Personal taxation will involve your Worldwide Assets (Property, Savings and Investments) and Income (Employment, Rentals, Pensions and Savings). Generally speaking you will become a Spanish tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in a calendar year or Spain is considered your main base or centre of activities or economic interests.

As a Spanish tax resident, the worldwide asset declaration (Modelo 720) is due by March 31st, and annual tax returns (RENTA, IRFP, Modelo 100) are due between 11 April and 30 June following the end of the tax year. Depending on your net worth you may also have to pay a Wealth/Solidarity Tax.

If you are non-resident for tax purposes, you will need to file an annual Non Resident Tax Return (Modelo 210) by the 31st December each year and pay taxes related to properties you own, or income you generate from income or business interests in Spain.

• Help At Spain Services: We partner with an English speaking tax advisor and offer a 60 minute personal tax consultation, get in touch for further information.

Wise offers a number of services for personal or business customers and provide multiple currencies bank accounts (you can hold up to 50 currencies) and money transfer services (up to 7 times cheaper than traditional banks or Paypal). You get a Debit Card to spend money all over the world (when travelling or online). You can pay bills via Direct Debit however you may still need a local Spanish bank account to pay certain bills or if you are self employed in Spain. However you still get to benefit from this service when travelling and for currency transfers. You can also get a discounted rate and additional support when sending large sums of money abroad. You do get a Euro's account with Wise however the IBAN account number is not based in Spain.

• Useful Links: Learn more and sign-up to Wise using our partner referral link.

There are many traditional 'bricks and mortar' banks in Spain which have branches on the high street. Examples include: Sabadell, Banco Santander, BVVA, BankInter, CaixaBank and ING. 

When researching the bank that meets your needs, Online or Digital Only challenger banks are online and complete with traditional banks. Examples include Wise, Revolute, and N26.  With Wise be aware that you will get a Euros account but the IBAN number will be in Belgium which may be problematic for certain bills.   

If you plan to be Self Employed in Spain (Autónomo) then you will need a traditional bank to pay for Social Security and pay your tax obligations.

It's important to consider the features you need from the bank such as overdraft, loans, credit cards and mortgages. Compare the monthly bank charges, this is particularly important if you need to open a bank account prior to becoming a resident, as a non-resident the fees may be higher.

Lastly, you may hear about Bizum, this is a joint project of the Spanish Banking sector that allows individuals to make payments easily directly from your mobile phone.

• Traditional Banks (English Web Page): Sabadell, Santander, BBVA, BankInter, CaixaBank
• Traditional Banks (Spanish Web Page): ING
  
• Online/Challenger Banks: Wise, Revolute, N26
• Useful Links: Which Banks operate with Bizum

When moving countries, in addition to understanding personal taxation, it is important that you consider how you will manage and optimise your Investments, Savings and Pensions. It may be useful to work with a qualified Financial Advisor. A financial advisor is someone who helps you manage various aspects of your financial life, including planning for retirement, general investment management, budgeting, insurance, taxes, estate planning and more. They help you create strategies for eliminating financial risk and building wealth over the long term. Financial advisors use their knowledge and expertise to construct personalized financial plans that aim to achieve the financial goals of clients.

Take care to ensure you only take advice from regulated financial advisors and pension specialists with international experience.

• Help At Spain Services: If you plan to register as self employed our tax partner can assist you in the setup and/or ongoing management of your business. We partner with an English speaking tax advisor and offer a 60 minute personal tax consultation, get in touch for further information.
• Useful Links: Autonomo Calculator:https://autonomoinfo.com/en/

The main eligibility requirements include: staying in Spain more than 183 days during the calendar year, have your center of economic interests in Spain. You cannot have been resident in Spain during the past 10 years. If approved it applies during the year of residence acquisition and the following 5 years.

Eligible individuals are considered non-residents for tax purposes, even if they stay more than 6 months per year in Spain. Taxes are paid only on Spanish income and assets, excluding worldwide income and assets. The tax rate is a flat 24% on salary income instead of the progressive tax scale for residents.

• Help At Spain Services: If you are eligible our tax partner can assist you in registering for the special tax regime. Get in touch for further information.

