Mack62

Hi all. First a bit of context and then some questions.

I am a 58 year old British/Canadian IT consultant married to a British/Russian lady. We are both healthy. I spent most of my working life in Canada so have pensions there that start to pay out when I am 60 with the option to also start taking a national pension (reduced) at 60 instead of 65. My working time in the UK will only pay the minimum state pension but I have a small UK private pension fund. I also have a fair bit of equity in a house in Cambridge and have built up a reasonable amount of cash in a limited company. We also have a flat in Moscow. With all the uncertainty of what happens after the transition agreement we are thinking of moving to either Spain or Portugal while the bar for doing this is lower than for non-EU citizens. I am hoping to continue some contract work over the next few years. Some I might be able to do remotely but also likely will spend weeks at a time back in the UK working. If we decide on Spain, we would start with renting a place for at least 6 months.

Question 1: How difficult is it to import a motorbike to Spain? One of my big loves of Spain is the amazing biking culture and roads. I’d love to take my current ride if it is not difficult to do.

Question 2: I have been reading a lot about self employed registration and the cost of Spanish social security contributions regardless if you are making any money or not. If I keep my UK limited company and just pay myself dividends from the company when I need money, can I report this as foreign “investment income”? In other words if all my consulting is in the UK, can I avoid registering as self employed in Spain or is there some advantage to this? I noticed that you need to contribute to this for 15 years to get any Spanish pension. Not something I am planning to do.

Question 3: Capital gains. If I sell the house in Cambridge after I am a Spanish tax payer, will I need to pay tax on Capital gains in Spain? We are trying to decide if we should sell the house sooner or later.

Question 4: Spain vs Portugal? I have spent more time in Spain than Portugal but like them both. Prefer driving in Spain though as the Portuguese are fairly well suicidal on the road. Like the diversity of countryside (and houses) more in Spain but the tax situation in Portugal seems more advantageous at the moment.

Any advice is welcome.

missile

Question 1: Very easy. Weather and roads are great and you will make lots of new biker friends.


Question 2: I don't think that would be legal.
Question 3: Yes
Question4: No idea.

I would suggest decide what you WANT to do. Do not be ruled by tax rules if you will excuse the pun.

spainrico

Probably not worth the hassle and cost - remove the stress, and sell and then buy one in Spain. Another tip I would give you is to swop Canadian licence to UK which can then be swopped for a Spanish one (ie Spanish will not give you a Spanish DL for a Canadian unless you take the test) But there are time limits on this option.

I do not see why you have to register as self-employed in Spain if you are not going to be working and invoicing Spanish clients. You just need to do a declaracion de renta (tax return)

The system is you pay in UK and that amount can be deducted from any Spanish liability - it's all about timing when you enter Spanish system (ie if you sell before you may not have any Spanish tax liability)

Spain vs Portugal - your call.

More here - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain

Patrick2976

Hi
Q1) Not my area of expertise
Q2) If you register as self employed - 'autonomo' - you are correct in thinking you must pay obligatory national insurance contributions. However there is an incentive in place which gives an incremental discount over a period of around two years or so where payments start around €50/month with a gradual increase to around €300 max. Should you register? I would say it depends if you plan to have Spanish based clients/customers once you are resident. Then you may need to set up an Spanish limited company (SL) instead (depending on turnover among other things). If you take dividends from a UK ltd company they are likely to be taxed as income. However the dividends may also be taxable by HM Revenue & Customs. Then you may need to use the Spain-UK dual tax treaty which specifies that for Spanish tax residents, the maximum amount of tax that can be extracted by HM Revenue is either 10% or 15% (depending upon the circumstances) of the total net amount of the dividend to be paid. Any UK tax taken can be offset against Spanish tax due.
Q3) Yes, be careful of that one - they are unlikely to treat it as your main home once you are resident.
Q4) A personal choice and depends which area. A lot of the southern expat enclaves such as those around Vilamoura are quiet in winter and the weather is not as good as southern Spain (in general) due to the Atlantic exposure. They do have the non habitually resident rule though which is very attractive to foreigners who do not generate income/wealth from Portuguese based activity - At least for the first 10 years.