Chance of Early Retirement

[laswalkirias]

Sorry to upset the applecart,I heard that if I kept my property in UK and rented in Spain I would still be taxed on it (all worldwide income and assets).

[scampicat]

AFAIK if you rent your house in the UK, the tax from that must be paid in the UK. ( However, I may be wrong because the rules seem to vary from one year/province to the next).

I used to send the accounts from my UK house to the Inland Revenue in the UK, who knew I lived in Spain. They always accepted them. However I did not make enough profit to pay any tax. Our accountant also submitted a tax return in Spain. The only thing we had to declare on that was my State Pension as my husband's Teachers' pension had to be taxed in the UK.

Whether all this is accurate or not I don't know, we just did as we were told.

[fyfin]

My adage is that if you are ever offered the chance of early retirement just take it. You may earn more money but you can never buy back the years you could have been relaxing. As regards £22k this is much much more than most of the early retirees I know and we all manage fine. We were lucky enough to get an S1 but it runs out in Jan 2014 but I will be taking up the "Convenio Especial" at €60 per month as it covers pre-existing conditions although you do have to pay for prescriptions.

Taxation has lots written about it and Sid has compiled a guide somewhere in here which is very informative. There is a lot of misinformation especially about taxation on assets and as regards a tax free lump sum in UK. As far as I am aware if you receive it whilst you are a UK tax resident then it is obviously tax free. Just because you put it into a Spanish bank account it is not taxed as it is not income.
We are renting our house out in UK and this has to be declared on a UK tax return but you get your standard allowance so unless you're getting more than £9,500 p.a. you would be ok. However I believe you also have to declare it on your Spanish tax return as well when you are Spanish resident but allowances are quite good here (see Sid's guide).

For some people finishing work is a wrench but once you have made the move I assure you if you're like most of the early retirees on here, you won't regret it and probably wonder how you found the time to work in the first place.

[jogger]

fyfin, that was a really useful post and a little nudge in the right direction as I have had a mate whom I work closely with telling me to hold on for another few years as they will be offering out more severance. He says it will be tight and his way I will up my pension, cut more off my mortgage and have more of a lump sum. My view is I will be that much older, money iisn't everything andfif from what you and others have said on here it is very doable. After all I would rather be there rambling over hills and trails than just rambling. Life is too short. Thanks fyfin. Now to look for sid's tax thing.

[El Cid]

Now to look for sid's tax thing.

It's here

http://www.andalucia.com/forums/viewtop ... 42&t=27576

Sid

[jogger]

Now to look for sid's tax thing.

It's here

http://www.andalucia.com/forums/viewtop ... 42&t=27576

Sid

Thanks Sid

Roy

[jogger]

So, just an update and more advice please. I am involved in the talks about the re org in my company and from what I have seen so far, I don't want to be there when these changes take place, so even MrsJogger is now saying we need to go. I took a Spanish course in work but didn't do very well, so I need to look at this again. I will be finishing in my job around next May/June and we would look at moving shortly after that. We will be renting at first and maybe permanently it doesn't really matter, whether we rent or buy. So now I know it is a definite, I suppose we should start preparation soon, but where to we start?

Thanks
Roy

[Free at Last]

So now I know it is a definite, I suppose we should start preparation soon, but where to we start?

Thanks
Roy

If you're going to be coming over to Spain on holiday before your anticipated moving date, you could start the ball rolling by obtaining your NIEs. Next step might be to open a non-resident bank account (you can change to a resident's account at a later date) to facilitate the inward transfer of funds from the UK and payment of rent, bills, etc. at this end - but I wouldn't open it too early because there will be bank charges involved. When you are here full time, most banks now offer commission-free accounts provided you have a regular monthly amount paid in (normally around €700 per month, I believe).

Probably not much more you can usefully do at this stage. Details of the results of the review of the Spanish tax system which is currently taking place are due to be announced some time this summer, so look out for those in case they affect your plans in any way.

[jogger]

Hi Free I am over there in June but this is probably too soon to open the account for next year. I will look at some rentals just to get an idea and some we look at might still be on the market when we get there.
Thanks for that.
Roy

[Lavanda]

Learn some Spanish. Don't bother too much with formal classes as the Spanish in the street is very different to the stuff taught in UK classes BUT immerse yourself in some useful vocabulary. Read Spanish newspapers. El Pais in English is on-line and free. Unless you plan to be one of those immigrants disconnected from their country of choice, you could do a lot worse than read up the fascinating history of Spain. Cordoba, for example, was once the centre of the civilised world.

[Martin Page]

I would suggest that you come to Spain as a Tourist for the first 3 months then ...

You don't NEED an NIE number, in fact you don't NEED a bank account either
If you have a suitable Credit card like the Halifax clarity you can get money , out of the wall, and do a transfer online the same day to pay of the credit card bill... at no cost

You will need an NIE number - When you purchase a house ... but much easier to do when your here

[jogger]

Well at last, the company have been dragging their heels, I've been involved in the talks around the company re-org and tonight I have just signed the form saying I will take the Voluntary Severance. They have said they will let us go in Feb or March which is fine by me. I now just hope the property in Spain doesn't shoot up in value between now and then.

[fyfin]

Good to see you're still on course for the move to Spain. There is no doubt that there is an air of optimism in the property market here in Spain and I know of at least 2 people who have gone back into property sales (one had been out for 7 years and ran a very successful restaurant). Prices in our region are still low and with the sterling/ euro exchange rate as it is now, I would say it is a very good time to buy.

However, I think you said you were going to rent and a lot of people seem to think that is a good idea. In our case we visited the town a few times, got to know some of the residents and then purchased after having stayed there for a few weeks on 3 separate occasions. We had stayed in other locations and realised that although nice to visit they were essentially holiday resorts and not for all year round living.

We're in Almeria but also stayed in Benamargosa on two occasions and visited Periana which we both liked but decided we would like to be nearer sea level and the roads around that area were a bit hairy. There is no disputing the excellent views though.

[luckyjim]

Regarding health insurance. When my wife and I came to Spain many years ago it was obligatory to have health insurance, however, we met many people who suggested that it was not necessary unless you have pre existing illnesses. We cancelled our private health an for the next 6 years(only two visits) we used Clinica Rincon(private clinic) and just paid for the treatment as we needed it. We certainly saved ourselves quite a bit of money.

[gerryh]

... it was obligatory to have health insurance, however, we met many people who suggested that it was not necessary unless you have pre existing illnesses.

I doubt if any insurance company would cover a pre existing condition.
Our company, Provision Medica, certainly doesn't.
If you know of one who does I would love to know.
My wife could then get some of her old medical problems treated privately.
Cheers
Gerry

[luckyjim]

Sorry, didn't explain properly. What I meant was that if you were not I'll then it is worth your while just paying for treatment as you need it instead of taking out Medical Insurance.

[jogger]

fyfin, thanks for the post, sounds like a nice area where you are, we have mainly focussed around Periana but the world is our oyster. Saying that we once considered NI where I originate from but as I say once considered it and then moved on from that

I will certainly look at your area, we like to cycle (not lycra brigade) and flat sounds good especially as we age......

[jogger]

Sorry, didn't explain properly. What I meant was that if you were not I'll then it is worth your while just paying for treatment as you need it instead of taking out Medical Insurance.

Jim, that was a bit of a gamble that paid off, knowing my luck, no I'm not going to temp fate.

[Enrique]

Hi jogger,

" we like to cycle (not lycra brigade) "...................get the proper kit its so much more comfortable.

You can look like an old Pro ..........and us bikies like to chat too..............

[jogger]

I'm just about to buy bike number three Enrique a Brompton which will be easy to transport.