Non Residents Property Sale Tax

[Tamkid]

Has anyone had any experience with the Spanish Tax Authority regarding reclaiming the supposed potential Capital Gains tax they hold back from a non resident property sale? I sold a property over eight months ago and there is still no sign of the 4000 euros the held back in case I owed them any back tax, which I don't. My Solicitor seemed to give the impression that it would snow in hell before I would see a cent of my 4000 euros, surely this must be illegal?

[Deso]

We sold one 3 and a half years ago and still no refund. I will be enquiring about that on our next visit.

[Can the Man]

Ditto for me, I sold a property over 3 years ago, the withheld over â,¬3k, my solicitor put in a claim for a refund after 6 months, and still no sign of the money, I lost over â,¬80k on the sale.

[cdm82]

Ditto for me, I sold a property over 3 years ago, the withheld over â,¬3k, my solicitor put in a claim for a refund after 6 months, and still no sign of the money, I lost over â,¬80k on the sale.

Wow, thats  a huge loss , how can they get away with with holding "your money ". Has anyone had a refund ?                                                                                                                                                       

[wawaw]

Ye me too , still waiting 7 months , also did not make a profit so going to look into reclaiming the plusvalia

[Tamkid]

Apart from the money, its the principle. I lost a packet on the property sale vs price I paid, plus lump sum on top of that i.e. with estate agents fees, solicitors etc etc if your a veteran ex pat, you get used to being ripped off, its the Spanish way and English Estate Agents way.

But this tax thing is really getting to me, its just a rip off big time. Fair enough to hold it for a specific time,(depending on circumstances), maximum should be 6 months I reckon, they should provide a phone number or some sort of information with regard to enquiries, its not chicken feed we are talking about. I did read on one forum that the money, if it is ever refunded go's into your Solicitors account if him/her has done the relevant original paperwork relating to the tax???.Not that I am a cynical person or anything, but?

[Tamkid]

Just came across this site relating to complaints and info on tax -      http://www.agenciatributaria.es/AEAT.internet/en_gb/Inicio.shtmlite

Its in English, if anyone manages to work out on how we can appeal request clarification relating to the Non Residents withheld tax, could you post the info, I am not
the brightest star in the sky.

[decho]

I wonder how quick they would respond if you were actually owed more than was being withheld.

[Wild Rover]

What's to stop you becoming a resident then once you have received your money going back to be a non resident

[Deso]

Ye me too , still waiting 7 months , also did not make a profit so going to look into reclaiming the plusvalia

Just to clarify, the 3% is not Plus Valia, that is a separate payment that is made to the council. The tax in question relates to any Capital Gain you may have made from your sale.

[HH]

We investigated a refund of the 3% safeguard (in our case over â,¬3K ) and decided against as we feared stirring up a nest of vipers as the authorities make everything such hard work and we were just pleased to be shot of the villa in the end.  We had made a good profit.

The below might be useful if it is still relevant date-wise:

Non-residents
If you are a non-resident you will pay 19.5% capital gains tax in Spain in 2015, lowering to 19% in 2016 as a standard levy. The Spanish Tax Authority withholds 3% from the sale of your property. This is taken directly from the purchaser so that you only receive 97% of the amount the property was sold for. The 3% is a safeguard so that non-residents do not ‘disappear` before they have settled their CGT account.

If more CGT is needed than is covered by the 3% then you will need to provide the extra, if not you will receive a refund. In order to collect any refund you need to complete a form 210H. This should be submitted within three months of the sale along with the last four years of non-resident income tax. From the date that it is presented you should allow around a year to receive the refund.

[wawaw]

ye thanks Deso , I understand that , but I believe ( correct me if wrong) that the court has now ruled that if you sold a property without making a profit that you can now reclaim the plusvalia

[Tamkid]

I never paid any non resident income tax only the illegal non resident tax. Also completed the reclaim form through my Solicitor within the three month period, but even if you don't complete the form within the 3 month period, you can still claim only they will fine you for each month over, apparently.

[MalT]

Must admit, didn't think about this when buying the property,,I'm assuming thevregulations are different for residents? Thanks

[Ivemovedon]

Paid 16 grand in property sale tax. Whether we made anything or not which in our case was debatable due to the complexity of having it built....we don't expect to see anything back either way. One reason I refused to pay the illegal non residents tax. Let them chase you for it cos once it's gone it looks like it's GONE.!

[Tamkid]

Could anyone enlighten me with regards to the payment of Non Resident Income Tax? I thought I had paid every tax they could throw at me, but can never remember anyone mentioning this tax. Is it the illegal Non Resident tax they are talking about and they term it as Income Tax?

