Category : Expatgestoria

Expatgestoria Legal News Resident

The EHIC card

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

European Health Insurance Card in Spain: what is the EHIC and how do you get it?

The EHIC card is a free health insurance card that gives you access to medically necessary care within the public health system during a temporary stay in the 27 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. 

The EHIC card gives you access to health care in the countries where this coverage applies, just as you would get in your own country. Medical bills are paid by the tax system of the country you come from, not the country where you receive medical care.

Cards are issued by the health insurance agency in your own country.

You can apply for the card in the country where you are registered as a resident. If you are registered in Spain (i.e. you have the residence), you can apply for the card through the Tarjeta Sanitaria Europea (TSE) website or through the Seguridad Social.

What health problems does the EHIC cover?

Firstly, it is important to know that the EHIC is not a substitute for private travel insurance. It does not cover private health care or costs such as repatriation or the loss or theft of your luggage.

It does not cover your expenses if you travel with the express purpose of receiving medical treatment

It does not guarantee that the service is free of charge - this depends on the country of destination

The card is intended for urgent medical assistance for illnesses or accidents as well as for the exacerbation of chronic illnesses, such as asthma, heart disease, cancer, etc. If you travel during pregnancy, the EHIC/TSE covers the necessary treatment, including giving birth abroad in the EU.

Also see our FAQ in the menu bar for more information on the EHIC.

What can Segurantis do for you?

Go to the overview of our services.

Expatgestoria Legal News Resident

Change of conditions for residency in Spain

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

Translate documents

We have learned from the National Police that the conditions for obtaining the Spanish residence have been tightened. The Spanish residence is a certificate that you apply for when you settle in Spain. Settling in Spain means that you have deregistered elsewhere and that Spain becomes your new country of residence. So you move your personal administrative seat to Spain.

You will then be known as a resident of Spain. Your new town hall in relation to the Spanish administration will become the town hall of your area of residence and the consulate will become the "town hall" of your Belgian administration (or Dutch, French, ... depending on your nationality).

Once you have lived in Spain longer than 183 days + 1 day, you will be considered as tax resident. Usually, fiscal residence and legal residence (your country of residence is Spain) go hand in hand.

Extension of the documents to be submitted

From now on, the Spanish administrative units will no longer accept documents if they are not in Spanish. Even if they are European documents, they must be translated into Spanish if they are not available in Spanish at origin.

A translation is only valid if it is done by a sworn translator. Your own translation, even if your Spanish is very good, will not be accepted. For example, the documents of your pension, the S1, the deregistration in your country of residence, etc. Official documents that have not been translated into Spanish must be translated from now on.

Segurantis can always help you translate these documents as they work with several accredited translator-interpreters.

What can Segurantis do for you?

Go to the overview of our services.

Expatgestoria Financial Taxation News Resident

Spanish personal income tax and payments

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

Payment periods and what if the payment is not made

The Spanish personal income tax declaration period is over. The last day to submit the declaration within the legal deadline fell on 30 June of this calendar year. This concerns the personal income tax of both residents and Spaniards. The declaration is about the income obtained in the previous calendar year.

You have not made a declaration? You can still make a declaration, but this is of course outside the normal legal term. In Spanish, this is called Fuera de plazo. Fines and negligence interest can be applied. Simply not declaring is better avoided. Even if you don't have to pay taxes in Spain (origin of income or below the threshold) as a resident (not Spanish) you should still make a declaration (*the reasons for this are very diverse).

I have to pay taxes but nothing has gone out of my account yet? If you did not have enough money in your account the payment will not go through. You will then have to apply for an NRC through your bank or through the Certificado digital through your fiscal representative for the Carta de pago from the moment you are recognised within Hacienda as a "non" payer (this can sometimes take several weeks).

You are paying in instalments? Then you will first receive from Hacienda an answer of approval (or refusal) to grant you this right. This form states how many times the payment will be withdrawn from your account and the corresponding interest. It can sometimes take a while before you are notified of this.

Tip: Do not go on your own initiative to pay your taxes if you think a mistake has been made. First seek advice from your tax representative or a local Hacienda office.

What can Segurantis do for you?

Every year we help many residents to fill in their Spanish declaration. It is important to know that when you stay more than 183+1 days in Spain you will be considered by the Spanish tax authorities as tax resident with all the fiscal consequences that come with it. When you are tax resident in Spain but you receive income from outside of Spain you might have to fulfil tax obligations in these countries on a yearly basis.

