxes, for everyone. These complementary taxes are sent to Spanish, English and anyone else who purchased in the last 4-5 years and they consider that the true value was not declared.

Secondly: These taxes can seem unfair or immoral, especially if you have genuinely done nothing wrong. HOWEVER: They are in response to people trying to cheat the system, so basically, we asked for it.

In the hay day of property sales, it became overly common, almost habitual to declare much less than the true price, thus saving 7% on the difference.

EXAMPLE:

Property of 200.000€, declared at 100.000€ saved you and cost the tax authorities 7% (7.000€ plus the extra Notary and Land Registry fees)

All these complementary taxes are, is the tax office estimating what that real value was, and claiming back the 7% that SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAID TO START WITH.

EXAMPLE:

Not believing the purchase value of 100.000€, calculating the property to be worth 200.000€, they reclaim 7% (7.000€) plus interest. (you still saved on Notary and Land Registry fees)

Unfortunately with the drop in property prices, they have not yet reviewed how they estimate the real value, so there are cases where they reclaim their 7% even when the full value was declared.

IN SHORT, either:

-You ILLEGALLY under-declared the purchase value of your property, and have been caught, so simply accept it and pay the difference.

Or

-Be happy that you purchased the property at a great price, it’s unfortunate about the extra tax, but think that you are saving on future CGT.

In either case you can appeal, and usually for a lot less than the 1.500€ - 3.000€ quoted above.

PS. England has it’s own qwerks, faults, and seemingly immoral taxes and situations, why not let’s talk about them for a while, and remember why we came to Spain, for the good weather, good food, nice people and to enjoy life.

avalidopinion said:
Saturday, July 9, 2011 @ 5:42 PM

I am sure they can only claim these taxes for the past 4 years no more is this correct?

Patrick said:
Saturday, July 9, 2011 @ 2:29 AM

Mark says Spain is great for holidays. Unfortunately the scumbag petty thieves are spoiling even this little pleasure. One evening last December while walking back to our accomodation along the Golden Mile in Marbella, 2 youths on a scooter snatched my girlfriend's handbag. In April this year, exactly the same thing happened to the daughter of a friend while walking near Puerto Banus. And just last month another friend had his wallet pickpocketed on a train in Madrid.
Petty crime happens everywhere of course, but Spain appears to have an epidemic. It has certainly turned us off ever purchasing a property in Spain.

rob said:
Saturday, July 9, 2011 @ 12:40 AM

no one should invest in Spain
till all the legal problems are sorted out

in the UK we are always been told we cannot do this or that because of human rights
The spanish just seem to do as they like despite getting massive grants from the EU

R & D said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 6:56 PM

"stares" should be "stars"!

R & D. said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 6:55 PM

Every day we thank our lucky stares that we managed to sell, albeit at a massive 90K € than our flat owed us, completing in January this year.
We have friends who are effectively trapped, who are keen to quit this`den of thieves but can't as their properties are worth so much less than they paid for them.
I know that this negative equity situation also exists in the UK, but at least property taxes are transparent here and not made up by the highway robbers of a monetarily and morally bankrupt state masquerading as tax-men.
Stand and deliver should be the Spanish motto.

jonboy said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 5:13 PM

Wonder why the local councils take so long in sending out these Tax bills, we have been waiting over 6 years for ours .
I think there are going to be a lot of holiday home buyers in for a shock. Including myself

Rob in Madrid said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 3:53 PM

all the more reason to rent rather than buy!

Vera952 said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 3:00 PM

It's happening in Andalucia too!
We bought an apartment in 2008 on Mijas Costa. The property market was already on a downhill slope and we bought at a reduced price as the vendors wanted a quick sale. The purchase was all above board and legally done (no black money!), all taxes paid (or so we thought) but 18 months later we got hit by a 5000 euros tax bill (2500 for my Husband and 2500 for myself as the property is in joint names) PLUS late payment fines. We were totally unaware that we owed the tax office any money for unpaid taxes. We later found that the tax office valued the apartment by 2.7x the price we paid (N.B.not %) making the value of the apartment a ridiculous and unrealistic price of 245K euros! No way was it worth that much in 2008 and in 2011 apartments in the same block are being sold for 140k. We are paying the tax office in instalments but with added interest on top of the late payment fine.
Our solicitor did not highlight this was going to happen when we bought. When we queried the bill he basically said this was happening to lots of people that are buying property during the market slump and there was nothing we could do. He advised to contest the tax bill would be a waste of time and money and to just pay the tax bill.

