Todos aquellos que no son residentes fiscales en España están obligados por Ley a solicitar y obtener un Número de Identificación Fiscal en España, NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) para las personas físicas, y CIF (código de Identificación Fiscal) para las personas jurídicas.

Since 2007, the regulations to combat tax fraud have established the obligation for all non-residents to prove their tax identification number (NIE or CIF) at the time of granting Deeds related to real estate located in Spain, and without which they cannot It is possible to carry out the payment of the taxes levied on the operation or request the registration of the corresponding deed.

The responsibilities and guarantees in the process of construction of buildings located in Spain are regulated in Law 38/1999, of November 5, 1999, in force since May 5, 2000, and modified by Law 53/2002 of December 30, 2002, including three different and time-limited types of responsibilities:

1.- Construction defects that affect the completion of construction works: The Law makes the constructor specifically responsible for a period of 1 year.

2.- Defects in elements or facilities that affect the living conditions of the building: The stable Law that any of the parties involved in the construction process may be held responsible for them for a period of three years. 

3.- Defects that affect the structure of the building, putting the strength and stability of the building at risk: The Law establishes that any of the parties involved in the construction process may be held responsible for them for a period of ten years.

The Law establishes the possibility of contracting insurance to cover these responsibilities, the most important being the so-called “Decennial Insurance”, to be contracted by the developer, with the minimum amount covered being the amount of construction costs.

The Building Planning Law establishes the obligation to carry out technical controls by technical supervision entities prior to the issuance of the insurance policy, which must be requested by or from the developer at the same time as the Plays.

Although the Decennial Insurance policy was first established as mandatory for all developers, an important exception was introduced in 2002 for self-promoters, that is, people who instruct the builder to carry out a construction for themselves, not with the intention of transmitting it to a third party, and for which the self-promoters are no longer obliged to contract this Decennial Insurance policy, as long as they expressly waive it in their Deed.

The fact that this insurance policy is now voluntary for self-promoters reduces construction costs, although in the event that the self-promoter decides to transfer the property during a period of ten years, the buyer could demand this insurance policy for the remainder of the ten-year term.

Spanish legislation does not oblige British nationals who own property in Spain to dispose of them by means of a Will granted in Spain, since according to article 9.8 of the Civil Code, “Succession due to death shall be governed by the national law of the deceased ”, And therefore any provision made under the national law of that person will be applicable in Spain. 

However, it is advisable for British citizens to grant a Will in Spain, relating only to assets located in Spain and keeping full validity any other act of last will granted abroad and referring to assets located there, since its compliance will be more fast and cheap than in the case of Wills granted in the UK.

UK law grants its citizens complete freedom to dispose of their property in Spain at the time of their death, e.g. who will be the heir to their assets and in what proportion, being advisable to designate a substitute for the heirs, e.g. in case they could not accept the inheritance, had died or did not survive the testator during the period of 30 days.

From the perspective of the Spanish Inheritance Tax, the grantor of the Will in Spain must take into account that their family relationship with the person / s called to be their heirs will be taken into account by the Spanish Tax Authorities both in the available deductions to the heirs, which are reduced as the family relationship becomes more remote, as to determine the share of Inheritance Tax.

A power of attorney [PoA] is a document generally signed before a notary public and executed as a Deed whereby a third party [attorney] is granted the power to act on behalf of the person granting the power of attorney [person granting the PoA ]. It is a practical and common way to delegate authority. Under the PoA, the attorney is legally authorized to carry out certain acts on behalf of the principal.

Las facultades otorgadas a ese abogado están establecidos en el PoA, que generalmente incluyen facultades para firmar escrituras para comprar, hipotecar, vender o heredar una propiedad, abrir o cerrar cuentas bancarias, solicitar su Número de Identificación Fiscal (NIE) español, establecer domiciliaciones bancarias con empresas de servicios públicos o incluso procedimientos para judiciales. El PoA puede diferir sustancialmente dependiendo de la transacción o acto legal para el cual el PoA es necesario.

En España contamos con PoA General, que por su naturaleza es amplio con facultades generales para llevar a cabo una serie de tareas para administrar el patrimonio de alguien, y PoA Especial, que se utiliza para un propósito específico, es decir, para emitir procedimientos judiciales o para constituir una sociedad, siendo importante señalar que en España un PoA deja de tener efecto al fallecimiento del poderdante. Esto puede sorprender a las personas que creen erróneamente que los familiares sobrevivientes pueden utilizar el PoA para acceder a las cuentas bancarias del difunto, etc. Cuando una persona muere, el PoA muere con ellos y surge la pregunta de si el difunto tenía un testamento, o si murieron intestados.

