Talk Quesada forum

Right folks help or advice needed please, My first year for taxes so i got myself a solicitor gave them my p60s etc told them what i got pension wise etc,yesterday i went to get the results and nearly passed out when she told me i owe 4000 euros tax on top of my private pension been taxed in the uk.although she spoke broken english i at times failed to grasp what she said all i have is a few forms all in spanish which i cant read and a bill for 4000 euros surely that is wrong.any comments or advice welcome.

Thank You.

learn spanish and don't complain if you don't understand the system or language.

Very constructed help..!!!.i too did my tax this year and have done for 4 years never had to pay tax, until this year and had bill for €1,800...my income has not gone up by much ...going back to get it sorted..tax allowance here is much lower than the uk ..so mybe you are way over that ...mybe worth paying and going to someone else and letting them look over the paperwork you have ...cost friend about €40 to do theirs.

Yes i might do that Terry, it does sound a lot though thanks for your advice and transitman thanks also NOT.

Have used Abaco in Torrevieja for several years now. Very professional and everything explained in English. Allowances here are lower than UK but because the exchange rate was lower last year. Rate set by tax office is 1.22€ so my income went down but took me into a tax bracket where I was given more allowance so paid less than 2016. Result! They will do a free consultation on your first visit and then you can decide if you want to use them or not. Hope this helps.

Sorry said 2016 but obviously that was my return for 2015 as Spain work in arrears Jan to Jan

Thank You, for the advice Diane i do feel a 2nd opinion is called for

Transitman they were looking for advice not bulls....

Of course, QUESADALAD, it would all depend on how much you earn.
There has been one big change on the tax front which is to do with government pensions. That is, ex-Forces, police, civil servants, some NHS ones and so on. Private pensions that are not government ones should not be taxed in UK whereas the government ones are taxed at source and you can't change that.
Previously these type of pensions were not taken into account due to the dual tax laws and didn't even have to be declared. This changed after an agreement between Rajoy and Cameron that they should be taken into account when assessing the tax rate. So, if you had a government pension of *say" 10 k a year in UK, you didn't pay tax because it was within the tax allowance. If you then had a state pension on top of "say" 6k a year then you didn't pay tax in Spain because the 6k was in the Spanish allowance.
Now, however, the 10k and the 6k are added together to work out your tax rate. You will not be taxed on the 10k because it comes under the dual tax agreement but you will be taxed on the whole of the 6k state pension (not taxed in UK) with no Spanish tax allowance as you have already had the UK tax allowance (which is fair as you shouldn't really be getting two allowances).
Now, in UK, the state allowance will also be classed as income so you will have the government pension and the state pension added together giving the 16k and, after taking your UK allowance off, will be taxed on the difference. The tax you have paid in UK will be taken off your tax liability in Spain.
So, UK 16k minus the allowance of 11500 means you pay tax at 20% on £4500 or £900.
In Spain, it will be 16k with a tax level of 22% on the 6000 state pension (because you've already had the UK tax allowance) or £1320. Take off the 900 already paid and there will be a tax liability in Spain of £420. Also add on the fact that interest in UK is now paid up to £1000 a year tax free in UK but you will be taxed on it in Spain.
Obviously the more you earn the more you pay as you will not be entitled to a tax allowance in Spain if you've already had the UK allowance and you will be charge on anything above that at the full tax rate applicable to your earnings.
In my case, I have paid nothing here in Spain for 5 years but have a bill this year for over €2500.

*Disclaimer. Before I'm picked up for wrong figures, they were just there for ease and examples of how the system now works. Please don't take the figures as gospel. Also note that some gestors/solicitors/tax advisers have also been unsure of the rules and haven't been putting government pensions (non-taxable but taken into account for tax level) in the wrong box and some ex-Forces have complained they are being charged tax on their total income which they shouldn't be. Always best to get a second opinion if it seems extraordinarily high.

sent you a pm Marcliffe