Taxes when Selling Spanish Property

[Chris]

Hi. I am planning to sell my apartment in Sitges, Barcelona and understand that I will be liable to pay CGT at 19% on the increase in value of the property, correct?
I have owned the apartment since 2003 and remember reading somewhere that 'tapered' CGT relief is offered after so many years, is this the case?
Also I have an NIE number and my 'empadronment' here in Spain although am NOT a fiscal resident as I work part time for a British company and pay tax in England under PAYE. (I spend less than 183 days a year in Spain).
Does this mean that my purchaser will be liable to withold 3% of the purchase price and pay direct to the Spanish Hacienda, regardless of my actual CGT liability?
I am planning to buy another property in Spain. Am I correct in thinking that as long as I am resident here (although not fiscal resident) I can claim back any CGT liability from the Hacienda so long as I purchase another property within two years and this is my main residence?
Further, do I have to prove to the Hacienda that I am 'resident' here, even with my empadroment and NIE number, with the use of utility bills etc? On a side note, all bills are paid in my name, apart from the water bill which the previous owner never changed over so her name still features on these bills, although I am obviously paying them. Is this a potential problem?
Also, am I liable to pay/declare any capital gains on my Spanish assets to the HMRC, even if I never bring the money into the UK and re-invest again in Spain? As I spend less than 3 months of the year in the UK and work for an airline, if I register as 'non tax UK' resident would I still be liable to pay tax on capital gains made in Spain? (I own a property in the UK).
Lastly, I read that the Spanish govenrment has reduced the purchase tax on new build property to 4% until the end of 2011, has this been extended do you know?

Many thanks. Chris

[paul lang]

My father wants to gift me his villa in spain which he had built 43 years ago.i am 43 and reside in the uk.He is also resident in the uk and has only used it for holidays .What taxes will i be liable to pay on transfer.

[aflores]

Hello Paul, we can calculate your exposure to gift tax, as will be requested by the Tax Office, with a copy of the council tax receipt. Also, bear in mind that there could be a liability on Income Tax too, which we can look into.

[Caroline]

My Dutch relatives bought a house in Spain in 1973 as their main residence. They moved to the UK in 2010 due to poor health and now wish to sell their Spanish house in order to pay for their care in the UK.

Please could you tell me whether they are subject to any Spanish tax on the sale proceeds.

thank you

Caroline

[Anita]

I bought a plot of land in India when I was an Indian citizen living in india in 1996. Subsequently I have moved to the UK and am now a citizen here (dual citizenship). I will be paying the tax on the money received in India.What are the tax implications in the UK if I now sell the plot in India? Do I have to pay tax again here?
Thank you
Anita

[Anita]

Sorry. I did not realise this was a specific forum for Spanish property. regards
Anita

[Patricia]

My Dutch relatives bought a house in Spain in 1973 as their main residence. They moved to the UK in 2010 due to poor health and now wish to sell their Spanish house in order to pay for their care in the UK.

Please could you tell me whether they are subject to any Spanish tax on the sale proceeds.

thank you

Caroline

Hello Caroline,

If you relatives were registered as fiscal residents, the said property was their main residence and they are over 65, they would be exempt from taxes.

If they were not registered as fiscal residents ( registered at the Tax office ), but just ordinary residents, they would be subject to the 3% retention and pay Capital Gain Tax if there was a profit made out of the sale.

Regards,

[michael jennings]

Hi, I have seen in comments on this page that if you are a non resident from the UK and you pay CGT tax in Spain that you may be liable to pay in the uk as well.
How does the tax authority in the UK know that you have sold your property in Spain?

[Unregistered]

Michael let me answer your question...

If you believe you owe tax for any reason then under UK tax law you are obliged to submit a self-assessment tax return. Of course there are certain instances when you will be already obliged to submit a self-assessment tax return, being a director of a company or a higher rate tax payer are just 2 examples. If you are a lower rate tax payer then in general all your tax is taken via PAYE, but 1 in 4 lower rate tax payers are randomly selected each year and asked to submit a self-assessment tax return.

Even so if you are a lower rate rate payer not submitting returns and you sell an asset such as a holiday home then if your CGT libablity exceeds the threshold of £10100 then you must by law submit a tax return.

You will not pay CGT tax twice. You will pay in Spain only as Spain and the UK have a dual tax treaty, unless of course the UK charge a higher rate. In such a case you pay the tax due in Spain and then the rest in the UK.

Note that for gains above £37,400 in the UK you pay 28% tax. Taking into account the 0% band of £10100, then if your gain is greater than £47,400 you need to pay the extra 9% tax (28-19) to the UK tax authorities.

[meg]

Hi we bought an apartment in Marbella 5 years ago and sold it in June 2010 for a huge loss due to the economic climate in Spain. At the point of sale our Lawyer said we would have to pay 3% CGT but not to worry as we would be reimbursed with the full amount within 2-3 months. After the sale he changed this period of waiting for reimbursment to up to one year. Here we are 18 months later still waiting! It really sticks in the throat that we had to pay this 3% as it was stressful enough having to sell because of health reasons for a 100,000 euros loss on what we paid for the property. We were also shocked at all the extra taxes etc that were deducted but had not been made aware of. We have not seen receipts for anything that has been paid from our funds that the Lawyer was holding despite requesting them and the Plusvalia tax actually doubled from the initial figure to over 2000 euros. We were told this is because we had to also pay this tax for when we purchased our property. This tax was never mentioned to us before now but from research on the internet we now know that it is the Vendor who pays this so why are we being hit with both! Our Lawyer fobs us off when we query anything and to be honest we have lost all trust in him. We really feel something is not quite right with him. Is there anyone we can complain to such as an Ombudsman like we have in the UK?
Thank you and regards Meg