Britons with homes in Spain reminded of need to prove non-resident status
Britons with homes in Spain reminded of need to prove non-resident status
British residents who own property in Spain are being reminded that they need to prove their non-resident status by producing a new identification document for tax purposes. Failure to produce the document, the "Residencia", could lead to mortgage payments being stopped.
Britons who use their Spanish bank account to pay the mortgage for their home in
Spain have been required by Spanish banks to produce a
Residencia certificate since March 2007, reports The Sunday Times. However, some banks gave homeowners short notice or did not contact them at all.
Non-resident homeowners in Spain are required to produce the Residencia certificate as part of an EU initiative to clamp down on tax evaders. Spanish residents are taxed at source and in order to avoid paying tax there you need to prove
non-resident status. Anyone who does not provide the relevant documentation risks having their bank account frozen and mortgage payments stopped.
To register for non-resident status you need to spend fewer than 180 days per year in Spain and be able to produce the certificate - in order to acquire a Residencia certificate homeowners will need to register in person at their local Spanish police station or
Oficina de Extranjeros and then have the document stamped by a town hall official.
Property investors who bought a
holiday home in Spain before March 2007 may be asked by their Spanish bank to produce the Residencia certificate. Anyone who bought property after the rules were introduced should have been made aware of the new requirement.
"If you have a Spanish property and have not been asked to produce this document, I suggest you contact your bank directly," a spokesman for the
Spanish Tourism Office said.
Anyone needing further information can contact the
Spanish Ministry of the Interior's immigration directorate helpline on 00 34 913 639 071. The document costs between €10 and €13, although going through a lawyer could prove more costly, the paper advises.
This story was brought to you by holiday
lettings.co.uk, the UK's No.1 holiday home website.
Related Stories
Spain to be taken to court over Valencia's 'land grab' laws
Review of Valencia's 'land grab' laws to be undertaken
8 September 2008
Print this article
