It is now tax season in Spain, the time of year when you are advised to submit your declaracion de la renta (annual tax declaration). If you earn less than €22,000 annually from a single employer, it’s not required, but may still be a good idea if you wish to apply for grants, etc.
It’s possible to do your tax declaration yourself, but this is only advised if your financial arrangements are fairly simple – and who of us can claim that? If you don’t have a good knowledge of fiscal and legal Spanish terms, you will find it much easier more efficient to hire a tax adviser, financial consultant or gestor to handle your declaration.
A borrador (rough draft) of the tax declaration can be obtained from the Renta website belonging to Spain’s Agencia Tributaría. This requires you to sign in with an online certificate or PIN number, both of which are fairly easy to get hold of. If you submitted a declaration last year or before, you’ve probably already got one.
This rough draft, which is based on the information the financial authorities have received about you in the previous year, will give you an idea of whether you’ll get a rebate or have to settle debts with the Hacienda (tax office). Around 70% of contributors receive some kind of rebate, so it’s worth it.
You can already submit your declaration by email, and, from 7th May, taxpayers can call the Agencia Tributaria directly by phone, where their queries will be answered by trained staff. The face-to-face appointments are scheduled to begin on 3rd June, and the time limit for submitting your declaration is the 1st of July, although you really shouldn’t leave it until the last minute.
If you owe money to the tax authorities, you can choose to pay it all at once or stagger it over two payments in June and November. If you are owed a rebate, the money will be paid directly into your bank account shortly after submission of the declaration.
Tax rules change every year, which is another reason to get professionals to help you with this task.
