How do I know if I am tax resident or non-resident in Spain?

The three tests in Spanish law

Article 9 of the Spanish income tax law sets out when a person counts as resident. Meeting any one of them is enough.

1. Time. You spend more than 183 days in Spain during the calendar year.
2. Economic interests. The core of your business, work or investments is in Spain, even if you spend less time there.
3. Family. Your spouse, from whom you are not legally separated, and your minor children live in Spain. Spain then presumes that you live there too, unless you prove otherwise.

Nationality plays no part. A Spaniard living in London can be non-resident; a Briton spending eight months a year in Murcia can be resident.

What it means for your property

If you are non-resident, your Spanish home is taxed under the non-resident regime: Modelo 210 every year for imputed income or rent, at 19% if you live in the EU or EEA and 24% otherwise. If you are resident, you declare worldwide income on the ordinary Spanish return instead, and Modelo 210 no longer applies to you.

When two countries both claim you

It happens. Someone might spend 190 days in Spain while their job, home and family remain in Ireland. In that case the double tax treaty between the two countries settles the question with tie-break rules, looking at things like where your permanent home is and where your personal ties are strongest. A tax residence certificate from your home country is the usual way to prove where you belong.

Practical signs you are non-resident

• your main home, job and bank are in another country;
• you file a full tax return there each year;
• you spend holidays in Spain but well under half the year;
• your family lives with you abroad.

Keep a simple log of your travel dates each year. It costs nothing and settles most questions before they arise.

If you are planning a move, our page on settling in Spain explains what happens to Modelo 210 in the transition year. If you stay non-resident, see who has to file.