Tax question

@cxmelga use both passport. Irisch for residence next for next

Hi Pascal

Thanks for the message, what do you mean when you said 'next to next'?

Thanks

I meant when you said 'next for next' ?

Thanks

Hi my name is Gabriel, tax and financial advisor in Spain

let me know your questions

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@cxmelga

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@cxmelga

Yeah, defo use your Irish passport as residence (officially, EU Citizen Registration) is easy-peasy for EU passport holders.

Using your savings to pay bills is simply expenditure, not income. Income tax is charged on your income (e.g. interest on your savings).

Spain does have a Wealth Tax too, but this probably doesn't apply to you (unless you're spending a couple of million on your property purchase).

Thanks very much for the information

@pascalFFM

I mean you can open an account (Euro GBP or US) in London or british territories with your british passport

Good Luck ! find the right bank - RBS LLoyds etc

@daadvisers

If I receive social security and veterans disability benefits from the government in the US, will I be taxed on these benefits in Spain if I become a Spanish resident???

If I receive social security and veterans disability benefits from the government in the US, will I be taxed on these benefits in Spain if I become a Spanish resident???

@washingx

Welcome to the expat.com and good luck with your potential move to sunny Spain!

If you want a definitive answer for your particular case, you'll probably need to consult with a Spanish tax expert. I'm not one of those, but I can give you some general guidance which I hope will be helpful.

You can become a legal resident of Spain by obtaining an appropriate residence visa. Most likely in your case, this would be the No Lucrativa Visa. The NLV a non-working visa for those with passive income such as pensions, disability benefits, rent, dividends, etc. As you'd expect, it's a very popular visa, especially with retirees. (You need approximately 2,500 euros per month in income, or you can show savings of just under 30k euros.)

Being a legal resident is (usually) distinct from being a tax resident, and there are many expats who structure their time to avoid becoming a Spanish tax resident (normally by simply spending less than 183 days in Spain each year).

If you relocate full-time to Spain, then you will, inevitably, become a Spanish tax resident, and subject to Spanish taxation.

For most expats, they simply swap tax payment in one country for another. However, Americans end up as tax residents in two countries: USA by virtue of their citizenship/passport, and Spain by virtue of their extended physical residence in the country.

Therefore, I suspect it's hard to avoid a bit of paperwork where you file two tax returns each year, and pay the appropriate tax in each country. Some folks pay a professional to help them get them right. Some folks ignore the second tax residence country and hope for the best. :-)

In any case, Spain and USA have a Double Taxation Agreement. This DTA allows some exemptions, and allows credit for tax already paid in one country. Which means, typically, if you've paid the USA some tax, you don't have to pay it again to Spain. It's a bit of a dry read, but you can easily find it online if you want to see what it says.

My guess is that unless you were a Four-Star General you're not raking in the big bucks as a retiree. And that your USA tax burden is probably quite small. And once that's paid, it's likely that there's little or none extra that will need to be paid to Spain.

@gwynj

Thank you very much for your quick and concise answer. I'll reach out to a tax expert in Spain as you've suggested. The agreement between the 2 countries concerning  dual taxation is not really clear.

" unless you were a Four-Star General"

Enjoy your weekend!

@washingx

Did you ever get a definite answer? Ive been gettimg different answers from veterans about it being taxed in spain or not.