Hi,

I have a Spanish residencia (the card with my picture on) and live in Spain, surviving by teaching a few English classes a week but I don?t declare tax.  I have a property that I want to sell and then re-invest the money into a smaller property (hopefully without a mortgage or a very low mortgage that I can afford).  I am aware that for capital gains reasons I need to show a tax certificate so that 3% of the selling price won?t be held back.  If I go to the tax office to declare (which I believe is between May and June each year?) could they ask me why I haven?t declared before and how I have been living on no earnings for the past few years?  The reality is that I?ve only earned enough to pay my mortgage, bills and minimal food (and sometimes struggled with that) in order to keep things going and now I?m at a point where I know I have to sell before I can?t start paying the mortgage.  Am I doing the right thing by considering going to the tax office so 3% won?t be retained or am I opening up a ?can of worms? by doing this. The 3% could really make a difference to whether I can afford to get something without a mortgage or not so any advice greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards

Debbie

There probably is no definite answer but I would comment if you go and declare they tend (in my experience of the Orihuela region) not to look back for years but will focus on Jan 1- Dec 31 2009 ie the period for which you are declaring.

But if you earn so little why worry ? and if you have a mortgage on your main Spanish residence this is tax deductable and so they might even pay you a rebate - incredible but true!

If you serious about living in Spain this has to be faced up to at some point otherwise you cannot have all the tax benefits.

You did not say where you are based. If you are on the Costa Blanca pop along and see Express Legal in La Nucia they will give you a free consultation and have a local tax advisor to help you with your problem.  They have a drop in day on Saturdays for all sorts of legal stuff and problems with linving in Spain www.expresslegalcafe.com