Tax residence classification in Spain and remote work from the US

Hi, I would recommend working with an accountant to clarify the issue. Last year we used the services of Spain Accountants (https://www.europeaccountants.com/spain/index.html) and were very happy with them, no too expensive and very professional. By the way, we also moved here from St. Paul, MN. In 2016. Good luck

I recommend "Spanish Solutions", tel.  966 761 741 , ask for Ana Barbadora.
As a matter of interest how does St. Paul , MN compare with where you live now in Spain? Do you have a better life now ? What made you come here ?

kcristina wrote:

Hi, I would recommend working with an accountant to clarify the issue. Last year we used the services of Spain Accountants (https://www.europeaccountants.com/spain/index.html) and were very happy with them, no too expensive and very professional. By the way, we also moved here from St. Paul, MN. In 2016. Good luck

Thank you Cristina! Very nice to meet you here on the forum.

deltafm wrote:

I recommend "Spanish Solutions", tel.  966 761 741 , ask for Ana Barbadora.
As a matter of interest how does St. Paul , MN compare with where you live now in Spain? Do you have a better life now ? What made you come here ?

Thanks! deltafm,

To answer your question, the primary reason why I came to Barcelona is that my and my wife extended families and many friends live all over Europe. We don't have any family in Barcelona, but I Barcelona is indeed a nice, and warm, and very friendly city from which, under normal (non-pandemic) circumstances, it's relatively easy to reach other places in Europe.

For someone from Barcelona coming to Minneapolis, one striking difference would be climate. The climate here in St Paul is very severe in comparison to mild climate Barcelona has. On a good day during the winter, temperature here is around 0C. But there are times when you can have a whole month of temperatures below -20C,  and I have experienced temperature as low as -55C here. Not very common, but it did happen.

If, however, you came to St Paul in May or September, the city would strike you as beautiful. The weather would be around 20C, the trees would be so lush green in May, or starting to change colors in autumn. With many strolling and bike paths around many of its lakes and parks, you would have an impression of a gorgeous city.

And this is only on surface, and a very superficial glimpse at it as there are many other differences, some of them stem form the fact that most midwestern cities can be geographically so spread out that this impacts how life in the city is organized. Some of them have to do with the way education, healthcare, etc. are funded, and the acceptable and dominant ideas of social welfare. It would indeed be a long conversation to discuss all the different topics relevant to life in once city vs the other, but if you have interest in specific topics, please let me know, and I would be happy to provide my personal insight into them.

Cheers

The tax residency issue is straightforward. The Spanish tax year runs from 01 Jan to 31 Dec (ie a calendar year). If you physically spend more than 183 days (not necessariy consecutive) in a single calendar year in Spain you are a tax resident. That means you are liable to pay tax (to Spain) on ALL your earnings, from all sources globally, in that year, regardless of where else you were located at any one time, and even if you have already paid taxes in another jurisdiction.

I'm puzzled. You said that you moved to Spain in July 2019. Surely between then and now you must have filled in a tax return somewhere?

I'm also puzzled that you are asking such financially and legally important questions in a forum, when your top priority should be to pick up the phone and call a tax accountant/lawyer.

Today.