aggie2347

I am a civil resident of spain (green card) and stay for 5 months (151 days) over the winter period before returning to my main address in the UK. I do not want to pay income tax in spain(fiscal resident) as I am not here for more than 183 days, all my tax is paid in the UK. The thing is how do I prove to the spanish authorities that I am not in the country for more than 183 days. Do I have to contact them or will they contact me, fill a form up or what? Any advice would be apreciated as I do not want to incur a fine. aggie.

Fred James

You may have the green form but that doesn't imply that you are tax resident.

Strictly speaking you should cancel your green form when you leave Spain and reapply when you return for more than 90 days.

Clearly that would be expensive, pointless and time consuming. Most people who "winter" in Spain don't bother to register for those reasons although officially they are obliged to do so.

It is quite likely that, in the present financial situation, the taxman will be trying to find opportunities to catch tax evaders and that process has already started where thousands of letters have gone out to registered property owners who have not made either a non resident or resident tax declaration.

With tax it is up to you to prove that you are not tax resident rather than the other way round. The fact that you are tax resident in the UK helps but if you want to be able to prove that you have not been in Spain for 183 days you must prove that you have been somewhere else. Ferry/plane tickets are a good start.

Credit card statements and UK utility bills can help but don't get paranoid about it - just be prepared to justify your claim to be non resident in the unlikely event that you get contacted by the taxman.

aggie2347

Hi Fred, Thanks for the good advice. I will keep all correspondence just in case the Spanish tax authorities contact me. I do not own property in spain so I maybe ok. Thanks again aggie.