Selling your house as a resident in spain

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princess peach
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Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby princess peach » Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:37 am

If i was going to sell my house in Spain for the same price i bought it for and return back to UK.
What taxes would i have to pay?
I presume i wouldnt have any Capital Gains Tax to pay if it was sold for what i paid for it.. :?
Do they take more off you with another type of tax due to not rebuying another property in spain?
:? im all confused with the names of different taxes,so apologies if it isnt called Capital Gains and is something completely different. :oops:

El Cid
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby El Cid » Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:56 am

If you make no profit then you pay no Capital Gain Tax.

The main other taxes are normally paid for by the buyer but there will also be legal and notary fees.

Sid

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princess peach
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby princess peach » Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:12 am

Thanks Cid,i thought there was some kind of retention to pay if you didnt rebuy another property in Spain within 6 months...??

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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby El Cid » Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:21 am

Not if you are tax resident - you just declare the gain, if any, on your next tax return. You have to prove to the notary that you are tax resident so you may need to get a certificate of tax residency from the tax office.

Beachcomber will know the exact procedures involved in dealing with the notary etc.

Sid

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princess peach
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby princess peach » Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:24 am

mmm,we are not Tax Resident.

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Devils Advocate
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby Devils Advocate » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:01 am

Interesting, now for the numpty question :shock:

I thought a "resident" and "tax resident" where one and the same, i.e. Residencia....no?

I'm a non-resident so excuse my ignorance.
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby BENIDORM » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:24 am

PP,
If you are not tax resident then my understanding is that you would be subject to the retention tax, which if there is no capital gain then you would be able to apply for a refund, but it does take a while...
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Enrique
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby Enrique » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:33 am

Hi DA,
From reading the Forum, if you are in Spain for 183 days then you should be Tax resident in Spain. :?:
So for all those who post "I'm 50/50 between UK and Spain " in theory need to pick a place and do 51/49 .
Do they check up :?:
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby julian » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:35 am

I think the plus valia tax may be based on official values, which means that even if there has been no real profit made, there may be a small amount of municipalplus valia tax to be paid,.... Sid, is it based on real values, or catastro values?

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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby Devils Advocate » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:38 am

Cheers Enrique,

It's just that PP's post said she is a resident. I was just thrown when she then said she was not a tax resident as I maybe mistakenly thought they were one and the same, i.e. Residencia is needed if spending more than six months there, which she's obviously done.

I just assumed she was a tax resident and would be interested to know the difference.
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby Devils Advocate » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:40 am

Julian, we sold the old town house we had earlier on this year........I'm sure the plus valia was taken off the Catastro it certainly wasnt a % of sale price of house, think the gestor said it was land value...........but my purchaser was told to pay that anyway for some reason :? , I never argued :)
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby katy » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:47 am

Last time we sold a property (around 2002 ish) the Notary was very strict in seeing all proof (tax returns etc.) as soon as they see the foreign passport you have to jump through hoops to prove it. It is the same in the UK proving that you don't live there longer than the required time, anyone ever filled out one of those Revenue and customs forms in the UK :( I would be interested to know if any notary has been lenient on this.

It is usually the seller who pays the plus valia but it is up for negotiation.

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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby julian » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:51 am

right Katy, in those days the notaries wanted to see all sort of papers to check residency, , but now you need the certificate from the tax man to show the notary, which saves all the doubt.

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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby katy » Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:03 am

Can I just ask. When we did sell the money wasn't re-invested as it was an additional home. Made a huge profit (aaaah the good old days). didn't declare it :oops: Am I now in the clear?

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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby julian » Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:07 am

I think that if it was more than 4 years ago that you should have declared it then it is now safe to walk outside the front door katy!!

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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby katy » Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:10 am

Thanks, it is not the sort of question to ask your Lawyer. I can keep more than 10 euro in my spanish bank account then without the fear of an embargo :wink:

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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby julian » Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:13 am

of course you can ask a lawyer!!
you do need to check that the tax man has not been trying to notify you about this though, check the famous BOP!!!
go and celebrate in the meantime !

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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby Beachcomber » Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:22 am

The document you require from the tax office is a certificate of fiscal domicile. As always, documentation requirements vary but you will need to show that you have been paying tax as a resident in order to obtain this document. This the only form of residency that counts as far as the notary is concerned.

You should also be aware that the notary uses the valor catastral and the municipal coefficient to determine the minimum amount that can be shown in the escritura. This may be far higher than the price at which you are selling especially if you are taking a loss.

As the seller you are required to pay the plus valia which is a municipal tax based on the value of the land and the number of years that the property has been owned. Each town hall has its own indices and it is impossible to calculate it although some town halls have an online caluculator. However, if you contact the town hall they should be able to give you a fairly accurate estimate based on the proposed date of sale.
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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby El Cid » Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:32 am

Devils Advocate wrote:Interesting, now for the numpty question :shock:

I thought a "resident" and "tax resident" where one and the same, i.e. Residencia....no?

I'm a non-resident so excuse my ignorance.
Entirely different!

If you spend more than 183 days in Spain (not necessarily continuously) in any calendar year you are deemed to be tax resident, irrespective of what cards or bits of paper you may or may not have applied for.

If you spend more than 90 days in Spain consecutively then you lose your EU tourist status and have to register with the police.

This has always been the case. They used to give you a card, now they give you a bit of paper - neither of which necessarily make you tax resident.

If you are tax resident you are liable for income tax in Spain on your worldwide income (with some exceptions such as UK government pensions).

Sid

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Re: Selling your house as a resident in spain

Postby Devils Advocate » Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:38 am

Thanks Sid, Question answered. So PP is a tax resident then with no worries about retentions and the hassles of reclaiming......as I am now.

Beach, back on the plus valia thing. The gestor said said it's normal for the buyer to pay this but not in stone. A word was had with the buyer and he indeed offered to pay it.
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