Wills
Wills
If you have property in Spain you should have a Spanish will even if you already have a will in the UK. An EU citizen who lives in Spain can usually dispose of property according to the law of his/her state of origin but should you die in Spain without a Spanish will your assets could be dealt with immediately under Spanish law or there could be a delay while your UK will goes to probate back in England which can take a long time and your Spanish estate should be settled under Spanish law within six months. Having a Spanish will for your Spanish assets will simply speed up the procedure. Of course you must ensure that if you have wills in two different countries they must not contradict each other.
The entire process is potentially complicated and should be discussed with your fiscal advisor or Spanish lawyer. You should keep copies but one word of advice is that these copies should not
Property tax |
Patrimonio 0.2% of the property value on the escritura, the rateable value or the market value whichever is the higher Renta 25% of 1.1% of the rateable value** |
Income tax (resident) |
After allowances on a sliding scale from 18% to 48% (Note that Spain does not operate PAYE) |
Income tax (non-resident) – payable on income in Spain |
Flat rate of 25% with no allowances |
Wealth tax |
For residents after an allowance of €110,000 per person tax begins at 0.2% and rises on a sliding scale For non-residents here is no tax free allowance |
Capital gains tax |
Residents do not pay CGT on the sale of their main home so long as they reinvest within three years. Those over 65 are exempt from CGT Non-residents are taxed at a flat rate of 35% of the difference between the official buying price of their property and the official selling price |
Inheritance tax |
Tax depends on the relationship between the deceased and the recipient and after a fixed allowance starts on a sliding scale This tax is complicated and you should discuss it with your gestor |
be held in a bank safe deposit box – should you die in Spain these are sealed for a period following death so no one would be able to access your will and therefore sort out your affairs.
Spanish inheritance laws are very different from those of the UK and an entire book could be written about this topic alone. Unless you really understand the legal aspects it is the one area in which you should take advice.
In the further reading section of this book there are far better sources than this book to help you through the tax maze if you want to do it all by yourself but I would strongly advise the services of a good gestor or similar fiscal advisor who really knows the Spanish legal system. You will save yourself considerable hassle.
