We've received a bill for non-resident tax after buying an apartment in Tenerife

[ms hx]

We bought a apartment last year and just got our bill for both of us.the accountant has charged us 160€ for doing the account's for the 2.is this expensive

[polremy]

Sounds a lot. How much was the actual tax? (if you don't mind me asking)
Apparently it's quite simple to submit your own forms.

[bennoa1]

We pay tax on the apartment as they assume it is rented, which it isn't. Its paid in December and has to be paid before year end which is handy as we are normally over before Xmas so go in and pay. We use an abogados to complete the forms for us and its around 400 euros per year. We've never paid tax relating to us though and we've owned for over 16 years.

[Moderator_]

We bought a apartment last year and just got our bill for both of us.the accountant has charged us 160€ for doing the account's for the 2.is this expensive

Are you fiscally resident in Tenerife or not?

[vove]

Depends on the point of view, 160€ is not much really but depends what the guy does for you.

If you are a non resident you have to pay additional tax (3%) to treasury (hacienda), it is the form 212 and you have 4 months to do it counted from the date of buying the property (signing the contract). Apart from that there are two more taxes (5% igic if it's a new property and Tax on Gains in Value of Urban Land).

This is pretty stupid because you cannot become a resident if you have no fixed address in Spain but once you buy the property you can become resident and put it as your address :D I guess it might be possible to register yourself temporary as a resident and give them your friends' address as your own, thus evading the extra tax and hassle with treasury.

[doreen]

Depends on the point of view, 160€ is not much really but depends what the guy does for you.

If you are a non resident you have to pay additional tax (3%) to treasury (hacienda), it is the form 212 and you have 4 months to do it counted from the date of buying the property (signing the contract). Apart from that there are two more taxes (5% igic if it's a new property and Tax on Gains in Value of Urban Land).

This is pretty stupid because you cannot become a resident if you have no fixed address in Spain but once you buy the property you can become resident and put it as your address :D I guess it might be possible to register yourself temporary as a resident and give them your friends' address as your own, thus evading the extra tax and hassle with treasury.

vove - you are confusing your taxes .. the Form 212 is submitting the 3% that has been retained by the Buyer (you) having purchased from a non-resident, so it is a tax on the Seller, not the Buyer (it just seems that it is you paying it as it was retained from the money you paid over to the Buyer)

When you come to sell, if still non-resident, 3% will be deducted from your sale price to be paid over - it is technically to cover any Capital Gains Taxes and can be reclaimed if in effect less (or no) tax was due (though it does take a long time)


And no, you will not be able to temporarily register yourself as you suggest - it is tax residence they are talking about and for that you need in fact to have been in Spain long enough to submit a tax return and then get an exemption from this 3% tax.


EDIT - not vove's question :)

As to the original question re 160 euros fee, if your property is in joint names, then it will have been a charge of 80 euros per person to submit the tax - I remember being charged 75 euros 12 or so years ago as a sole non resident owner. Some gestors will charge a bit less ... and some people learn to submit the form themselves :)

[vove]

Thanks for the clarification doreen! As you say it's 3% of the value, not additional 3% above what you pay for the property, my fault. :(

One more thing about buying the property: AFAIK there is some tax relief for numerous families (familia numerosa) but this would need investigation as I am not sure how it works in Tenerife. Maybe if someone had experience could add some info for future readers.

[LizzyW]

I live in the UK and have a 2nd home on the Spanish mainland. I also have to pay the RENTA which is the tax the govt levy on you on the assumption that all 2nd home owners will be earning some income from renting. I can say that for my property which has a suma value of about e100k the tax for the year is about e25 each for myself and my hubby. It is a mathematical calculation done based on the valor catatral - ie the one shown in the SUMA. The forms are available on the internet and are dead easy to complete. You complete on-line, print off and take to the bank. I know plenty of folk in spain who pay many many euros to have this done for them. I would say - have a look at the form yourself and you'll see it's pretty easy and if you do it 1 year and keep your copy you just do it again next year with the SUMA value uplifted slightly from your SUMA bill. (All this assumes everything works the same in Tenerife to Spain - if not my apologies for confusing the matter!)

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sorry I should just add that we have never received any kind of reminder about this tax (RENTA) - it is 100% up to the homeowner to know to do it.

[barryk]

If you are talking of non residents tax (not rented out, no income),

http://thehendy.co.uk/modelo210/

The tax % and some of the liinks may be a little out of date but useful site and good info.

Diane McGloan, One stop problem shop Tenerife. Also has current rates and info.
The online form can be found on the Agencia Tributos website.
When you have done the first one it is saved on a file on your pc and the next year you just recall change the date and any new tax data, print and take to the bank (think you can pay by dd)
Have been doing mine this way for the last four years
barryk