Moving to Spain questions.
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 1:18 pm
Hi all,
Thanks in advance for your answers. This is a great forum and we are looking forward to moving to Quesada in 2022. We have a number of questions on our checklist and if anyone here has the time to fill in the blanks, we would appreciate it. A bit about us. We are 56 & 57 respectively and are Irish citizens. We intend to retire to Spain in late 2022. We have an acquaintance who has a vacant house in Torrevieja and we will be renting this for a few months while we find our feet. I thought that rather than post lots of individual questions, I would put them all in one post in the hope the answers might also be helpful to others as they plan their move to Spain.
Question 1.
Is the formula for my sample calculation of the IBI below correct?
The figures are just random, it’s the formula I need to be sure of.
Example Villa cost = €280,000
Example Catastral value = €170,000
Example Rate in Ciudad Quesada = 1%
Tax rate 19% (19% for EU citizen)
So: 170,000 x 1% = €1700
€1700 x 19% = €323 IBI due per year.
Question 2.
If we bring items like our TV’s, home cinema, microwave, smaller furniture like coffee tables, hall table etc, will we be liable for import duty. We will buy beds and larger furniture in Spain. All of the items we will bring are more than 6 months old and are basically the items in our current house in Ireland. Our intention would be to hire a “Ford transit sized” van and drive over with our belongings.
Question 3.
Is BVVA the best bank to choose to minimise charges? I see they have a no-fee account available. https://www.bbva.es/en/personas.html Is this bank suitable for paying direct debits for IBI, water, electricity etc.
Question 4.
When obtaining the NIE for both of us (Taking into consideration the Spanish bureaucracy), is it faster/easier to pay a local company to do this? Unfortunately, our Spanish is not good enough to hold a conversation with a government representative.
Question 5.
Is the NIE essentially the only identification number required for buying a house, opening a bank account, setting up water and electricity services etc or do we need other identification documents to get specific services.
Question 6.
We have health cover in Ireland, but their international cover is expensive. What is the best value or most recommended company in Spain for Expats?
Question 7.
As we intend to be full time in Spain, we will need to file a tax return. The wealth tax will not apply to us. We do NOT intend to work in Spain and will be living on our savings for the first 8 years and then our pensions from Ireland after that. We will be selling our house in Ireland so apart from savings, we will not have any assets outside Spain for tax purposes. Will this essentially mean we just need to pay a company to file the tax return, but we will actually end up paying no tax? Is the charge to have a company file your taxes generally expensive? Any recommendations in Quesada?
Question 8.
Will we need to get Spanish driving licenses or will our licenses from Ireland be fine?
Ideally, we are hoping there is a simple equivalency swap process whereby if you have a full driving license from your home country, it can be swapped for an equivalent Spanish license without having to sit a theory and driving test in Spanish? Is this just wishful thinking?
Question 9.
Is it better to have a ducted AC system in your house in Spain or individual AC?
Question 10.
Is dedicated heating (Like fixed radiators) required in Ciudad Quesada in the Winter months or would you get away with just a few hot air heaters?
Question 11.
At the moment is burglary, general crime and squatters something to be concerned about?
Question 12.
When viewing or choosing a house, what are the gotchas or things to look out for? (specific to Spanish property)
Question 13.
When buying a car, apart from the normal things to look out for like clocking, crashed cars etc, is there anything specific to Spain that we should be aware of?
Question 14.
In relation to transferring money to Spain. As Ireland shares the Euro currency, our plan is to keep most of our savings in Ireland and transfer enough money annually to our Spanish account. As there is no currency change like with the UK, I think this is relatively inexpensive. I know the fees on the Irish side are very small. I am guessing they are similarly small on the Spanish side to receive Euros. Anyone with some real world experience on this?
I realise this is a lot to ask and I thank everyone who takes the time to reply to any of the questions.
Best wishes.
John & Angie.
Thanks in advance for your answers. This is a great forum and we are looking forward to moving to Quesada in 2022. We have a number of questions on our checklist and if anyone here has the time to fill in the blanks, we would appreciate it. A bit about us. We are 56 & 57 respectively and are Irish citizens. We intend to retire to Spain in late 2022. We have an acquaintance who has a vacant house in Torrevieja and we will be renting this for a few months while we find our feet. I thought that rather than post lots of individual questions, I would put them all in one post in the hope the answers might also be helpful to others as they plan their move to Spain.
Question 1.
Is the formula for my sample calculation of the IBI below correct?
The figures are just random, it’s the formula I need to be sure of.
Example Villa cost = €280,000
Example Catastral value = €170,000
Example Rate in Ciudad Quesada = 1%
Tax rate 19% (19% for EU citizen)
So: 170,000 x 1% = €1700
€1700 x 19% = €323 IBI due per year.
Question 2.
If we bring items like our TV’s, home cinema, microwave, smaller furniture like coffee tables, hall table etc, will we be liable for import duty. We will buy beds and larger furniture in Spain. All of the items we will bring are more than 6 months old and are basically the items in our current house in Ireland. Our intention would be to hire a “Ford transit sized” van and drive over with our belongings.
Question 3.
Is BVVA the best bank to choose to minimise charges? I see they have a no-fee account available. https://www.bbva.es/en/personas.html Is this bank suitable for paying direct debits for IBI, water, electricity etc.
Question 4.
When obtaining the NIE for both of us (Taking into consideration the Spanish bureaucracy), is it faster/easier to pay a local company to do this? Unfortunately, our Spanish is not good enough to hold a conversation with a government representative.
Question 5.
Is the NIE essentially the only identification number required for buying a house, opening a bank account, setting up water and electricity services etc or do we need other identification documents to get specific services.
Question 6.
We have health cover in Ireland, but their international cover is expensive. What is the best value or most recommended company in Spain for Expats?
Question 7.
As we intend to be full time in Spain, we will need to file a tax return. The wealth tax will not apply to us. We do NOT intend to work in Spain and will be living on our savings for the first 8 years and then our pensions from Ireland after that. We will be selling our house in Ireland so apart from savings, we will not have any assets outside Spain for tax purposes. Will this essentially mean we just need to pay a company to file the tax return, but we will actually end up paying no tax? Is the charge to have a company file your taxes generally expensive? Any recommendations in Quesada?
Question 8.
Will we need to get Spanish driving licenses or will our licenses from Ireland be fine?
Ideally, we are hoping there is a simple equivalency swap process whereby if you have a full driving license from your home country, it can be swapped for an equivalent Spanish license without having to sit a theory and driving test in Spanish? Is this just wishful thinking?
Question 9.
Is it better to have a ducted AC system in your house in Spain or individual AC?
Question 10.
Is dedicated heating (Like fixed radiators) required in Ciudad Quesada in the Winter months or would you get away with just a few hot air heaters?
Question 11.
At the moment is burglary, general crime and squatters something to be concerned about?
Question 12.
When viewing or choosing a house, what are the gotchas or things to look out for? (specific to Spanish property)
Question 13.
When buying a car, apart from the normal things to look out for like clocking, crashed cars etc, is there anything specific to Spain that we should be aware of?
Question 14.
In relation to transferring money to Spain. As Ireland shares the Euro currency, our plan is to keep most of our savings in Ireland and transfer enough money annually to our Spanish account. As there is no currency change like with the UK, I think this is relatively inexpensive. I know the fees on the Irish side are very small. I am guessing they are similarly small on the Spanish side to receive Euros. Anyone with some real world experience on this?
I realise this is a lot to ask and I thank everyone who takes the time to reply to any of the questions.
Best wishes.
John & Angie.