Malcolm Roach said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 2:17 PM

The Tax office quite rightly have brought in a scheme to combat the "Black Money Deals" for many years Agents and Lawyers advised buyers to under declare property values to save some transfer or IVA tax, not only was this a fraud against the tax office but it assisted the seller to avoid CGT in both Spain and their own country. Furthermore the poor unsuspecting purchasers now had a property standing legally at a value less than what they paid this meant that when they came to sell they would be liable for the CGT not paid for by the previous seller. They would be liable for 19% in Spain and the difference to 28% in the UK on the profit including the "Black Money " they had paid.
The tax office have issued every property with a Catastral reference and value for the purpose of calculating the council tax this is nothing to do with the market value of the property.The tax office have also valued every property for its real value and this value is called the reviewed value this value is available for every property on the tax office website.
The lawyer for the purchaser should check this value and communicate it to the client ,effectively irrespective of the sale price of the property the tax office will require the tax on the reviewed value if this is more than the selling price, so at least you would know at the date of purchase your potential liability. The lawyer should retain a printed copy of this value if it is less than the selling price so that it can be used to satisfy any assesment, especially if the tax office subsecently uplift the reviewed value after purchase.The other area of risk is that lawyers allow purchasers to buy property that is not correctly detailed in the public deed at a later date if an amplification of the property is done ie. a swimming pool added to the deeds then the purchaser will have the property revalued for both IBI(Council tax) and for its reviewed value
When buying property in Spain it is important to take advice from reputable legal firms who can communicate in good English and who understand both the jurisdictions of Spain and the UK as both have different issues to be considered.

midasgold said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 12:15 PM

It would make Arfur Daily proud.

Gill said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 12:06 PM

Even after the explanation by someone I still dont understand what these taxes are for. We paid 7% of the builders contract value in taxes when we bought.
What more do these people want and how can the guy say its something to do with the VC when we paid taxes on the full amount not the VC amount??

JohnC said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 11:48 AM

Whilst this is very alarming for years people, have been under declaring the value when they have bought and sold in order to reduce taxes.

About 10 years ago I bought a property and the owner gave me a copy of a tax bill which he had paid in respect of under-declaration when he purchased, so that I could see there was no debt owing.

Of course then most people got away with the 'fraud' but those caught also cried that they had not been dishonest, as one would !

Gill said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 11:47 AM

I cannot understand why Estate Agents and Solicitors are not helping these people out by confirming to Valencia that the sale price is correct and there is no black money involved. Surely if a property is sold for 170000 for example then the people who sold can show the correct amount received in their bank account less agent's to prove there was no black money. We will definitely lose about 60000 euros on our property when we sell due to the drop in prices. Does this mean we will receive a tax bill???

Spain is a disgrace and do not deserve tourists or people coming to live. I am certain warning people about coming to live here because of the way expats are treated. We wish we had just rented and lots of people we know say the same. We also know quite a few people who are disallusioned with Spain and want to go back.

Doedoe said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 11:31 AM

When are the Government officials in Spain going to sort out all these crooked rules, what a way to go on. After 3 years of completing a purchase on a small apartment, we received a Sumo Tax Bill which was expected, why do the Spanish authorities take so long to send these bills out. We understand there is another local tax to pay but as we still have NO Habitation Certificate, this prevents the complex from getting individual Utility Meters, we still wait for this bill to be produced.
It is simply very poor organisation or a bunch of crooks that are running the different areas in Spain.
Hundreds of Spanish Residents are out of work, Spain intelligent department,s should sort out this utter mess. Get the Unemployed working on these problems
Don't they realise that treating the Foreign people who bring money in this wonderful country, will all leave and take their money with them.
Thousands of retired people love Spain and spend there saving and pensions earned in their Birth country, in Spain, without them Spain will suffer even more.
WAKE UP SPAIN, Without foreign Pensioners your local village Business will suffer even more. BE FAIR TO ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT LOVE YOUR COUNTRY.

Maria said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 11:23 AM

We have been charged an extra 4,000€ plus interest as it took the hacienda 5 years to demand it, altogether 6,500€. Tried various appeals, solicitors etc but we were just stonewalled with "It is the law". We had to remortgage our house to pay it. They (oh so kindly) allowed us to pay in 9 instalments after first freezing our bank accounts!

mega said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 11:05 AM

I purchased my villa in 1983, I got a further bill for tax via my lawyer even then this is not new they have been robbing us for years. Brussels is the only anwser.
Mega

mega said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 11:04 AM

I purchased my villa in 1983, I got a further bill for tax via my lawyer even then this is not new they have been robbing us for years. Brussels is the only anwser.
Mega

Ken said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 10:32 AM

Who in the right mind will invest in Spain?

