Join the Camposol forum
My name's Alex and this is my website all about Camposol in Spain. Register now for free to talk about Taxes in Camposol: Suma, NIE and general tax advice and much more!
Hi all ,
We have lived here in Spain 18mths so we are now resident and have just instructed our solicitors to do out tax .I am not of retirement age but my husband is and collects his state pension, nothing else just that .Our solicitor has come back to us with a very hefty bill which she says we can pay in 2 halves. Has anyone experienced this? Is this correct it's nearly as much as his annual pension .
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2020 11:23am
Helpful member
I can't speak to the details .... but annual tax-free allowances here are half those in the UK, so your tax will, naturally, be higher.
In addition, this tax bill is for Jan-Dec 2019. After you pay the bill, your solicitor should guide you through the process of claiming back the tax already paid in the UK.
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2020 11:27am
Super helpful member
Is the "hefty bill" the tax, or just the charges from the solicitor? Is your husband's pension a normal state ("old age") pension, or a Crown pension - for service in a government organisation? If your only income is one pension I really cannot see how you would pay any Spanish tax.
Maybe a lesson learnt - never use a solicitor to do anything other than sue somebody. If you must, you can use an assesor/gestor but they do not all understand the system themselves! You can get an appointment with the tax authorities and they will do it all for/with you - free. With the Covid lockdown this service has been only by phone as far as I know this year. At least it sounds like you have submitted a return so will not get fined for either non- or late submission.
Jan56 wrote on Wed Jun 17, 2020 10:30am:
Hi all ,
We have lived here in Spain 18mths so we are now resident and have just instructed our solicitors to do out tax .I am not of retirement age but my husband is and collects his state pension, nothing else just that .Our solicitor has come back to us with a very hefty bill which she says we can pay ...
Read more...
...in 2 halves. Has anyone experienced this? Is this correct it's nearly as much as his annual pension .
Hi Jan
Might be worth contacting Costa Colida Property Services on Sector A - they seem to be cheaper than my solicitor for taxes. Ours wanted to charge £300 for our non-residential tax.
PeterC wrote on Wed Jun 17, 2020 11:27am:
Is the "hefty bill" the tax, or just the charges from the solicitor? Is your husband's pension a normal state ("old age") pension, or a Crown pension - for service in a government organisation? If your only income is one pension I really cannot see how you would pay any Spanish tax.
Maybe a lesson learnt - never use a solicitor to do anything other than sue somebody. If you must, you can use an assesor/gestor but they do not all understand the system themselves! You can get an appointment with the tax authorities and they will do it all for/with you - free. With the Covid lo...
Read more...
...ckdown this service has been only by phone as far as I know this year. At least it sounds like you have submitted a return so will not get fined for either non- or late submission.
No peter it's just the tax hes not worked for any
Government he just has his state pension .
Advertisement - posts continue below
This post that was quoted has been deleted.
The solicitors bill has nothing to do with the total cost
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2020 1:30pm
Super helpful member
I can never understand why anyone would let a solicitor deal with personal tax - in the UK would anyone go to Sue, Grabbitt & Run and get them to do their tax return? You need (if anything) a tax accountant.
I repeat - there must be something seriously wrong with how the income has been declared, or there are other factors that you have not mentioned. We make separate declarations as we are not married, and with my state pension, a small private pension, my OH's state pension and her Crown pension, no assets outside Spain our tax bill last year (for 2018) was less than €100, and this year (for 2019) is nil.
Thankyou all for your replies .Panick is over .No tax to pay .🙄🙄🌞
Jan56 wrote on Wed Jun 17, 2020 3:14pm:
Thankyou all for your replies .Panick is over .No tax to pay .🙄🙄🌞
But still a 'hefty' legal bill?
All solicitors should provide a statement of their charges (hourly rates, plus disbursements (published fees for filing papers, etc.) and it's highly recommended to provide a client with an estimate of the likely total cost. If the total cost then subsequently look like it will exceed that estimate, then they should advise you, provide a fresh estimate and the option to stop the work or continue based on the fresh estimate. An estimate is, of course, imprecise (i.e. not a 'quote') but shouldn't vary by more than 50%.
you shouldnt be paying any tax on state pension, see jims guides,he may even do yr tax return,for small fee,
if no tax to pay then dont fill in any more, dont get stung by sols, jim will keep you right ,