[Ernie]

Every non-resident property owner is supposed to fill out a self-assessment income tax form every year even if that person has not actually generated a single penny of income in Spain. The reason for this is that there is a smallish tax charge due to owning a property that otherwise would not be paid if the form is not completed each year. In FV the charge is based on 2% of the Catastral Values of the property in question and the tax payable is 19% (IIRC) of this figure. The 2% multiplier is due to the fact that no properties on FV have been revalued in the last ten years (including those built in the last ten years) so 2% is used. Any properties revalued in the last ten years can get away with using 1.1% but that does not apply on FV.

As a very broad guide a typical property will be taxed between â,¬100 and â,¬200 per year. I guess many don't pay either through choice or ignorance. Whether that is a smart move is unclear. I suspect most choose to pay to ensure a quiet life.

[HH]

Yep, assessed every year via Asesoria Zenau in Corralejo.  Never rented out villa.  To my knowledge did not owe a penny to anyone so the 3% should be refunded but as outlined above it is such hard work.  Just happy to let it go.

[Tamkid]

It was the income part of it that threw me, its the Non Resident tax you described which I completed every year as HH did, so thanks for that Ernie.

I was relieved to let mine go, even at a huge loss, but I have no intention of letting the Spanish keep my money without a fight, watch this space, I have been ripped off enough over the years.

[wawaw]

Good on yer Tamkid , good luck

[Ernie]

By all accounts it is a complete nightmare to retrieve the 3% as several people on this thread have discovered. There exists some official guidance indicating a six month wait but that is clearly not worth the paper it is written on.

As I understand it, if one has made a reasonable profit on the deal and intends to pay the CGT due through the usual self assessment route then at least the retained 3% and plus valia tax can be offset immediately against this CGT bill on the self assessment form. This is good news for those in such a position as my original understanding was that the full CGT needed to be paid first BEFORE reclaiming the additional 3% and plus valia !! As of today my understanding is that this is not the case, but would be interested to hear anything to the contrary.

Many in this position who are repatriating to the UK or moving to another country choose to forget the CGT bill and waive the 3%. I doubt very much that anybody would ever chase up this bill unless one ever bought another property in Spain and then the authorities would make sure they got the money, maybe as a charge against any sale of the second property.

But for those unfortunately selling at a loss the retention of a further 3% is downright wrong. But when has that ever stopped them ....

[Deso]

ye thanks Deso , I understand that , but I believe ( correct me if wrong) that the court has now ruled that if you sold a property without making a profit that you can now reclaim the plusvalia

I didn't know that but it seems to be the case. Another one to look into thanks.   

[emmi]

I just received this on email to do with this subject, maybe it could help
http://fuster-associates.com/reclaim-plusvalia-tax/?src=newsletter

[Tamkid]

It seems that if your a non resident and sold at a loss you should not have been charged "Plusvalia" as it is illegal. You can write to the town hall explaining when you sold the property etc, they will review the claim and if it is justified repay the money. If they refuse and throw it out, you can appeal and go through the courts??

The Spanish judiciary have come up with this latest Wheeze in the hope you will go through the courts because you have absolutely no chance of getting it back off the Town Hall, anyone experienced in dealing with Spanish Local Authorities and money will no what I mean, it is all one way in their direction (my own personal opinion obviously).

[fifi]

As far as I can remember Appy Ammer posted on here a long time ago that he received a refund but it took around three years or so.

[MLA]

As far as I can remember Appy Ammer posted on here a long time ago that he received a refund but it took around three years or so.

http://www.fuerteventura-forum.com/index.php?topic=20518.msg488094#msg488094

[ANDMAG]

We are about to go through this possible robbery and I have learnt a little about what may happen

Firstly we employed someone who understands and has experience in obtaining the refund, no guarantees but a high success rate if you papers are straight forward.

Also I understand this is not just about CGT but any other debts you may owe on the Island , even speeding fines you may not even know about

Have you been renting out your property without the correct papers, i doubt it!

In other words you have to be squeaky clean or you may have no chance of recovering the Tax withheld

If anyone can add anything we all would be pleased to hear from you.

[Archer]

Sounds correct. It may be useful if anyone IS successful that they post the name of the Asesoria they used. Thanks

[fifi]

As far as I can remember Appy Ammer posted on here a long time ago that he received a refund but it took around three years or so.

http://www.fuerteventura-forum.com/index.php?topic=20518.msg488094#msg488094

Thanks MLA....six years

[billymac]

Sounds correct. It may be useful if anyone IS successful that they post the name of the Asesoria they used. Thanks

I used Antonio M Garcia ( antoniotaxadvisor@gmail.com) to obtain my refund of the 3% retention. Although he had advised me that the refund could take up to 18 months, in fact I received it 8 months after completion of the sale. So he did well for me.