Lospacoshombre

Hi,
Firstly I have scrolled through pages of questions with the search facility but cannot find a definitive answer.

In my area busses are free with your Padron card, and I was chatting with a long term non resident ex pat who told me I should go on the Padron!

I am non resident, I have owned a property here for years but I live in the U.K. but use my holiday home frequently.

i pay my non residents tax.

i was under the impression if you go on the Padron, you are saying you are tax resident, and the town hall simply want numbers to boost central government spending.

My esteemed amigo also told me that if I was on the Padron I would not have to pay the non residents tax.

i have always avoided it as I had been told that it’s a way of hooking in numbers for funding with no concern for the unwary as to where it puts there national tax position.

what is the answer? I know there are a lot of knowledgeable experienced people on this forum.

regards
Al

tebo53

Hi,
You should not sign on the Padron unless you are a full-time resident here in Spain. It could lead to all sorts of complications regarding resident taxation etc. I've never heard of getting free bus travel simply by being on the Padron. Beware of incorrect information!!

Steve

Lospacoshombre

Thank you Steve,

just for clarification, the busses in the Fuengirola area are free to all Padron members, this is a highly publicised thing which is correct. They were free to all last year at this time, but now only Padron members.

Regards
Al

tebo53

That is an excellent service for being on the padron in Fuengirola, I wish they did it here in Benidorm.....

Steve

spainrico

I fail to understand how you could sign on the padron as that process requires proof of residencia and so non-residents are illegible however I think (ours does not) some town halls will accept people to boost their numbers and funding.

https://www.yourviva.com/property-fo...ring-town-hall

Lospacoshombre

Thank you Spain rico for your info…

in the Fuengirola I have known several non residents who are on the Padron, so it must be possible here.

I thought exactly the same as you, but on the ground experience tells me different.

regards
Al

spainrico

If you want to apply they can only say yes or no. I do not think there is then any automatic link to paying residents tax.

Lynn R

I agree that non residents should not sign on the padrón, but am aware that some Ayuntamientos do allow this. I think the suggestion that if a non resident signs on the padrón then they will not have to pay the non resident property tax is nonsense. It should really be called an imputed income on additional property tax anyway, as Spanish resident property owners who own other properties also have to pay it on any property which is not their principal residence. And really, if on the one hand people are claiming that being on the padrón does not make someone tax resident in Spain, then they can hardly say in the next breath that being on it does not make them non resident either!

I know that sometimes Hacienda does run checks on registered property owners, because a former neighbour once came to me with a letter he had received from them and asked me to explain what it said as he did not speak Spanish. His face fell as I read out "according to our records you have been the owner of the property at xxxxxxxx with catastral reference number xxxxxx since xxxxxxx. During that period you appear to have submitted neither a Declaración de la Renta nor a Modelo 210 ----".

rafikiphoto

I mistakenly registered on the padron when I was non-resident. When we moved here permanently I had to jump through hoops to prove my new residency to the DGT because my updated padron was required to matriculate the car I brought with me and that form stated I had been resident for several years. That meant I would be liable for all the taxes payable instead of being waived for a new resident. Fortunately I had a good gestor who told me what he needed in the way of docs from UK and he convinced DGT that the padron was in error and I was allowed my free importation.

spainrico

And this is I think a good example of why people should stick to the system (not having a go at you Brian) and this includes town halls! Otherwise, it can lead to this type of unwanted stressful complication.

bobd22

This is a topic that has been discussed a number of times on here. I would not sign on the pardon unless I was a full time resident in Spain. Saying you are on the pardon and exempt non resident tax is rubbish you either are resident and declare income tax or you are non resident and if a property owner pay non resident tax. You should only be on the pardon if your Spanish home is your habitual home by signing the pardon that is what you are declaring. If you are on the pardon as a non resident and the hacienda come after you for income tax you have created a big problem. Personally I just believe in sticking to rules rather than what others tell me to try and avoid potential and expensive issues with Spanish authorities. To that end you have done the right thing in checking on here if what this person told you is correct.

Lou71

We are not resident in Spain but were advised to go onto the padron during the vaccine rollout. For those who don't already know, we had a superb, highly efficient, pan European vaccine rollout here and we were able to choose our vaccine and have part of it in Portugal where we are resident and part of it in Spain and it was all logged onto a central EU database.

They knew we were non resident but said it didn't matter. We have since been offered health screening but said no thanks because we have private health insurance.

We have been paying non resident tax since we bought our first plot of land in 1998.

Lospacoshombre

thank you Bob in a nutshell this is exactly what I thought was the case….and with the other contributors it shows just how the issues can become confused.

i thanks to the confirmation from this site intend to remain OFF the pardon.

regards
Al

Retired in Euskadi

I have an 'OAP' bus pass which can be used for Bizkaibus, Bilbao Metro & trams. You have to be a 'pensioner' & fares are ridiculously cheap....eg 65 centimos from where we live to Bilbao (40kms).

tebo53

we can also get the OAP bus pass here in Benidorm which allows travel also around 65 centimos but its amazing that anyone on the padron in Fuengirola, OAP or not, can get free travel.....

Steve