They just seem to make their own rules up to fleece people.

Carol Sutton said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 10:14 AM

I work in an estates agent office and we now found out the calculation from the IBI and advise our clients what extra tax they will be charged, not at the notary but generally within a couple of weeks later they get the letter demanding the extra tax. This is because it is believed they have used black money in the sale (underdeclaring) which in the market today is not true as many houses are being sold very cheaply when people are desperate to move on. Basically our clients know if they are buying a villa cheaply, say under 200,000 we then find out the tax demand value they will get and advise them of this ie. the owner will accept your offer of 170,000 but you will also get a tax demand for 8,000 (or whatever figure it is) this way they know very well what they have to pay on top of the normal 10% costs. Since they all came to light, a good estate agent should always make you aware of this.

Adrian said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 9:32 AM

Having recently received a letter from Agencia Tributaria telling me that I hadn't paid the builder 12.5k I was somewhat confused. Confused as I did the deal through a bank in Spain and have a morgage on my property. Even more so when the independent valuation was actually less than I paid for the property.

Anyway I spoke to the builder based in Torrevieja who spoke with his lawyer/accountant. Even he didn't understand what was going on agreeing that I wasn't owning anything. His accountant stated that in March the Agencia asked for a list of all properties sold in the last year by them, and hence my letter. She stated that she personally is dealing with one-two similar issues per week and that this is normal as "they" have no money.

In short we were in the builders office later that day and from all the papers received she pulled one out marked a cross in a box and said sign this. She then faxed it to the bandits as described, with my original covering letter, stating that I'll hear no more. Matter resolved apparently!

The next day I was in the local post office and noticed a pile of similar letters waiting for distribution, which would have choked a horse. Legalised robbery me thinks!!

Gareth said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 9:05 AM

Mark said "...go there, enjoy the weather, get drunk, eat loads and then come back home"

Just the sort of undesirable Brit that gives the rest of us a bad name. Glad you've left - enjoy getting drunk as much as you want back in miserable blighty!

Mark said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 8:55 AM

Just another example of the biggest bunch of con artists in Europe. Spain is a hopeless waste of space, eventually, all the brits will leave and leave just the unfriendly theives, the Spanish. Spain is great for a holiday, go there, enjoy the weather, get drunk, eat loads and then come back home, Spain is not a place to move to, its a country that does not have a proper legal system so you WILL get screwed, mark my words. The biggest mistake I and you have made is to buy a holiday home there.

winthrop said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 6:11 AM

I belive that the only way to address this Seemingle unfair tax is through the e,u, commision .

As I understand it a ruling has been made regard another grossley unfair proceedure "land grab".

This will certainaley "put the frightners" on prospective purchasers /investors. salom WINTHROP.

Paul Whitelock said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 6:09 AM

Mmmm! I fear the CB News writer Tom Cain may have sensationalised this issue somewhat. I can't speak for El Pais Valenciano, but in Andalucía where I live, it's perfectly clear what happens, and I suspect it won't be much different in Valencia, or indeed the rest of Spain. You certainly don’t need to be Einstein to understand it.
Every property has a valor catastral, a value for tax purposes. This may have nothing whatsoever to do with the real value, as valuations in many areas are well out of date, and certainly does not relate to market value.
To counteract the fact that valuations are out of date each town/village has a coefficient by which the valor catastral is multiplied to arrive at a more accurate valuation for tax purposes. Hacienda use this to try and prevent loss of revenue through under-declaring the price when properties change hands.
So, for example, we have an apartment in Ronda (Málaga) with a vc of around 17,000€. The coefficient for Ronda is a massive 4.2 because property values have not been re-assessed since 1998. That makes the valuation of my apartment for tax purposes 71,400€. The market value is, however, much higher, at around double that figure. So the system is by no means perfect, because if we were to sell we could under-declare massively and presumably get away with it!
We also own a house in Montejaque, also Málaga, where the coefficient is just 1.8 because properties were re-valued as recently as 2007. The vc on the house is 97,000€ which makes its value for tax purposes 174,600€. It's market value is around 180,000€, so the system works in this case.
I hope this clarifies the situation for readers.

Jacqueline said:
Friday, July 8, 2011 @ 2:48 AM

Great! I purchased a property in the Murcia district and was just hit with a 3,000 euro bill for renewing my loan on my house. Hoping I don't run across this scam in the near future!! I bought my place in 2006

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Expats Hit Hard By Property Tax Probe

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