Otro malentendido común es el efecto de la incapacidad mental en un PoA, ya que la mayoría de los PoA ordinarios se revocan automáticamente en caso de que el otorgante pierda capacidad. A diferencia de otros países, en España no existe un equivalente directo de un PoA duradero, bien conocido y ampliamente utilizado en las jurisdicciones de .

No obstante, en España un PoA puede ser firmado por alguien que posea plena capacidad mental para tratar el tema de la incapacidad, de modo que solo comience a surtir efecto en caso de incapacidad [conocido como “Poder Preventivo”] que permita la gestión de los asuntos cuando se pierde la capacidad mental, con efecto inmediato después de una fecha determinada, o una vez que un médico ha declarado a la persona incapacitada, o, alternativamente, se puede redactar un PoA ordinario para que no sea revocado por ninguna incapacidad posterior, específicamente refiriéndose al art. 1732 del Código Civil español.

Aunque típicamente estos PoA están firmados por padres ancianos o por alguien diagnosticado con una enfermedad degenerativa grave que eventualmente afectará su capacidad mental y significará que no podrán manejar sus asuntos, aconsejamos a todos los clientes, de cualquier edad, a revisar sus asuntos para que la documentación adecuada se pueda preparar en un ambiente tranquilo y sin presiones. Idealmente, todos deberían firmar un PoA, ya que es relativamente rápido de preparar, económico y luego conservar con la esperanza de que nunca se necesite.

Las adquisiciones de obra nueva en España, sujetas al IVA, también están sujetas al Impuesto sobre Actos Jurídicos Documentados de la Generalitat. En la Comunidad Valenciana (Alicante, Castellón y Valencia) tras la entrada en vigor el 6 de agosto de 2013 del Decreto Ley 4/2013 de la Generalitat, el tipo de gravamen del Impuesto sobre Actos Jurídicos Documentados es actualmente el 1,5% del precio oficial de compra.

The aforementioned VAT and Tax on Documented Legal Acts regime only affects the purchase of new real estate in Spain, that is, in the case of real estate resale, the applicable tax is the Generalitat's "Property Transfer Tax", and not VAT, that is, in the Valencian Community (Alicante, Castellón and Valencia) after the entry into force on August 6, 2013 of Decree Law 4/2013 of the Generalitat, the rate of the Property Transfer Tax is currently 10% of the official acquisition price.

In relation to VAT tax rates, after the entry into force of Royal Decree Law 20/2012 of July 13, 2012, published in the Official State Gazette on July 14, 2012, VAT tax rates have been modified Spanish, and the general VAT tax rate in Spain increased from 18% to 21% from September 1, 2012 for most standard commercial products and services.

As for Spanish real estate, Royal Decree Law 20/2012 of July 13, 2012 has also increased the reduced VAT rate applicable to the acquisition of new Spanish construction, from 8% to the current tax rate of 10%.

In relation to rehabilitation works and execution of repairs, Royal Decree Law 20/2012 of July 13, 2012 also includes a reduced tax rate of 10% for rehabilitation works and execution of repairs carried out in homes where the requirements are met. following requirements:

a) That the recipient is a natural person and uses the home to which the works refer for their own private use, or is a Community of Owners.

b) That the construction or rehabilitation of the home was required at least two years before the start of the works.

c) That the person who carries out the works does not contribute materials or their cost does not exceed 40% of the tax base of the transaction.

According to Law 5/2004, of March 5, 2004, which regulates Income Tax, all non-residents in Spain who as of December 31 of each year are owners of properties located in Spain, or of real rights of use and / or enjoyment of them, will be annually subject to the Non-Resident Income Tax.

Although it is possible that no income will be obtained from the property located in Spain or from the ownership of the real right over it, this income is presumed to be obtained under the Income Tax Law applicable to non-residents by the mere ownership of the domain or enjoyment of the property located in Spain or the real right on the property located in Spain.

When the ownership of the property located in Spain corresponds to a non-resident natural person, the income to be charged will be determined by a percentage of the cadastral value attributed to the property, being taxed at the tax rate of 19% for non-residents of the EU, and 24 % for non-EU citizens.