If you´re not of pension age yet, and you don´t invest the total of the proceeds in another property, there might be Capital Gains to pay in Spain, even when you were exempt in the country the property was situated. The property you are selling must have been your main home at the time of selling or at any point in the 2 years before selling for the reinvestment or over 65 exemptions to apply. If you are selling a property that you have not lived in for 2 years before selling it, then capital gains are due on profits if you're a Spanish tax resident.

• Capital Gains Exemption for over 65's: If you decide to sell a property that has served as your primary residence for a duration exceeding three years, you are exempt from capital gains tax on the profit generated from the sale, even if you choose not to reinvest the proceeds.    There are also other exemptions related to the sale of other assets.   It is recommended to consult with a tax professional to ensure you qualify.

To explain: the tax year in Spain runs from January to December. You are considered a fiscal/tax resident when you spend more than 183 days in a calendar/tax year here, so if you sold your property and moved here before the 1st of July, you are most likely to be considered a tax resident for that same calendar/tax year and thus obliged to file a resident´s RENTA income tax return the following year, April-June.

Or even if you moved here after July 1st, but spent a couple of weeks in the period January-June of the same year here you need to add up any days spent here in calendar/tax year.
To add, whether you registered as a resident or not, is not relevant to determining whether you are a fiscal resident, although when you do register as a resident, you confirm you have your habitual residence in Spain, thus giving off a signal to the tax authorities. Proving you were in fact not a fiscal resident in that case, can be quite complicated. Timing your move to Spain can be of the essence to avoid having to pay Capital Gains.

If you don´t invest the total of the proceeds in another property, but keep them in a bank account, anywhere in the world, and use them to fund your life here until your pension starts coming in, for example, then you need to know of the following obligation. Once a tax resident in Spain, you are supposed to report those ´overseas assets´ on Modelo 720, before March 31st. And any income generated from it, yearly on your RENTA income tax declaration. 

In addition to the 183 day rule there is a second rule regarding fiscal/tax residency. It relates to “Spain being your main base or centre of activities or economic interests”. It is presumed, unless proven otherwise, that a taxpayer’s habitual place of residence is Spain when, for example, the spouse (not legally separated) and underage dependent children permanently reside in Spain. However, for economic interests you may still have assets and income outside of Spain, it is, for this reason, you will find advice online talking only about spending less than 183 days in a calendar year. You are presumed by the tax office to be tax resident and you would need to prove otherwise if you are asked. To mitigate the risk 100% you would want to sell your property in one calendar year, and move to Spain the following calendar year.

It is always recommended to seek the advice of a professional tax advisor if you have any specific questions or concerns. 

If you decide to rent a property whilst you are in Spain consider you would have to declare that as income in Spain, and most likely in the country in which it is rented.  Additionally be aware that what is considered an eligible cost to offset tax in the current country of residence may be different to Spain.  It is recommended to seek professional tax advice on this.

Wealth and Solidarity Tax: In Spain depending on your net worth and the autonomous region you intend to live, you may be subjected to paying tax on everything you own, in addition to paying tax on income, savings/capital gains.

Wealth Tax: This tax is known as 'Impuesto sobre el patrimonio'.  In Spain depending on your net worth and the autonomous region you intend to live, you may be subjected to paying tax on everything you own, in addition to paying tax on income, savings/capital gains.  Spain’s wealth tax ranges from 0.2% to 2.5% if your total assets are worth more than €1,000,000.   For Spanish residents, the tax applies to worldwide assets. For non-residents, it applies only to assets within Spain.

Solidarity Tax: This is a tax on large fortunes, it is a temporary tax imposed on the wealthiest residents. It is known as ‘impuesto de solidaridad a las grandes fortunas’ or ‘solidarity tax on large fortunes’. The tax is levied on individuals with net assets exceeding €3 million

It is highly advisable to make a Spanish will if you own assets in Spain, including Spanish property, as by making a will you will ease the administrative burden on the beneficiaries of your estate and ensure certainty for them upon your death. 

Inheritance or succession laws and taxation will likely differ from your current country of residence, and if you have financial interests in other countries it's important to consider this as well.   If you have citizenship in another country you may be able to indicate a preference to follow alternative inheritance or succession laws other than the Spanish ones.

It's advisable to consult a lawyer (abogado) to help you prepare a will, and don't forget you may need a will in multiple countries.