Clarification On Spanish "Wealth Tax"

Created by doina. Last modified on 2005-09-27 10:37:30
Countries: Spain

Enquiries regarding Spanish Taxes have been increasing over the last few months. The payments required vary depending on the country of residence of the owner of the vessel and the country of registration for the vessel, but for British registered boats the details can be summarised as follows.

Firstly if you “invoke” Spanish residency (which can happen as quickly as 90 days after arriving in the country) you are required to register your vessel under the Spanish flag and pay their Matriculation Tax. You will then require a Spanish qualification to skipper your vessel – an ICC is not sufficient.

If you remain a British resident, but have a vessel in Spanish waters for 6 months or more, you may Skipper your vessel under your ICC. You should however be aware that after 182 days you may, even as a UK flagged vessel, become subject to Wealth Tax.

The Wealth Tax is set locally and you may find that in some areas it is set as zero, but in other areas an amount may be payable. Even if the tax is set as zero, there is a requirement to declare your asset for tax, which should be done in May / June. Due to the local variations involved with this tax, it is not possible to set out a “you will be required to pay a maximum of” advice document. You should approach the Port Captain and Customs Officer for the area you are going to, to find out how the laws are applied there.

This is not a change in the law, it is simply that the law is being applied to a wider extent than before.

Val Ellis