andysch

Hi

I got to page 10 of the forums and saw a few posts which were similarish in nature to what I was looking for but my situation is still slightly different, and I wanted to know if this is possible.

I have an already established UK Limited company. All my clients are based in the UK, and all future clients will also be based in the UK. The nature of my work means that I cannot undertake any work for a non-UK company - I work in financial services, hence the reason for this. I can do my job from anywhere in the world with an internet connection, and the weather...!

Anyway, the idea is to continue to run my UK Ltd company, paying UK VAT and Corporation Tax, etc. And then, draw money as I need to. My salary and dividends are paid to my (UK) bank account, and I could pay for everything and draw some cash as I need to from that account, however I know this would incur fees, etc. I guess I need a Spanish bank account to control these costs, but what else do I need to consider? Are the Spanish likely to take a dim view of someone who is not contributing to the Spanish economy in terms of work/employment, or do I just need to prove the £2,000 per month ongoing income? And will I even be able to apply for residency?

I guess I'm thinking that people retire to Spain and draw their pensions from wherever it is they accumulated it, so are not themselves in the Spanish labour market. Although I would be working I assume this may place me in a similar position as my income will be 100% derived from outside Spain?

If this has been asked before, please forgive me; I tried a search but it wanted to include everything on the forum (I'm only interested in Spain!)

Loafing Along

Assuming you can successfully negotiate the "Post-Brexit" hurdles for residency what you need to realise is that after 6 months ( I think it is actually 183 days ) you become a tax resident in Spain which opens up the need for an annual tax declaration in Spain of your worldwide income . Obviously, as there is a double taxation treaty in place you could apply for non-residence status in the UK and thus no longer pay income tax there . As another consideration once a year, in springtime, you will need to file a worldwide wealth/ assets declaration .
Yes UK pensioners may receive pensions ex-UK but they pay taxes in Spain.

Fred James

In almost all countries, tax is paid on any income arising from work in that country. You do not need to be UK tax resident to be made to pay tax on income arising in the UK.

An example of this is UK rental income for a tax resident in Spain. The tax is due in the UK even though the income goes to a non UK tax resident.

There are exceptions to this, notably UK income from pensions which, if you ask HMRC nicely, will be tax exempt in the UK.