I've only just recently registered as self-employed in the UK, but now I'm thinking of making the move over to Spain where my partner lives and works. However, I will be intending to spend a lot of time in the UK staying with family and friends, as I work from my laptop so have the freedom to do this.

If I spend an equal amount of time in the UK and Spain, what should I do to make sure everything is legal and onboard in regards to taxes etc?

Do I need to register as a Spanish citizen even if I spend just as much time in the UK? Will this mean that I no longer am a UK citizen so won't be able to spend so much time in the UK?

I don't even earn a taxable amount at the moment as it's my first year of being self-employed. Which is another thing, being self-employed in Spain (like my partner is) means you have to pay €250 a month, so it's not really worth me doing this as I don't earn this much. It really is much easier to be self-employed in the UK when you earn only a little, but obviously I can't stay self-employed in the UK if I register as a citizen in Spain?

My partner is happy to support the both of us as he pretty much does anyway, so I'm not too worried about being unemployed in Spain, but ideally I'd like to keep my work up (I write for an online magazine and also earn money through two of my own blogs)

Does anyone have any solutions or thoughts about my problems? Or do I just need to pick a country and be done with it?

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

I think you are a little confused. Citizenship has nothing to do with your plans - to become a citizen of Spain (Spanish National) takes a lot of effort and a long time.

Within 90 days of living in Spain (in any one chunk), you have to get a resident certificate (often called a 'residencia'). After 182 days of being in Spain during any calendar year (that's accumulative days), you are deemed Spanish tax liable and need to complete a Spanish tax return.

If you start to work whilst in Spain, and are here for more than 182 days, then you will have to pay Spanish tax on ALL worldwide income and will also have to make Spanish SS payments - this is normally around the 250€ mark per month although there is a scheme running which might reduce this for you - Google it or search this forum).

I think you also need to investigate the implications of being in a 'partnership' in Spain rather than being married.

haha yes I'm very confused, only just started looking into this, trying to get my head round it. If/once I start paying Spanish tax, does that mean I can spend as long as I like in the UK without being liable to pay tax there?

and yes you're right, I've confused everything by using the term "citizen". I mean as in registered as living there for tax purposes, i.e. telling HMRC that I'm going to move to my partner's spanish address, rather than my current UK address - not actual citizenship, sorry!

Yep, once you are registered for tax in Spain, that's pretty much it until you de-register - just like in UK.

Louise ....... to make and keep things simple ....... if you spend less than 182 days a tax year in Spain then you wont need to worry about it because you won't be a fiscal resident in Spain.

Until things changed for me, that was exactly what I was going to do. It was all researched etc, and if you own high value assets in the UK it's by far the best way to approach it, if in fact it works for you

Treat fiscal (tax) residency and domicile residency differently.
As Fred James (here) will probably tell you, there are allowances for tax in Spain, and if you earn less than the allowance then you wont necessarily pay tax. However, by registering for tax in Spain it means that you also have to declare your worldwide assets if they fall into designated groups of €50k or more, i.e. property / investments / bank accounts

I would suggest stay self employed in the UK unless you stay more than 182 days in any tax year or want to rent / buy a house or car, there is really no need to register for anything.

Keep you travel receipts. May be useful in the very unlikely event you are asked to prove duration of your visit(s).

Hi All,
So . . . if one was to travel to Spain 90 days before the end a calender year & stay a further 90 days into the next year you are ok on the tax side ?? You still need to register for "residencia", i acknowledge that. What is the situation if you buy a property ??
Thanks for any replies.
Cheers
Ron

If you buy a property you use your NIE, and you pay non residents tax on it every year.

As long as you don't go over the prescribed number of days per year in Spain per tax year, you are not a fiscal resident there

Our plan was to spend less than 6 months in Spain every year meaning we were not fiscal residents. The first year we paid iirc €280 non resident tax on our property, but then managed to sell it very quickly, to our surprise

Cool. Thanks again Mitsy. The idea if I can persuade the Mrs is to spend just under 6 months in Fuerte, as I said, three months effectively at the satrt & three months at the end of the year & avoid the tax thing. Not too worried about the property tax thing at that kind of price. Can you get the NIE without being resident ?
Thanks again
Ron

Yes.

Thanks snikpoh