How to claim plus valia with tax office

Information and questions about the Law in Spain and Andalucia.
lynndm
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How to claim plus valia with tax office

Postby lynndm » Fri May 12, 2017 5:36 pm

We are selling a property and are non-residents who are returning to England. We are aware that if selling at a loss that it is now an illegal tax but until there is a national law, we still have to pay this and then claim it back which, if completed through a solicitor, will no doubt incur a hefty cost. Therefore, does anyone know how to claim this online with the Spanish tax office?

Miro
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Re: How to claim plus valia with tax office

Postby Miro » Fri May 12, 2017 6:12 pm

Plus Valia is levied by town halls, not Hacienda (the tax office), so I doubt if you'll get far trying to claim it back from them. If you are returning to England and won't be in Spain to chase things yourself, I don't think you have much choice but to use a lawyer or gestor.
Your other option (and not one that I'm recommending or condoning) is to simply not pay it. Unless your buyer is retaining the amount due and paying it on your behalf, the onus is on you to pay it within 30 days of the sale. If you do not, legally the debt will be in your name, but as non-residents, there's a strong possibility that the town hall will prefer to try and claim it against the property, i.e. the new owner, rather than try chasing you abroad. Of course, I don't know this for certain, so it's really up to you - would you sleep at night, knowing there's an unpaid bill in Spain with your name on it?

We're lucky - our Spanish buyer somewhat surprisingly produced a private contract for us to sign, stating she would be paying the Plus Valia (I've posted about it on another thread: viewtopic.php?f=41&t=37149) and although she did try to wriggle out of it later, she relented and has agreed she's paying it, and it will be so stated in the escritura - so if she decides not to pay it after the event, the debt will definitely be hers not ours.
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

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Free at Last
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Re: How to claim plus valia with tax office

Postby Free at Last » Fri May 12, 2017 6:18 pm

I've recently sold my house too - completed last week. I sold as tax resident in Spain and paid the plus valia myself, but I was informed that had I been non-resident it is standard practice for the amount of the plus valia to be retained by the buyers' lawyer. because of the possibility that a non resident vendor would simply not pay it, leaving it to fall upon the buyer.

I agree with Miro that using a gestor or lawyer to reclaim the money on your behalf, if you are not in Spain, would be the best (if not the only option).

Free at Last
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Re: How to claim plus valia with tax office

Postby Free at Last » Fri May 12, 2017 6:49 pm

My own municipality has announced that they are making a form available for sellers to reclaim plus valia if they have sold at a loss (doesn't apply to me). However, they will not actually pay out within the next six months as they are awaiting clarification of the changes in the law.

http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2982079 ... plusvalia/

Don't know what approach the local authority in the OP's area are taking, but if similar, she should not expect to be receiving any money back any time soon!

lynndm
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Re: How to claim plus valia with tax office

Postby lynndm » Sat May 13, 2017 9:33 am

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond with advice etc on this query. My husband and I do not intend to avoid the payment but would prefer to submit the claim ourselves rather than pay yet another fee for someone else to do this. If anyone has tried to submit a Plus Valia claim themselves, and we know it was only in March this year that the ruling of its illegality was reached, we would appreciate their experience in doing this.

Tom W
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Re: How to claim plus valia with tax office

Postby Tom W » Tue Aug 07, 2018 2:33 pm

Sorry to revive this topic, hope that is okay!
Can I just ask if anyone has managed to reclaim Plus Valia yet? If yes was it using a lawyer or DIY? We've had a lawyer "working on it" for 6 months but no progress although I am sure they have not done anything at all yet so wondered if anyone had managed by themselves.

Miro
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Re: How to claim plus valia with tax office

Postby Miro » Wed Aug 08, 2018 12:07 pm

Unfortunately I haven't yet heard of any succesful claims being completed, but going forward, I understand that it's now possible to avoid paying it in the first place as long as you can prove that there has been no gain. I think you still have to submit the tax return, but can do so with a zero result. Anyone heard something similar?
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

lynndm
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Re: How to claim plus valia with tax office

Postby lynndm » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:24 am

I hope someone is able to find out more about this as our payment was made a year ago and our local council in Mijas are still not refunding this payment because they are waiting for the law to be changed - goodness knows when that will be!! Plus, as we are leaving the EU, I am concerned they are holding out for that so they can then forget all about us Brits despite the fact that we spent lots of money in their country!!

Tom W
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Re: How to claim plus valia with tax office

Postby Tom W » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:50 am

Well a wee update from me, now that we eventually heard something back for our lawyers! It seems that just showing the titles showing the price paid and the lower selling price is not enough. We need an "expert report":-
"To make the claim, together with the lawsuit, we must provide an expert report that ratifies that the value of the property at the time of sale is the one that has been declared in the title deeds, because the courts require that in addition to the declaration made in the title deeds it must be proof in the court that the price is real, market price, at the time of the deed of sale."

Then, in another couple of months, they will go to court to obtain a court order and sometime in the future Benalmadena Ayuntamiento will generously give us our money back after only about 3 years ;-) We paid it in June 2016.

In my opinion I wouldn't worry too much about the Brexit shambles affecting it as the huge, slowly grinding wheels of Spanish legal system will just plod on at the tectonic pace that only they can and certainly with no accounting for our nationality or inept leaders. I think my bias may have popped out there but I might have gotten away with it.

Lynndm - I'll not advertise our lawyers name on here, partly because I have limited faith in them, but if you do want to contact them then just send me a message and I'll happily pass it on to you. I'm sure they can do the reclaim in Mijas too.


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