On the other hand, when the ownership of the domain of the property located in Spain or of a real right over real estate located in Spain corresponds to certain non-resident legal entities in Spain, they will be subject to the special tax on real estate of non-resident entities established by the Law 18/1991 of June 6, 1991. In these cases, the special tax on properties of such non-resident entities in Spain is accrued annually, taxing the property's cadastral value at the 3% tax rate.

Law 5/2004, of March 5, 2004, which regulates the Income Tax applicable to non-residents, includes within its scope the taxation of the income obtained by non-residents from the rental of properties located in Spain.

The tax base in this case is determined by the gross amount obtained by the non-resident as rental of the property, without any type of exempt minimum, deduction or reduction.

The tax rate is 19% for non-EU residents, and 24% for non-EU residents, and must be declared monthly or quarterly.

According to the Treaties to avoid double taxation signed by Spain, and any other unilateral fiscal measure of the country of residence, it could grant a Tax Credit or Exemption for Income Tax paid in Spain for the income derived from the rent.

La Ley 5/2004, de 5 de marzo de 2004, que regula el Impuesto sobre la Renta aplicable a los no residentes, considera que las ganancias de capital obtenidas por no residentes por la venta de bienes inmuebles en España constituyen rentas obtenidas España al completar la venta y, por tanto, están sujetas al Impuesto sobre las Ganancias de capital.

La base imponible o la ganancia fiscal se determina por la diferencia entre el valor de venta de la propiedad, indicado en la Escritura de venta, y el valor de compra de la propiedad indicado en la Escritura de compra. Este valor de compra incluye el importe real por el cual se adquirió la propiedad vendida, más los gastos e impuestos inherentes a la compra (intereses excluidos) pagados por el vendedor.

Capital gains tax owed will be determined at the 19% tax rate.

La liquidación del Impuesto sobre las Ganancias de capital debe presentarse y pagarse en el plazo de 3 meses contados a partir del final del plazo asignado al comprador para el pago de la retención en origen impuesta por la Hacienda Pública española (un mes después de la fecha de la firma de la Escritura).

Cuando un no residente vende un inmueble en España, el comprador debe retener y pagar al Tesoro Público español, a cuenta de la liquidación final del impuesto sobre las ganancias de capital que grava al vendedor, el 3% del precio de venta la propiedad indicado en la Escritura de Compraventa tras la Reforma de la Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta por la Ley 35/2006, de 28 de noviembre de 2006, con efectos a partir del 1 de enero de 2007.

Under Law 19/1991, of June 6, 1991, all non-resident natural persons who own the domain over real estate located in Spain on December 31 of each year, are subject to the Wealth Tax.

The taxable base of this tax is the net value of the property (land plus construction) to which a progressive rate scale is applied, from 0.2% to 2.5%, depending on the net value of each stake. owner.

The declaration-settlement for the Wealth Tax must be submitted annually.

According to the Treaties to avoid double taxation signed by Spain, and any other unilateral fiscal measure of the country of residence, it could grant a Tax Credit or Exemption for the Wealth Tax paid in Spain.

La Ley 39/1988 de 28 de Diciembre, en vigor desde el 1 de Enero de 1990, y que regula las Haciendas Locales, sustituyó las Contribuciones Territoriales Urbana, Rústica y Pecuaria, y el Impuesto sobre Solares, estableciendo que todos los titulares de bienes inmuebles sitos en España, tanto residentes como no residentes, están sujetos al Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles (I.B.I.)

Este impuesto se exige por el Ayuntamiento en cuyo término municipal se encuentre situada la , con carácter anual, sobre el valor catastral atribuido al inmueble. El tipo de gravamen aplicado varía entre municipios.

Law 38/1998, of December 28, which regulates Local Treasuries, replaced the Tax on the Increase in the Value of Land from January 1, 1990 by this new Tax on the Increase in the Value of Urban Land (IIVTNU ).

El impuesto es exigible al transmitente en los casos en los que la transmisión es onerosa, y al adquirente en casos de transmisiones lucrativas, sobre el incremento del valor experimentado por el suelo durante los ejercicios fiscales se ostentó la titularidad se transmite, por cualquier modo, o sobre el cual se crea o transmite en los que cualquier derecho real de que disfrute que limite el pleno dominio.

The tax base is therefore the increase in value experienced by the land, depending on the applicable tax rate on the population of the municipality in which the land is located and the period of time elapsed since the previous transmission.