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Resident or Non Resident ?

November 28th, 2011 | Posted by Pierre in Banking | Work and Employment - (0 Comments)

Taxes, you know you love them. Or better said, not to pay them. Without the Taxman following around the world.

Anyway, let’s get to the point. There’s a simple rule to have in mind when fiddling with taxes as an Expat in Spain.

Are you a resident or not ?

There’s only 3 ways to be one:

  • You have lived more than half the year in Spain, including your many travels – Yes, you Erin, even if you travelled for your blog 200 days out of 365, as you went to and from Madrid, you are a resident ! ;-) Just jalous, love the blog. But still, a good example: if you live in Spain more than 6 months in total this fiscal year, even if you travelled a lot, you are a resident.
  • A majority of your economic interests are in Spain. Ok, we mean properties, companies, stocks, assets there.
  • As always in Spain, one of your friends is a politician and will just enable you to do pretty much anything. Ok, another joke – just kidding.

“But Pierre”, you may say, “even if all these jokes are amazingly funny, what does this mean to me ?”

You’re right. Back to the point. Well, it’s simple:

  • If you’re a resident, you pay taxes on all your revenues earned this fiscal year, wherever they were produced
  • If you’re not, you do not pay any taxes to Spain, for instance on all the revenue, including the incomes taxes you may have paid on salaries earned in Spain. Some exceptions may exist such as property taxes.

In a nutshell, you pay taxes on all your revenues of the fiscal year in your country of residence. Simple. Straightforward. Sweet.

If you want more information, you will find here all official information, in English por favor, on this resident/non resident question about taxes

Do not hesitate to comment and/or send me an e-mail if you have any kind of question.

Here was my post for GuiriGuide. For complete “how-to” guides to make your move to Madrid easy, have a look at my blog Moving2Madrid.com !

Madridly yours,
+Pierre-Alban Waters – Moving2Madrid.com – +Pierre-Alban Waters – Twitter – Linkedin – Newsletter.

+Pierre-Alban Waters

 

 

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I don’t have a Spanish bank account

July 23rd, 2010 | Posted by sawidner in Banking | Stephanie - (1 Comments)

I’m not hear to knock the Spanish banks, they’re similar to most banks in the US and your school can assist foreign students in opening an account here.  However, my husband and I decided to keep things simple and keep our US account, and not open a second account here in Madrid.   This is very easy to do with the era of an ATM at every corner here in Madrid, but there are a couple of things you need to consider.

The first obvious thing to think about is will you need to be able to write checks while in Madrid.  I know of a couple of students here in Madrid who are able to pay their rent and cellphone bills in cash, or even credit card through a paypal account.  Some landlords, however still like to collect rent here the old fashioned way, in person with a check.

A lot of our purchases we have to pay in cash, for instance at any of the municipal mercados or markets.  Also, we haven’t been able to purchase metro tickets with our US credit card or ATM card.  So, in these instances we hit the ATM or Cajero automatico.  You have to be careful of the hidden fees, when using a US ATM card in Madird.  In addition to the 2-3 euro fee to use one of Madrid’s ATM, your US bank will charge the Madrid bank a conversion fee that they then pass on to you.  The catch is you won’t know what this additional fee is, until you receive your bank statement. (this is still cheaper than the conversion fee they charge you at the airport, though)  All the banks like Caja Madrid, Banco Santander, and Caixa have accepted our ATM cards without a problem, and their fees are all very similar.  Also another thing to think about is that our account in the states will refund us the 2-3 euro service fee to use the ATM, but not the conversion fees.

We use our US credit card for purchases in stores like Caja Madrid, because 1) we want the airline miles, and 2) they will normally ask you whether you want to charge this in euros or US dollars.  So, obviously depending on the exchange rate that day you would choose the appropriate one.  There are times when I would have choosen to charge it in euros, because depending on the exchange rate, it all evens out with the conversion fee you pay if you charge it in euros.

So my advice, and also what I’ve heard from others here, is that if you are going to be in Spain for more than year or two, then it might be wise to open a Spanish account.  However, if you are like me and don’t need to write checks or set up direct deposit, then having a US bank account here in Madrid isn’t a problem.

For additonal information on banking in Madrid check out Selecting a Bank in Madrid

TOMORROW: ‘I am not a tourist’ fair!

