Work in Uk,live in Spain !

Hi Roka44,

I am a Wealth Manager here in Andalucia, this is a very common question and one which has a very simple answer.
The Spanish tax year runs from January to December, if you spend more than 183 days per year in Spain, you have a tax liability for income tax in Spain and Spain will consider you a tax resident in Spain.  There is a dual tax agreement on income tax therefore if you pay income tax in Spain, you will not pay tax on the same income in the UK and vice versa.

Most UK Ex-pats will tell you that you can 'Go Under The Radar' or have a 'Long Holiday' and to an extent, if you have no plans on registering your children at school or registering for Autonomo (Spanish self employed tax system) this may be true but 'I was winging it' will not be a suitable excuse for non payment of taxes for which there are fairly hefty fines.

If you purchase a property in Spain but do not declare yourself as resident in Spain, dependent on your location, there may be additional Spanish income tax on the rental income the authorities presume you will earn (because you are not living in the house).

The short answer is that if you own property, you will pay property tax, if you are not resident for 183 days, you would have a strong argument to say you have been on a long holiday and your tax liability for income will be in the UK - please note should you intend to leave the UK for more than 8 weeks you will need to inform the DWP if you are in receipt of any benefits.

Hope that helps??

Is there an allowance below which you do not need to pay tax if you are not a Resident but living in Spain for more than 183 days?

Hi,

I am an international financial adviser here in Spain (UK Qualified and Regulated, Regulated in Spain)

Tax residency in Spain has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on whether you have applied for residency - from the Hacienda's (Spanish Tax Office) point of view, if you live in Spain for more than 182 days, you have an obligation to pay income tax in Spain (There are some exceptions by written approval e.g. some UK civil service pensions taxed in UK). 

To answer your question directly, similar to the UK lower earnings tax threshold for earned income there is an allowance for the amount you may earn before paying income tax.  These allowances vary by autonomous regions and also on the number of dependent children in the household and age.  As a rough guide, in Andalucia the current 2014/2015 lower income threshold is 5,151 Euros for a single person under the age of 65 rising by approximately 1000 Euros for 65-75 yr olds then again by 1000 Euros approximately for over 75.   Child allowance ranges from 1836 Euros to 4182 and there are additional earned income allowances.

It is worthwhile speaking to a local tax specialist for an accurate calculation based on your personal circumstances.

I work in UK and have a home in UK. I also have a bungalow in Spain and visit often.

Soon I will be buying a villa in Spain and will be staying 3-4 days a week in spain and commuting to work in UK. I will stay in UK 3-4 days a week while working and then returning to Spain. When I retire in maybe 5 years I will live permanently in Spain

Can I stay as I am as a non-resident paying non-residence tax or do I need to change my status? What is the best option to do?