Talk Quesada forum

My father died in England in 1992. His house was left to me and is still owned by me. I have had renters in it since January 2018. I have been resident here for 2 years and now have a Spanish tax advisor. He has asked me for the value of the house in 1992. Does anyone know why this information is required ?

So they can work out Capital Gains Tax if you sell it?

From experience yes, it could be what Marcliff said, or it could be the other end, inheritance tax from the amount you gained from the value of the property. I’m not sure why you would think we would know your personal circumstances, so, just ask the advisor the reason. If it’s capital gains, then unless he had a crystal ball, tell him a higher value ( so less amount gained = less tax to pay), and if it’s inheritance, say a less value, so u pay less tax. Just my view, do as you feel is right for you. Or seek accurate advice from the local town hall for property values at that time.

Since he's asking for the value of the asset when you acquired it it could be for purposes of assessing your liability for CGT if and when you sell it. Which could be pretty awful liability since from what I have read there's no allowance for inflation on CGT, which could mean a horrific sized bill on a gain since 1992. But since you're not selling it just yet and the Spanish tax adviser is being paid by you to help you, yes I'd be asking why he wants to know and what advice he can give you on how to mitigate any prospective bill... There has to be some factoring in of exchange rates, expense of improvements etc

Another valid and possibly more immediate reason for wanting to know is if it's for filling in the modelo 720 on your foreign assets, I think it could be the acquisition value of an asset that is recorded... and as I assume the property is in England it would need to be declared. But definitely ask for the purpose of the information first ....

Can't be anything to do with Inheritance since you weren't a Spanish tax resident in 1992

Thank you all for your replies. Very helpful . I shall make further enquiries from my tax advisor.