June 11th, 2010 | Posted by jodiehop in Banking | Books, Magazines, Websites | Communications | Courtney | Fitness | Food and Restaurants | House Hunting | Learning Spanish | Lifestyle | Logistics | What's Happening Madrid | Work and Employment - (1 Comments)

Tomorrow, June 12th, come out to the Hilton Madrid Airport Hotel for the first “I am not an tourist” Fair. It is a lifestyle fair for expats and working internationals in Spain.  The fair features community related resources for the experienced expat. There is also babysitting provided for those with children to allow you to stroll the booths at your leisure. Expect to find information on things like banks, schools, job hunting, clubs and organizations…etc. Go on, attend the fair, it’s intended specifically for you!

Place: Hilton Madrid Airport
Avenida de la Hispanidad 2-4
Madrid, Spain 28042
Tel: 34-911-534-000
Fax: 34-911-534-001
Date: Saturday, 12 June 2010
Time: 11h00 to 18h00

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Madrid websites that I dig

March 20th, 2010 | Posted by Courtney in Banking | Books, Magazines, Websites | Communications | Courtney | Entertainment | Fitness | Food and Restaurants | Government | Health | House Hunting | Learning Spanish | Lifestyle | Medical | Police | Transit and Transport | Visas | What's Happening Madrid | Work and Employment - (2 Comments)

I know I introduced myself as someone who seemed to find no resources on moving to and living in Madrid or even Spain for that matter.  Yes, I found a few resources but none captured in entirety what I needed – and that was a personalized voice giving me the down and dirty on the logistics of moving and settling.  Today Guiri Guide is able to supply you with all sorts of information after its been tested.  But even we needed a bit of a kick start and other than word of mouth – these were our sources.

For the Expat

Just Landed Madrid – This site has the best information in terms of no frills logistical information and contact information.

Spain Expat – Truthfully, this site doesn’t do much for me but you might find it useful.

Easy Expat – Probably best for job searches/postings.

Anglo Info – Great for information once you’re settled into ‘life’ info on House Improvements, Legal, Financial, Cars, Health…etc.

For the latest in ‘What’s Happening’

esMADRID – This site is great for major city events/concerts/festivals/exhibitions…etc.

InMadrid – This is my go-to site (and monthly newspaper) for all things Madrid…especially those things that people my age may enjoy.  The writing style is humorous and they typically have quirky facts about the city that are interesting.

Map Magazine – Honestly, I randomly happened across this one day.  I’ve never heard of anyone reference it but find some of the information is nice – especially about restuarants.

For Madrid/Spain General information

Madrid Insider – Good for the tourist planning a short stop over in Madrid

Spain Tourism – Best for planning a substantial Spain trip

Selecting a bank in Madrid

February 13th, 2010 | Posted by Courtney in Banking | Courtney - (4 Comments)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we have a bank account here in Spain at the Caja Madrid because it was the only place that would accept us without a NIE.  Are you beginning to see a general theme here?  Life is damn tricky here without that NIE (which takes a good few weeks to couple months to acquire).  But as you see from our posts – there are ways around it!

Opening an account here for Will was simple.  However, for me it wasn’t such a smooth process as I didn’t have IE backing me as a student.  While my name was added to the account and I was given some access, I could not get a debit card until I got my NIE.  In the interim I was given an online ordering credit card which before any order was placed the primary person on the account (in this case my husband) had to approve the order.  That didn’t pair so well with my “we’re equals in this relationship” mentality…but it is what it is I guess.  I am still picturing the glazed eyes of shopaholic wives happily sitting at home in front of their computers.

One important thing to point out is we can only do our banking at this one designated Caja Madrid at Serrano, 114 – 28006 Madrid.  However, we can pull money with no fee from any Caja Madrid ATM.  The staff at this branch are really nice and speak English – they’re even nice when the waves of new IE students come in to begin their accounts (all at the exact same time of day).

Pay close attention to banking hours because they’re almost absurd (actually this might drive you to new employment aspirations in banking in Spain).  Hours are approximately from 8.30 to 13.00/14.00, Monday through Friday. Some are also open on Saturdays until 13.00, but they are few and far between.

The steps to opening an account are not exceptional.  Just come prepared with proper identification (including passport), visa, and if a student – an official letter of enrollment.

I have learned that many of the students from IE have subsequently switched their bank accounts to Santander due to the fact that it is more international.

For more thorough details on rates, laws and a list of Spanish banks please click here.

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