Expatgestoria Taxation Professional

Increased use of cash for professionals

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

Scaling back use of cash when invoicing

The annual invoices (one invoice or several) that go to one and the same customer (resident or Spanish national) and that exceed EUR 1,000. 00 may no longer be paid in cash. The previous limit of 2.500,00 Euros is no longer valid. The sums will have to be received via a bank transfer or another recognised digital way.

Please note that invoices to non-residents are still possible up to EUR 10,000.00. However, an invoice must be drawn up and it must be clearly stated that the amount was received in cash.

If this rule is not observed and Hacienda makes an inspection, fines of up to 20% of the total amount invoiced may be issued.

If you have any questions on this subject, please contact your accountant or consult one of the Hacienda offices.

What can Segurantis do for you?

Since 2021, we only provide support for Autonomo start-ups. You can find more information under the heading services.

Expatgestoria News

What is conveyancing or buying guidance?

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

Purchase Assistance = independent

Purchase assistance means that an external party is involved that is completely independent of the selling party and can work objectively on behalf of the candidate buyer.

Especially in countries where you do not speak the language, an external party that takes care of this task is not an unwise choice. A purchase in another country comes with different customs and different rules and laws. A party that engages a lawyer for you in this process immediately covers you against legal errors and takes responsibility to a higher level.

Always be careful with sellers who offer you this service "for free" or who have their "own people" who offer this service for them. Always look critically at the situation and think who benefits the most when the sale goes through... be careful to dance with the devil's advocate.

The code of conduct or deontology of a good estate agent should give you, from the moment you have decided to buy, a choice of 3 to 4 agencies that could organise the purchase assistance for you as a buyer. But it is best to do your own research into references and experiences of people who have already bought in Spain.

Be wary of comments from others that say this service is unnecessary. Think about the consequences of an error or mistakes that could happen during a purchase. Is the person who prevented you from having proper legal assistance going to help you resolvethe mistake? Let alone the defects that occur after the purchase, often at the first heavy rainfall in Spain the new owners get the bill immediately.

A golden tip should you go into the legal battle yourself without guidance keep in mind that everything that is said and promised to you should be immortalized immediately by putting it in writing and signed by the parties involved. Otherwise it is guaranteed Talk for the often.

How can you claim this service?

Send us an email or give us a call so we can have an exploratory meeting first. In this meeting we will inform you about all the preparatory steps so that you can start your new adventure well prepared.

Expatgestoria News

Keep your keys safe?

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

Safe custody of Segurantis

Would you like a safe place for your keys of your home or car when you're not in Spain or just an extra set if you lose your keys then this can be in our office. Our office has a secure storage room with camera surveillance and is fully equipped with an alarm system. The Guardia Civil, with whom we also cooperate, is located less than 30 meters from our office.

Keeping your duplicates in custody for 49 euros a year. This is significantly cheaper than at the competition.

An overview of all our services?

Go to the overview of our services.

Expatgestoria Financial Taxation Legal News

Were you stuck in Spain during the lockdown?

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

Were you stuck in Spain during the lockdown? Then avoid paying taxes in Spain as well.

On 14/03/2020 there was a unanimous decision of the 50 provinces that Spain went into lockdown. If, because of these restrictions, you have resided in Spain for more than 183 days, even if it is not your country of residence, Spain will count you as a tax resident. The Spanish tax authorities therefore do not take into account that the lockdown affects your stay and refer to article 9 of the Personal Income Tax Law (Ley de IRPF).

In Spain, tax residence is determined according to criteria such as tax periods and calendar year, in general:

  • Any person who resides in Spanish territory for more than 183 days during the calendar year, regardless of consecutive or interrupted.
  • Spain is the main source of economic activity or interest, directly or indirectly.
  • When the person in question does not live in Spain himself, but the ex-partner from whom he is not legally separated and possibly the minor children do live in Spain.

If you find yourself in one (or more) of these situations then Spain may hold you liable for income tax and you will be taxed in Spain on your worldwide income. Spain will then consider you both tax resident (subject to Spanish tax liability) and legal resident (subject to Spanish law). In the event that you are notified of this tax liability, make sure that you can prove that you are subject to tax in another country.

Doubts have been raised about the interpretation of the application of this law and, again, Spain appears to be going its own way. The OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) had made recommendations to its members on this subject, which countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, have adopted. Several countries will respect the recommendation however in Spain there is no distinction made as to whether the period of stay was voluntary or involuntary.

