I sold my house in 2017. Estate agent's commission - 5% of sale price, was deducted from the sale proceeds and paid to them by the buyer's lawyer. Plus valia payable to the Ayuntamiento - depends on how long you have owned the property and the catastral value, should be paid within 30 days of completion. My Ayuntamiento has an online calculator which I could consult to find out in advance how much that woud be. Capital gains tax if you sell at a profit - if you are selling as a Spanish tax resident, obtain a certificate of fiscal residence from the AEAT and submit it to the notary, to avoid having 3% of the sale price retained against potential CGT liability. Then the sale needs to be accounted for in your next Spanish income tax return and any CGT paid. You can offset against CGT the transfer tax paid when you bought the property, plus legal and notary fees (if you have the invoices), the plus valia and the estate agent fees, plus possibly costs of extending or altering the property (if you obtained all the necessary permissions) but not things like new kitchen or bathrooms or routine maintenance. If the property has been your principal residence for at least 3 years and you buy another property (either in Spain or another EU member country) and invest all the sale proceeds within two years there is no CGT to pay, nor if you are over 65 when you sell and the property has been your main residence for 3 years or more. The seller is liable to pay the IBI for the year of sale but in many cases (including mine) the seller and buyer agree to split the bill proportionately.

 

Thanks for all this great info. Is there anything to watch out for if selling as a non-resident?

 

Thanks for all this great info. What about if you are selling as a Spanish resident but have not yet agreed the purchase of a new property - can you give the rental address of where you are currently living in Spain?

 

If you are selling as a Spanish resident, you will still be liable for CGT unless you have owned and lived in the house for, I believe, 5 years, maybe at a different, lower rate.

But check the current regulations on the above, they changed frequently when we were there. This made calculating CGT liability complicated, as different laws applied during the various periods of ownership, and it was calculated down to the exact number of days when the appropriate law applied.

It doesn't matter what address you give, so long as you are sure you will receive mail posted there in the future (say for 2 years, to be safe). I wouldn't rely on a change of address being registered with every department which will eventually have the original one during that time

 

As I thought, it is 3 years you need to have owned the property as your principal residence to qualify for CGT exemption if you reinvest all the proceeds in another property within 2 years, not 5.

Capital gains tax in Spain | Ábaco Advisers

 

Yeah wasn't talking about avoiding CGT just the 3% retention

Anyway think I have found answer which is retention still applies and proof of payment of non resident tax required for claiming it back

 

Sorry I didn't make it clear, but the retencion is made for sales by non residents because they are liable to CGT.

As stated above by Lynn R, following the sale, a non-resident tax return has to be made in order to reclaim all or part of the retencion.

 

What is a certificate of fiscal residence

 

I asked yesterday what is a certificate of fiscal residence

If I do not receive a full and response by midnight I will consider myself at war with this forum

God save the king

 

I surrender.

The certificate of fiscal residence is pretty self-explanatory, really. It is a certificate supplied by Hacienda to confirm that you are tax resident in Spain and have made income tax returns here. If you have a digital signature or a Cl@ve PIN I believe you can get one online through the AEAT website, otherwise you would need to request one from your local Hacienda office which is what I did. I was given a very simple form to complete, they scanned it into their Registro system and gave me a printed receipt. I was told it would be posted to my home and if it had not arrived after two weeks I should go back and ask about it (they checked with me what date the completion at the notary's office was due). It hadn't arrived after that period (and by this time completion was only two days away) so I did go back and they checked and printed one off for me in the office. The original did arrive through the post a few days later but would have been too late for the notary.

There is also the Certificado de Residencia Fiscal (Convenio) which is a separate one you have to obtain to get double taxation relief.

 

Thank you Lynn

You are very helpful as always

War averted

 

Hiya. New to all this. Sadly my lovely dad passed away last month and bless him left me and my brother a town house in Zurgena. Its valued at approximately £65-85K. We are going through the painful process of Spanish probate through a company based in the UK E&G solicitors in Spain. The probate fee with this company is quoted at 4K plus vat plus disbursements and a further £2250+vat and disbursements. We are worried that one is this company a safe bet, will it be a straightforward case. And how easy is it to sell in Spain at the moment? We can’t even get down to check in at dads house because of the covid restrictions and would really appreciate some advise! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 🙏🏼

 

Sounds a lot of money... Would have been cheaper I guess with a Spanish based company.. I think you are probably paying for a member of the staff to have a holiday in Spain...

There are not many restrictions on entering Spain today so sadly, that is not an excuse.

 

Would it be fairly straightforward coming to Spain and going through an English speaking Spanish solicitor? Many thanks

 

Not sure if this is allowed but this is a special circumstance.
www.arboleas.co.uk is the local forum. La Zurgena is a couple of miles away and there are many residents on the forum. Am sure someone there can help you. They might even have know your late father. I know the area well but do not live there now otherwise I would offer to help.
Good luck.