Fiscal residency - Fiscal residency certificate

Fiscal residency - Fiscal residency certificate

If you come to settle in Spain you will have to follow a number of laws, at least if you want to be in order. A general rule that applies within the EU, where there is free movement of people, is that you are considered a tax resident in a country if you stay there for more than 183 + 1 days. You will not be notified or invited of this, it is a given, a status. This tax status means that the country in which you reside can demand that you pay taxes to them because you reside in that country the most (roughly; by your presence you tax that country and there is something in return).

Another form of residency is the European Residence Card, proof of entry in the register of European citizens - "Certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión Europea." This is the "green residency card" which was also previously simply an A-4 document with a green background. Fiscal residency and the European residence card often go together. One must apply for this status and depending on how you wish to settle in Spain (retired, active, inactive, benefit recipient, etc.) you will have to meet other administrative requirements.

Finally, there is a certificate of tax residency. This subject is less known and it is mostly residents in Spain who come into contact with it. The certificate of fiscal residency is what a resident needs, for example, if he or she wishes to sell a property in Spain (a property registered in your name) and avoid the 3% retention. So with this attestation you avoid the 3% retention that non-residents have to pay on a sale. Even if you have the green card and you have lived in Spain for more than 6 months you will still have to request this at testation when selling a property in Spain.

Important note, de Padron - empadronamiento - el certificdo de empadronamiento colectivo, is a certificate of registration in the municipality and says nothing at all about your residency. By being registered in the municipality of Spain says nothing about your fiscal, legal status wherever you are considered resident.

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