Hi, I would like to hear anyone's personal experiences around declaring this in Spain and paying tax. UK citizen dies in UK leaving only possessions and property located in the UK to someone living in Spain. On the CAB forum having searched 'inheritance' there are people who have been advised they do not need to declare it, and others that they do. There is a lot of confusion, and I wish to complain to the EU about it, and try and get CAB to contact the Consulate, as this is really not acceptable. I have been through it and declared to be on the safe side, even though several said 'no' or 'not property' according to the DTA, that there is the tax law of 1987?, but the DTA takes precedence over this on things like fiscal residence. Also, different gestors, accountants who say you 'do' have all different kind of requirements re documentation, and fees differ greatly. Even tax offices have said you 'don't and some 'you do'. I believe re lawyers, accountants etc, if they are not sure, they will say 'do' because it is to their advantage as they will get the work and have nothing to lose. If we (the individual) get it wrong, there is little point saying 'that is what I was told', and will have to pay for the error. Also, unfairness, in the regional variations, if tax is paid, also the fact, if declared, all the translations and legalisations that we have to deal with, and not deductible. Anyway, I know all the facts, so no advice needed, just information about your experiences. I would like to know what you were told. Whether you agree this is appalling. Whether you would be happy to complain with me. I look forward to hearing from you.

Welcome to the forum
Personally I do not feel you have any basis to complain to the EU about. This is a link to a non official website that explains the situation quite well. https://www.tas-consultoria.com/blog...x-system-work/ The section headed The Autonomous Communities and taxes is the relevant section.
This link, in Spanish gives details of the various impuestos propios each comunidad autónoma charges it inhabitants/businesses. https://www.bankinter.com/blog/finan...tonoma-listado.
In both of the above links some of the figures may be out of date. But they do give a good illustration of just how the tax collection works in Spain.
Only those who live in Spain before the 1 January 2021 can complain to the EU: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-europe
Good luck with your quest.

You might check this out: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/inherita...axation-relief
There is no DTA with Spain when it comes to inheritance tax.

You say you know all the facts although there appears to be some wrong assumptions. First there is no DTA between Spain and UK re; inheritance tax. Two CAB is a totally private website ( it simply uses a similar nomenclature as the UK one). It has nothing to do with UK government and is a business that basically connects you with legal firms. Third there is no separate law of inheritance in Spain . It is the law of succession.

Individual communities are autononous regions regarding some laws- not sure the EU can change that.
Not sure what you feel is appalling? Is is simply a different law in spain from uk.
Hope that helps.

Ok experience.
Declare everything, that way no matter what happens you have covered your rear end.

The CAB is as has been pointed out is a business, nothing more. Its hiding behind a name that us Brits think is a helpful service. Well it is but at a cost and there are shed loads of errors on the site.
Its not an official body and I would not touch them with a disinfected bargepole..

The rules (laws) here in Spain may not be the same as the UK and if you are a fully legal resident who pays tax here, unless you have a complex financial lifestyle then you should have a NT code from the uk and ONLY pay tax here.
So you abide by Spains tax laws, none of this playing around with a bit here a bit there..
And to be honest the laws are actually not that different, earn money in either country= declare and pay tax. The average Uk person never does SA as they are employed and its taken care of. Those of us who have been self employed etc will know about declaring.
Spain uses a system of SA for anyone with an income not from employment (see same thing really).

If you are still tax resident in the UK then you will pay the Uk tax on the inheritance (if there is one) and then pay Spain the difference if Spains tax laws mean you pay a higher rate of tax. SIMPLE.
And again as has been said, its not inheritance here, its succession. Because the tax in the UK is on the dead persons estate, here its on the poor so and so who gets the money. Good if its a parent, but bad if its a great aunt who left you the money.

Thank the stars you are not from the US, the tax man there follows you around the world..

You have no case to complain, live here follow the rules, dont like it... there are around another 190 other countries you could go to....
I dont like the fact I pay more tax here on my meagre pension than I would in the UK (almost twice, due to the lower tax free amount you can earn) but I do it because the wife wants to live here.

My 2c (pre tax of course)....

The nationality and location of the deceased is not relevant, nor is the location of the assets. What matters is that the beneficiary is a Spanish resident therefore they are subject to Spanish succession tax, end of.

As others have said, no it's not appalling, it is just a difference in the taxation system and much as you might wish to you cannot impose the British IHT regime on Spain. It is one of those things, like having to pay tax on a pension lump sum which would not be taxable in the UK (which I did as I'd already bee resident here for several years by the time I received it), which you have to accept if you want to live here. I got a lot of bar room lawyer type advice too, saying I should not declare it, which I ignored. Like Barriej, I also pay double the amount of tax on my pension income than I would pay if resident in the UK but I find that overall things even out when I take into account Council tax, lower energy bills and the general cost of things. Wherever you choose to live (and it is a choice we make after all) you have to take the disadvantages as well as the benefits.

The OP says that they have gone through the process but doesn't tell us what they mean by that as they say the process is confusing. They also say they don't want to discuss the process but whether we wish to petition against it.
From what the OP wrote they might be misinformed as to the correct procedure. As already said the only way to be entirely safe is declare in spain and not assume that because nothing has happened that means everything is okay- if you inherited a house in uk and probate was done and you hear nothing from spain doesn't mean everything is fine. The statute of limits is 4 years but even that can be overuled if you avoided declaring. As Lynn points out if you inherit from a parent then tax is usually zero or very little as the UK tax gets unilateral relief against Spanish tax and most regions are generous towards children. One difference is that if you are inheriting uk assests from a spouse then , whilst in uk no tax is payable, in spain there no unilateral tax relief applies. Also, as said , tax in spain is on the beneficiary not the estate and on the relationship between the beneficiary and deceased- so inheritance from aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters is liable for Spanish tax.

Strangely "disgusted, Tunbridge Wells" springs to mind

Many laws have been changed due to unfairness... And if you read carefully I also talk about different interpretations of this tax law or Dta...it does exist for inheritance.. it talks about 'other' taxes. Once again I do not need your advice, however helpful you are trying to be.

Actually it would appear no one knows this law. They think they know. Clearly there can't be 3 different interpretations

Tax can be high even for a daughter. Depends on region

people say
There is no DTA with Spain when it comes to inheritance tax.[/QUOTE]

I think that is misguided..it is still in force and mentions 'other'taxes

The dta takes precedence over other laws with things like residence, who is classed as a fiscal resident. According to this I am a British fiscal and maybe Spain too! In which case nationality decides!!!

Also none of these comments people have made are answering my questions. I am not asking for advice. Some rules are clear and others not .

👍🏿

Please note Spain has been ordered to make changes to 2 of its tax related laws already

Penpac- I ( and no doubt others) have no idea what you are talking about?
I think you need to be a bit more specific what it is that you want to talk about?

Are you suggesting that different regions tax differently depending on sex!!!!