Healthplan Spain

HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

New Spanish Wealth Tax Deadline 30th April 2013 Spain News

If you are a resident in Spain (spend more than 183 days per year in the country) it is important that you are aware that the Spanish government has recently introduced measures to combat tax evasion. They are specifically targeting residents who have over €50,000 held offshore in three categories. The categories are

  • Property
  • Shares and Investments
  • Savings and deposits

You have to declare any assets of over €50,000 in any of the categories above by the 30th April or possibly face a large fine. The future date to declare any assets will be on the 31st March.

It's important to note that if you had €45,000 in savings and €48,000 in investments, you would not be required to declare these. It has to be €50,000 or more in any one category from the above.

This does not affect assets that you already have in Spain such as property and savings, but only assets held outside of the country up until 31st December 2012.

Potential fines for not declaring any assets include a €10,000 minimum fine, 150% of the tax owed, 4% interest and also the repayment of any tax that was not paid.

In order to declare any offshore assets you need to complete the online form Modelo 720, but in most cases it is advisable to contact an accountant who can take care of this for you.

Once you have submitted your report, if you do not acquire any new assets or dispose of any existing assets, and the existing ones increase in value by less than €20,000, you do not need to report these in future years.

With property assets, you need to declare the price and date of purchase, and it's current value. If you sold the property during the year you will need to declare the sale proceeds. This way, the authorities will be able to work out the capital gains and tax due.

If you are declaring shares, unit trusts and similar investments, you need to use the value as at 31st December and provide details of the investment company, number of shares and other information.

Fines for not declaring

It's worth noting that the fines for not declaring your offshore assets are pretty hefty to say the least. You may have to pay all of the following:-

  • Income tax on the undeclared income of up to 54%
  • Up to 150% of tax due
  • A €5,000 fine for each non declared asset with a minimum of €10,000.
  • Interest for late payment

So if you have any assets of over €50,000 outside of Spain, please contact an accountant before the 30th April 2013 so that you are not liable for any of the above fines.