Requerimiento - Spanish tax agency's summons

Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt, March, 7. 2019

Have you received in 2019 a 'requerimiento' letter (tax summons) from the Spanish Tax Office/Agencia Tributaria/Hacienda/AEAT? Don’t panic, contact us ASAP to settle your unpaid non-resident taxes. We will sort out your taxes for a very competitive fee. Remember, you only have 10 days to regularize your tax situation once you receive this letter without attracting supplementary penalties. Contact us!

By Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt
Lawyer – Abogado
8^thof March 2019

Come March, the Spanish Tax Office's central non-resident HQ in Madrid, has been busy sending out massively to non-resident property owners tax summons, or ‘requerimientos’ in Spanish legal jargon, similar to this one.

This is a legal notification made by recorded delivery whereby the tax office formally notifies you that you are not up to date with your non-resident tax obligations. In this case they are requesting to be supplied with copies of all non-resident taxes submitted from the year 2014 onwards. The tax office only gives you 10 days to regularize your tax situation in Spain (see inset photo). So, if you submit your backdated taxes as from 2014 onwards, within the 10 days, you will receive no penalty.

Failure to comply will result in them opening a tax inspection against you which may result in very steep fines (50 to 150% of all undeclared amounts) and, depending on the non-declared amount, may even derive in instigating legal proceedings against you.

Non-compliance with the Spanish Tax Authorities will result eventually in them placing a charge against your Spanish property for all the unpaid tax (plus penalties, plus delay interests, plus proceeding's expenses) and they may even seize your Spanish accounts ‘freezing’ them to secure the accrued debt.

Should you receive a similar letter from the tax office, as the one featured in this tax blog, don’t panic. Record the date on which you - or someone else - signed for it and get in touch with our law firm Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers immediately. Time is of the essence to avoid being landed with hefty penalties.

We will calculate and submit on your behalf, in a timely manner, your Non-Resident Imputed Income Tax (NRIIT) and also your Non-Resident Income Tax (NRIT) if you have been renting out your property since 2014 onwards (but not declaring any income in Spain).

As we care to point out in all our tax articles and tax blogs, you are taxed at source on renting out in Spain. So, if you have been declaring and paying income tax derived in Spain only in your home country (i.e. in the UK) you are at fault and must also pay tax in Spain on your Spanish income (e.g. on your rental income). It does not suffice that you only paid income tax in your home country on any income made in Spain. HM Revenue & Customs will give you tax breaks on any tax you have already paid in Spain, following the Double Taxation Treaty signed between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom.

The reason on why thousands of non-resident expats are now being mailed these tax summons in 2019, to bring their tax situation to date in Spain, is because of the advent of the Common Reporting Standard which we had been warning about over the last two years. More and more, the net closes in on all those expats who are not declaring & paying taxes in Spain.

It should be noted how the tax office is 'positively discriminating' non-resident property owners - they are being treated exquisitely. The fact they are giving you a slap on the wrist and allowing you 10 days to 'sort out' your tax situation - without any penalty - is beyond unusual. Any Spanish tax resident would not be treated with such leniency, and would have received, along with this tax summons, a steep fine to pay.

One of the many advantages of appointing us as your tax representatives in Spain, is that we will receive all tax-related correspondence generated throughout a fiscal year by the tax office. This is ideal for all those non-resident taxpayers who have limited access to their Spanish mail box. We offer this service at no extra charge with our Fiscal Representation Service.

We lower by 70% our client’s tax bills, on average, on renting out. What are you waiting for? Call or email us. We make life simple.

We offer the most competitive fees in the market.

Non-Resident Imputed Income Tax (Fiscal Representation Service) €100/year

Holiday Rental Accounting Service (HRAS) €125/tax quarter/property

We are specialized in taxation

Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers, small on fees, big on service.

Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers is a law firm specialized in taxation, conveyancing, inheritance and litigation. We will be very pleased to discuss your matter with you. You can contact us by e-mail at info@larrainnesbitt.com, by telephone on (+34) 952 19 22 88 or by completing our contact form to book an appointment.

Legal & tax services available from Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers:

Non-Resident Income Tax (Fiscal Representation) from €90
Holiday Rental Accounting Service (HRAS) from €100
Registration of Holiday Homes (Andalusia)

Holiday lettings-related articles

Holiday Rental Laws in Spain – 8th of March 2015
Non-Resident Taxes in Spain – 8th December 2015
Holiday Rental Laws in Andalusia (Decree 28/2016) – 8th of February 2016
Renting in Spain - Landlord´s Taxation – 8th of January 2017
Holiday Home Taxation in Spain – 8th of July 2017
Holiday Rentals in Andalusia Made Easy – 3^rd July 2017
Non-Resident Income Tax – 8^th December 2017
Holiday Rental Taxation in Spain – 8th July 2018
Renting in Spain: are you still overpaying income tax every quarter? – 16^th October 2018
You are taxed at source on renting out in Spain – 30^th November 2018
Did you get an email from AirBnb over your Spanish tax details? – 21st December 2018
Important information from the Spanish Ministry of Finance – 7^th January 2019
Property portals and rental platforms to pass on landlord details to the Spanish Tax Authorities. Are you prepared? - 12th January 2019
Holiday lettings: “Con factura, por favor.” – 21st January 2019
Holiday lettings: VAT invoice dissected – 11th February 2019
Save 70% on your landlord tax bill – 8th March 2019
Requerimiento - Spanish tax agency's summons – 7th March 2019

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