Hi

My Family and I are moving to spain in a few months and My husband works offshore for a Uk company.
WE are planning to go out to spain for 6 months and rent a property in the hope that we like it and want to stay.
But it will just be a case of wait and see how it goes.
SO
what do we do about Tax? Do we declare that we are no longer living in the UK, as we will have no Uk address??
What are those NIE things as I keep reading about them but cant make out what they are? Is it only once you want to become resident you need one?
Also WE will have a lot of saving from profit in our home, should we keep that in a UK bank High Int savings account.

No idea what to do and no one around to ask advise as don’t know anyone else who has done it.

Sarah

Sarah

what do we do about Tax? Do we declare that we are no longer living in the UK, as we will have no Uk address??

Read this, it should help you :
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensioners/taxwhenleaving.htm#1

What are those NIE things as I keep reading about them but cant make out what they are? Is it only once you want to become resident you need one?

They are, simply put, an ID number for foreigners.  If you?re planning to reside in Spain for longer than three months, then the answer is ?yes?:

http://extranjeros.mtas.es/en/general/VERSION_INGLES.pdf

Also WE will have a lot of saving from profit in our home, should we keep that in a UK bank High Int savings account.

Why don?t you just leave it where it is until you decide what your future holds?  What you may want to do is open an off-shore bank account, just in case things do work out well for you.

All the best.

Don Carlos

I am in a similar situation. I understand all the above (been an expat before). My question is - would I be liable for Spanish Tax, living in Spain, but working offshore, say, in the North Sea (or anywhere in the world, for that matter?).

You pay your tax on your worldwide income in the country which is you main residence and ?centre of economic interest? If you are leaving UK and taking up permanent residence in another country ie Spain that is where you pay your tax. To arrange this you may need to fill out UK tax forms and register into the Spanish tax system depending upon your specific circumstances. ie in your case you say you are going to rent for a while I would leave things alone until you are sure you are either returning to UK or staying in Spain. The UK company will continue to tax UK pay at UK rates at source.

I also have been thru this, if you intend to live in Spain for more than a specific period, (I think 183 days), you will be deemed resident, and as stated you will have to pay tax in country of residence.the only way for you to get the best advice is to as soon as possible find a Spanish Assessoria (Ensure that he not only speaks English but has good comprehension of english as well),, in my case they have sorted it all out for me and I am financially better off paying tax in Spain!!.

Thanks for that.

I am actually self-employed, so I would close down the UK LTD company upon leaving the UK and wait awhile to see how things went.
Would I then eventually need to set up an equivalent company in Spain?

(I already speak fluent spanish having lived in Mexico and Chile, so that’s one hurdle out of the way).

Hello Sarah, with regard to where you put your savings, you might want to hedge your bets and move some to Spain soon.  Most financial experts think the pound will continue to fall against the euro and interest rates in the UK will come down in 2008, and if they’re right you could save thousands by exchanging now.  (Of course they might be wrong, but think about it anyway.)  All of the Spanish banks offer attractive savings rates over a fixed term - un plazo - of several months or years.  Also when you do move funds, don’t use your bank, but try an exchange company - Google a few of them and get quotes because they vary quite a bit on charges and deals.