Our goal at Segurantis is "to be on top" regarding these tax obligations and to keep our clients informed of what is going on in the Spanish tax landscape.

Source:

https://www.europapress.es/economia/fiscal-00347/noticia-hacienda-obliga-extranjeros-atrapados-espana-mas-183-dias-confinamiento-tributar-aqui-20200925113920.html

We are here to help you

At Segurantis we work closely with local authorities and the Belgian/Dutch state. This way we try to assist you in case of questions and help you where we can. If you would like us to take care of your tax file in Spain please do not hesitate to contact us.

Expatgestoria Financial Taxation News Properties

End of discrimination for Belgians with a 2nd home abroad?

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

Article published in Flemings in the World - December 2020

This is not the first time that Belgium has been convicted by the European Court of Justice of unequal treatment of Belgians with a second residence abroad. Our country was condemned once for this in 2017 and a second conviction followed in 2018. The sanction was a fine of 2 million euros and a daily penalty of 7,500.00 euros as long as the Belgian tax authorities tax the rental income of domestic and foreign residences differently.

Read it full article published in VLAMINGEN IN THE WORLD.

Expatgestoria Taxation News

Non-resident fees 2020

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

NON-RESIDENT FEES

FILES CLOSED

We report that the period for the adoption of files for the submission of non-resident fees (the modelo 210) for the taxable year 2019 has been closed. This year has not been an easy one and many customers have experienced problems because of the covid to obtain and/or send their documents.

An additional problem we were confronted with this year is that the tax authorities' system, through which we submit the declarations, did not allow us to enter an IBAN number. So a foreign account was not accepted. Only the Spanish accounts could be used. Customers who no longer have a Spanish account will have to transfer the tax due to our company account so that we can go to the bank in person to settle the tax ("the old fashion way").

DOSSIONS 2021

Clients who would like us to take over their file from their current tax representative or who would simply like us to keep their tax affairs in order can let us know, preferably before the end of the year, so that we can prepare your cancellation notice so that you can use it to terminate your contract.

TAX DUE

The annual rates for the calculation of non-resident taxes remained unchanged in 2020. However, there has been a slight increase in the cadastral value of real estate in 2019. So your tax due will be slightly higher. Please note that if you owned a full year in 2019 compared to the year 2018 in which you bought, you will undoubtedly have a higher amount during this declaration.

HONORARY

What is a positive point is that we have lowered our prices for claims by 25%. This is in order to give our customers a helping hand in these uncertain times and to do our bit. We also immediately reassure our customers that we will continue to maintain these prices in 2021.

Expatgestoria News

What's an expatgestoria?

By dneutiens@segurantis.com

A Gestoría, or administrative service office will guide you through the Spanish administration, legislation and taxation. An Expatgestoria, such as Segurantis, does this business for foreigners who have a link with Spain as a non-resident or resident.

Spanish administration

It is common knowledge that the Spanish administration is often perceived as complicated. There are many rules, formalities and forms and waiting times. As a foreigner this can sometimes be experienced as very unpleasant. Don't panic, Segurantis knows her way around!

Dynamic team

Segurantis is a dynamic team that consists of a healthy mix of insurers, tax specialists, lawyers, interpreters and notaries who together try to make your life as a resident or non-resident in Spain. Within Segurantis you will be assisted in Dutch, French, English and Spanish.

Services

What can an Expatgestoria like Segurantis do for you? Segurantis can help you with all kinds of formalities such as applying for a NIE-NUMMER, RESIDENCE, SOCIAL SECURITY, THE PADRON, the SPAIN RIJBEWIJS and the translation of documents. In addition, we have an extensive range of INSURANCES tailored solely to the needs of you as a foreigner or expat. And last but not least, you can contact us to keep your Spanish FISCAL INSURANCES in order, which are often mandatory for both residents and non-residents.

Approach

We emphasize a personal and smooth service where speed and accuracy of the information provided are crucial. Our good relations with the local authorities, the Belgian consulate (Segurantis is a fixed value with informative articles for Flemish people in the World) and the Belgian tax and legal services in Brussels make the difference for us.

We are fully independent and active since 2015 but have a team with more than 20 years of experience in the Spanish and Belgian administration. Our growth is also evident and in addition to our office in Altea , we will also open an office in San Miguel de Salinas in September.