Algorfa Costa Blanca

For those people living in the Torrevieja, San Miguel and Algorfa areas, who have not registered as fiscal residents, the documentary requirements have changed again. In particular, if you have been here many years and have not made yourself “legal” , they will ask for Spanish bank account statements from the date you arrived, If you do not have them that far back, they will only count from the date of the earliest statement, which means that you may miss out on some of any refund due from the UK.

They used to stamp the UK copy of FD9 (an HMRC FORM) on the day of submission, but now they will only issue it after 10 working days with the Spanish “certificado”. I do not know whether this will be the same if you come under Elche or Murcia, Cartagena or Alicante.

For further information of the full list of documentary needs, e-mail info@taxspain.co.uk

As Britain recovers from a long icy spell, the sun continues to shine down on Algorfa, although it has been wet of late. Businesses will be hoping for an rise in sterling value against the Euro,to kick start the tourist season. House sellers need this shot in the arm, as do many pensioners who have seen income eroded. A lot of working age Brits have gone back to the UK to get work, but that is not easy either. I really do think Spain needs to revise the way it runs its tax and social security syetems, which hinder businesses from taking on people with a proper contract of employment. Some companies offer a contract after 3 months but it very rarely materialises, because of the fear that the employee may renege his social security payments and leave them to foot the bill.

I have seen people advertise to do registrations into the Spanish system for as little as €35, and wonder how this is possible.

For one thing, they would need to register 8 people a month just to pay the social security payments, before earning any money.

Secondly , if you work out the time involved, then these people are selling themsleves short. A typical case, from my experience, takes several hours to complete.

1. Initial meeting to fill out forms can take up to an hour, especially at the clients’ home
2. Travel to the tax office can also take an hour (two there and back)
3. You never know how long you will have to wait at the tax office, even allowing for half an hour as a minimum.
4. The UK part of FD9 has to be posted to the UK, I always scan a copy into my PC , in case the post des not arrive. Waiting at the post office can add another half hour
5. Then there is the cost of fuel, stationery printing etc

Typically , it can take 4 hours work to complete the process, more if as in some cases you have to go back to the tax office to collect the certificate. All this is without the personal delivery service of the certificate to the client, and follow up calls to the UK tax office to confirm receipt

So low cost services cannot possibly deal with this important process in a  professional way.

Make sure you get the job done properly, even if it costs you a little more.