Tax service
 

Hi. I'm a new-ish spanish resident (formally a resident from the start of this year). I am now nearing the end of all of my initial admin and the next thing on my list is to find somebody who can sort out my spanish tax. My affairs are not complicated - I don't work and all of my income is from savings income derived from the UK. I've asked this before but I didn't get any specific recommendations, can anybody recommend somebody fairly cheap and cheerful that they would recommend? I can speak basic spanish but I would prefer to deal with somebody who speaks english and is used to dealing with Brits (so that they have dealt previously with the usual questions/issues we have). I've done a google search and have come across Abaco taxes - anybody had any dealings with them? Thank you.

Re: Tax service
 

Have you sorted out your UK tax status? Got NT code?
Many think there is magic fairy that will get their UK tax affairs sorted when they leave UK.

Re: Tax service
 

If your affairs are simple then you don't need a full blown lawyer to do your tax return and Modelo 720 if applicable (non cash assets in excess of €50,000), many a Gestor can perform these services for you at a fraction of the cost.

Hard to recommend any particular Gestor without knowing where you are!

Re: Tax service
 

No illusions about a magic fairy here. Its taken me a couple of years of sorting admin at the UK end to get things done as properly as possible eg selling house, sorting out pension, closing business etc. My accountant has notified HMRC (Form 85) that I ceased to be a UK tax resident with effect from 31 December 2022 (tax resident in Spain from 1 Jan 2023). I am just filing my final UK tax return for the 2022/23 tax year. I'm not aware of a NT but I assume my tax code will have changed now and I will be issued with a new tax code - is that what you mean? If I need it for Spain, I will ask my UK accountant to formally request one from HMRC.

Re: Tax service
 

I'm resident in Madrid but I have a holiday home in Pego (near Denia but in Alicante). I prefer to use advisers who deal with people like me (Brit moved to Spain to retire) so I would prefer a gestor in the Valencia/Alicante area. Not many people go to Madrid to retire and when speaking to advisers in Madrid, you are a novel case not a straightforward case, so they tend not to know what they are doing, and obviously the cost is also significantly higher.

Re: Tax service
 

Normally, HMRC want a certificate of tax residency (Convenio) from the Spanish AEAT before they will issue an NT tax code, and AEAT won't issue one of those before you have made at least one Spanish tax return, which means in your case a return for the 2023 Spanish tax year being submitted by the end of June 2024. Once they have received that HMRC will issue the NT tax code and refund any UK tax paid since you became Spanish resident.

If your tax affairs are straightforward, are you aware that the Spanish tax office offers a free service every year whereby an appointment can be made online to attend one of their offices for a member of their staff to complete your tax return free of charge? My husband and I used it a few times before we felt confident enough to complete our own returns online, and it was very good, the people are pleasant and helpful. They don't ask for any supporting documentation, we just wrote down our income figures (converted into euros) and which category they came in, eg pensions go in the section for income from work, bank interest in the section for savings income, and any pensions which are only taxable in the UK (civil service, armed forces, teachers, etc) in the section for exempt income. Appointments are usually made available in about mid May each year up until just before the deadline for that year's returns at the end of June. You really don't need to be able to speak much Spanish to use the service, just have your income details, ID documents (passport, residencia/TIE, NIE) and Spanish bank details to hand. A couple can choose to submit either a joint or individual returns and they will show you a comparison so you can see which would be most beneficial in your circumstances.

Re: Tax service
 

Thanks. I think I've ordered my tax affairs so I won't need to reclaim any UK taxes. All my savings income is paid to me gross and by the end of Jan I will have settled all of my past UK taxes.

I think I would just like a professional to do it the first time and then once that is done, I think I will do it myself in the future.

Re: Tax service
 

If you mean Ábaco in Torrevieja then I would recommend them. They are very professional and a firm with a huge client list which indicates their abilities. They employ a number of native speakers of English although are a Spanish firm. They will charge around 80 to 100 euros to do the modelo 100. If you are a client it is free. Clients probably pay 160 € a year for basic legal help. Basically you will pay about the same as a gestor but have an English native go through everything with you. You wont need to do anything until around April though

Re: Tax service
 

Thanks - yes I did mean Abaco in Torrevieja. I think that I will use them as I have had an initial chat with them and everything seems pretty straightforward. They do charge extra for a Modelo 720 but I think its worth using them especially for the first few years in any case.

Re: Tax service
 

Lynn R has written great explanation about NT tax code.
You can check your tax code online with gov.uk.
Until you get NT tax code, you're still liable to UK for world-wide tax on everything. Form 85 is only part of process.

Re: Tax service
 

If someone goes the other way, as in permanently leaving Spain for elsewhere, is it also that difficult to get "signed out" of the system once and for all? Will they also require such paperwork from your new place of residence?

Re: Tax service
 

A long time ago, when I embarked on a long term sailing adventure at retirement, I was clearly going to become a tax nomad with no fixed tax abode. I approached HMRC for advice about not paying tax on my UK based pension.

The response was classic - "I'm not going to let you off my hook until you can prove you are on someone elses hook".

A very succinct and truthful reply!

Re: Tax service
 

Haha, nice one! :) That's the way it works I guess. Someone once described our existence as "free-range humans on a tax farm" and I remember that to this day. :)

If someone is now "on the hook" here in Spain, is it just as difficult to de-register as a tax resident when leaving for good?

Re: Tax service
 

There is a firm in Albir,

Express Legal Solicitors

and they are excellent, boss is a Spanish lawyer and the other lawyers have both Spanish and English. I know of them because they did all out legal work getting registered etc when I lived in Spain. and I actually knew one of their employees, she isn't there now as she returned to the UK a couple of years after me. I would totally trust them.

Re: Tax service
 

It's Modelo 030 and they could ask you for proof that you're on someone else's hook which could be interesting if you go back to the UK...