I have a small internet based UK registered Ltd company and I am considering moving to Spain to live in the flat I own there and wish to sell myself. I wonder if anyone could advise me on some tax issues?
I do not want to have to pay for an accountant in Spain as well as my accountant in the UK and I do not want to set up a Spanish version of my company because I have heard it is a much more costly and complicated venture than setting up a UK company?
1.Can I earn money from my company and pay it into my UK business account whilst living in Spain? If I draw from this whilst living in Spain I presume that I will have to pay UK tax and Spanish tax on it? And require a Spanish accountant to do my books?
2.Or could I leave my company in the UK and stop trading with it and go to live and work in Spain for a different Spanish company. This would be while I sell my Spanish flat before moving back to the UK to resume trading with my company after aproximately 6 months.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have been facing similar questions recently and been advised to establish a Spanish limited company to consult to the UK one - the crucial issue for me being to avoid the UK company being - or being seen to be - ‘effectively managed’ from Spain, which has all sorts of implications.  Everyone’s situation is different and I really think the services of a tax accountant and business advisor are likely to be necessary, and possibly an expat tax specialists in the UK - yes this all costs a fortune but failing to get the right structures in case could be far more costly in the long run…

Good luck!

Maya

I am also in the same boat, currently work as a sole trader but was planning to incorporate to a LTD company in the next couple of months. Will be moving out next January. It’s an internet based business so just run from home. If anyone has any advice or could point me in the direction of any literature on the subject it would much appreciated.

There are a number of business articles here, particularly the types of business entities in Spain ought to be informative for you guys.

I moved to Spain 5 years ago and have been gradually working through this problem ever since.

I recommend setting yourself up as an aut?nomo to begin with. This means paying a set fee to the government to cover social security contributions (I pay around ?250 per month). Once you are set up as an aut?nomo you can legally work for yourself and then decide how to proceed from there.

If you decide to set up a limited company (SL) you will need to be aut?nomo anyway.

I seriously recommend speaking to a lawyer about all of this. The system is very different to the UK and full of red tape. It is very easy to make mistakes that can potentially lead to big fines - especially where tax is concerned.

If anyone is moving to the Barcelona area fell free to get in touch. I would be more than happy to point you in the right direction (as far as possible) and share my experiences with you.

Thomas