A letter from the Spanish tax office: what it means and how long you have

First, the date

Every deadline starts on the day after notification. For a paper letter, that is the day it was delivered or signed for at the address. If nobody was in after two attempts, the tax office publishes a notice in the Boletín Oficial del Estado, and the letter is treated as served once the period to collect it has passed. If you are registered for electronic notifications, a notice not opened within ten calendar days is treated as served.

In all three cases the clock runs whether or not you saw the letter.

The four letters you are most likely to receive

• Requerimiento, a request. The office asks you to file a return you have not filed, or to provide documents such as the deed or the tenancy agreement. The letter states the deadline, usually ten working days. Answering in time and in full usually ends the matter. Ignoring it can lead to a penalty for failing to cooperate, and to the office working out the tax on its own figures.
• Propuesta de liquidación, a proposed assessment. The office has done the sums and proposes an amount, often for unfiled Tax Form 210 years. You have a hearing period, usually ten to fifteen working days, to submit arguments. This is the cheapest moment to correct a wrong premise, such as the cadastral value, an ownership share or a year in which you were resident elsewhere.
• Liquidación provisional, the assessment itself. The amount is now due. You can pay it, or challenge it within one month, either by asking the same office to review it (recurso de reposición) or by bringing a claim before the regional economic-administrative tribunal (reclamación económico-administrativa). Any penalty is dealt with in a separate procedure.
• Providencia de apremio, enforcement. Tax not paid in time moves to collection with a surcharge. Paid within the deadline stated in this letter, the surcharge is 10%. After that it rises to 20% plus late payment interest, and the office can seize bank balances or tax refunds. Paying before enforcement starts limits the surcharge to 5%.

When an assessment has to be paid

An assessment notified between the 1st and the 15th of a month must be paid by the 20th of the following month. One notified between the 16th and the last day of a month must be paid by the 5th of the second month after. Paying does not prevent you from appealing.

Penalties, and how to reduce them

Where the office also imposes a penalty, two reductions are available and they combine: 30% if you accept the proposed assessment, and a further 40% if you pay the penalty within the voluntary period without appealing. A penalty of 1,000 euros can come down to 420 euros.

Filing late before any letter arrives is treated differently. There is no penalty, only a surcharge: 1% plus a further 1% for each full month of delay, rising to 15% after twelve months. That is why putting unfiled years right on your own initiative is almost always cheaper than waiting.

What to do the day it arrives

• Note the date of notification and work out the deadline. If you are unsure, assume the shorter one.
• Do not pay or reply before you know what the letter is about. A request answered with the wrong document can turn into an assessment.
• Send us a scan of every page, including the envelope if it shows the delivery date. We read it in Spanish and explain it to you in English or German within one working day.
• If you will be away for long periods, appoint a representative in Spain with authority to receive notifications.

Making sure the next one reaches you

The tax office writes to the address it holds, which for many owners is the Mallorca house itself, empty for months at a time. You can update your address for tax purposes, sign up for electronic notifications, or name a representative in Spain to receive them. Any of the three is better than a letter in a letterbox that nobody opens.

Sources: Ley 58/2003 General Tributaria, articles 27, 28, 62, 109 to 112, 188, 223 and 235; article 43 of Ley 39/2015 on administrative procedure.

This page is general information and reflects the rules in force on the date shown. It is not advice and does not replace an assessment of your own case.