CROSS bORDER DESK Country by Country. Rule by Rule.
Our Guide To
Making The Move To Spain The financial checklist before you go: residency, banking, pensions and property
S
pain remains one of the most popular destinations for British people relocating in retirement or moving their working life abroad. The sun and the cost of living
tend to dominate the early conversations. The financial side follows a smaller number of rules than people expect, but each one has a sting attached if it is missed. Four areas are worth settling before the move, not after. The 183-Day Residency Test Spanish tax residency turns on a single, simple-looking rule: spend more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year and, in most cases, Spanish tax residency follows automatically. There is no election, and no way to opt out once the threshold is crossed. The counting itself is where people trip up. Spain counts sporadic absences (short trips out of the country) towards the 183 days, and only excludes them where the person can demonstrate tax residency elsewhere. Partial days count as full days in most cases. Residency can also be established through a Spanish-based centre of economic interests, or if a spouse and dependent children are habitually resident in Spain, even where the 183-day threshold itself is not met. Someone splitting time between the UK and Spain without a clear day count can end up Spanish tax resident without realising it, with worldwide income and gains in scope from that point. Keep a running, dated log of days in and out of Spain from the first year of the move, not from the year residency is suspected. It is far easier to prove a day count as it happens than to reconstruct it after the fact.
Written by Taylor Condon Country Manager - Spain & Private Wealth Partner
78