brisca

Hi everyone,
Last Friday we completed the purchase of a piece of land in our fabulous village
The Notary suggested that we contacted the British Embassy to request a "certificate" stating that we are non residents.
Apparently it's something to do with Tax - in our favour? - and we have to submit it within 30 days (to where exactly, we're not sure!)
According to the Notary, it doesn't matter that we are currently in the process of applying for our Residencias.
We are living here full time.

I phoned the Embassy today, and they are going to send a form that might be relevant.

In the meantime, does anyone have a clearer idea about what this form is for, please?
We were given the tax bill for the land on Friday (!) and have to pay it within 15 days, so we're not too sure where this "certificate" features?

Does anyone know if we might end up paying less tax if we have this form?

Thanks in advance to anyone who may be able to help.
Sam.

EsuriJohn

Hi brisca,

This is very interesting for us as we are about to complete on a plot purchase in the new year when we will start to build a villa which will take at least a year. This means we will be landowners but not occupiers for about 12-18mths.

We will not be resident in Spain during that time but would expect to become Tax Resident 6 months after build completion.

We would be very interested to know what the form is when you get it and as the saga unfolds just what the advantages are since we are always keen to legitimately minimise our tax position.

Regards,

John.

Beachcomber

The only fiscal advantage to being non-resident is that any interest you receive on a bank account will be paid gross. This certificate is issued by the national police and is applied for on your behalf by the bank if you are the holder of a non-resident account.

As far as purchasing property is concerned the 7% transfer tax is the same whether you are resident or non-resident.

Solarwhizz

I agree with Beachcomber,
The certificate your are referring to may be the Declaracion de Baja, Effectively stating when you left the UK and confirm you lived in the UK at 'X' address for 'X' number of years prior to relocating. I dont know of any value it has in land transactions and tax relief. However if you are re-registering a foreign car in Spain it makes a big difference, Ie between 12% and 4% of the declared value!!, ( for me that was over a 1000€). However the British consulate in Alicante will register you in their black book, and stamp your passport, and issue you with the cert for about 30€, and they will put on whatever dates you tell them you arrived in Spain , so I wouldn't worry about it until you are asked to produce it, then go get one!!. Nb it is important when registering the car that it states you have been in Spain for less than 30 days, dont ask me why it just does!!

Beachcomber

One other thought that springs to mind is that some municipalities give a discount on the annual IBI if you are registered on the padrón. However this applies to residents and non-residents alike so it is unlikely to be what your notary is referring to.

May I also be so bold as to suggest that as you are in Extremadura, although it is becoming an increasingly popular area for foreigners, it is possible that the notary is not overly experienced in dealing with them on a day to day basis.

brisca

Thank you to everyone who replied to this question.

We've decided it's not really anything to get too worried about - especially as the promised form hasn't yet arrived from the Embassy! (It was supposed to have been e-mailed several days ago!.........)

However, thank you Solarwhizz for the advice regarding re-registering a foreign car; obviously that would save a considerable amount of money.

We do currently hold a non-residents bank account, but I can't imagine that our bank will apply for anything on our behalf - they don't seem terribly organised!

Hopefully it won't be too much longer before we receive our Tarjetas de Recidencia, and then none of this will be relevant anyway!

John and Kath - we wish you the very best of luck with your build project. Maybe we'll be swapping build stories or questions in the future!?

Wishing everyone a very Feliz Navidad.
Regards,
Sam.