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Practical manual for Income Tax 2021.

Postponement of debt payment due to temporary displacements

a. Situations that give rise to a change of residence and allow for deferral of payment

The tax authorities, upon request of the taxpayer, may defer payment of the tax debt corresponding to the capital gains referred to in this section when the change of residence is due to one of the following situations:

  • For a temporary transfer for work reasons to a country or territory that is not considered a tax haven.

  • For any other reason, provided that, in this case, the temporary transfer takes place to a country or territory that has signed with Spain an agreement to avoid international double taxation that contains an information exchange clause.

The provisions of Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax Law, and its implementing regulations, and specifically with regard to the accrual of interest and the establishment of guarantees for said deferral, will apply to said deferral.

See articles 65 and 82 of Law 58/2003, of December 17, General Tax Law and articles 44 to 54 (both inclusive) of the General Collection Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 939/2005, of July 29. Specifically, regarding the establishment of guarantees and the accrual of interest for deferrals, take into account articles 48 and 53 of the General Collection Regulations.

For the purposes of establishing guarantees, these may be established, in whole or in part, as long as they are legally and economically sufficient, on the values affected by the gains from change of residence to which this special regime is applicable.

b. Specialties of postponement

The deferral of tax debt will be governed by the rules provided for in the General Collection Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 939/2005, of July 29, with the following specialties:

  1. Applications must be submitted within the deadline for filing IRPF corresponding to the first fiscal year in which the taxpayer did not have such status as a result of the change of residence, and the application must indicate the country or territory to which the taxpayer is moving his/her residence.

  2. The deferral will expire at the latest on June 30 of the year following the end of the period of the five fiscal years following the last one that must be declared for the IRPF .

    However, if the aforementioned period has been extended as indicated below, the expiration of the deferral will be extended until June 30 of the year following the end of the new period.

  3. In the event that the transfer is made for work reasons, a supporting document of the employment relationship that motivates the transfer issued by the employer must be provided.

  4. In the event that the taxpayer transfers ownership of the shares or interests before the end of the period of five fiscal years following the last one that must be declared for the IRPF due to change of residence, the deferral will expire within two months from the transfer of the shares or interests.

c. Period of deferral

The debt deferral will be granted for five years.

However, when there are circumstances that justify a temporary move for work reasons to a country or territory that is not considered a tax haven, the duration of which does not allow the taxpayer to reacquire the status of taxpayer for this tax within the period of five years following the last one that must be declared for the IRPF , the taxpayer may request from the Tax Authority an extension of the aforementioned period in order to prolong the expiration of the deferral.

The extension may in no case exceed five additional years.

d. Request for extension of deadline

The application must be submitted within three months prior to the end of the five fiscal years following the last one in which this tax must be declared.

The application must state the reasons justifying the extension of the displacement , as well as the period of time considered necessary to regain the status of taxpayer for this tax and must be accompanied by the corresponding justification.

In view of the documentation provided, the tax authorities will decide on the appropriateness of the requested extension, as well as on the years subject to extension.

Applications for extension that are not expressly resolved within three months may be deemed to be rejected.

e. Extinction of the debt subject to deferral

In the event that the taxpayer again acquires the status of taxpayer for this tax at any time within the period of five years following the last one for which this tax must be declared without having transferred ownership of the shares or interests, the tax debt subject to deferral will be extinguished, as well as any interest that has accrued.

The aforementioned extinction will occur at the time of filing the declaration for the first year in which this tax must be paid.

In this case, the cost of any guarantees that may have been established will not be reimbursed.