[Barriej]

Last year I opened a savings in the UK, which matures this summer. I realise I will declare this interest on my Spanish tax return next spring but do I need to do anything in the UK?

I did call HMRC last year to ask and the upshot was no, but it sounded a tad vague. The person I spoke to seemed like they hadn’t come across this before, asked how much, and concluded not, as I would have “all my allowances”, not just the 1,000 pounds savings interest allowance.

Indeed, I have read elsewhere that if you are a non-tax payer (income below 12,570) you can receive a lot more interest tax free. Not sure if that applies to non-residents or if that is what the HMRC person I spoke to meant. I’ve also found other references to “disregarded income” for UK non-residents, which seemingly refers to savings interest.

Another complication is that next year I start getting the UK state pension. I assumed that is simply also taxed in Spain, not the UK. Or will that affect my savings interest allowances?

Before I ring HMRC again, can anyone clarify please?

Have you put in a tax return here in Spain already???
If so your gestor or ant SHOULD have applied for and got the Fiscal Cert for you to send to HMRC to get a zero tax code (NT).
Well thats as long as you dont have anything thats taxed only in the uK (which most of us probably dont).

As a full time resident with 'normal' incomes (not special pensions a house you rent etc) you should only be taxed here.

Well thats what I do anyway.

 

[Barriej]

I’m a little confused and concerned now.

To be clear, I have received no income of any sort from the UK to date. I get my first savings interest this July and then UK pension from next year...

My gestor has just done my annual declaration for the 2024 tax year with no certificate as far as I’m aware.

But won’t the annual interest I will get in July be declared next year for the 2025 tax year? So do I need this fiscal certificate now or next year?

Once you have your return in for last year (2024) as tax years here are jan 1st to Dec 31st.
If there is zero tax to pay here you then ask the gestor to get you the fiscal cert and then YOU fill in the forms and send them to HMRC, they will then return it all back to you and will then not take any tax from you at all (even if you go over the £12500 allowence).
Thats how ours worked in 2022 (for 2021)

 

[Barriej]

It's a one off process. Once you've been issued with your initial NT tax code that carries over automatically to future years. You only need to HMRC again if you should decide to return to the UK and become tax resident there.

I didn't request my Certifidado de Residencia Fiscal en España (Convenio) online as I didn't have a digital certificate at the time. I enquired at the local Hacienda office and was told that requests for these certificates were only dealt with at the main provincial Hacienda office in Málaga, so on my next trip into the city I called at the office with my completed double taxation form plus a short covering letter in Spanish requesting the fiscal residence certificate. I handed it in at their Registro desk and was given a printed receipt. The certificate arrived in the post to my home address one week later. Maybe if you have applied online it will be emailed to you or you will be able to it, you would think so, but I don't know about that.

I agree with you about the Overseas Department of HMRC, I have always found them very helpful and I always try to call at 8.00 am UK time, when I've called the phone has been answered within a couple of rings.

The fiscal cert can be emailed over as thats how ours were in 2022.
HOWEVER you cannot do the NT forms for HMRC online. They will have to be printed off and sent in manually (so 18th century). Well that was in 2022 dont know about now anyway.

Be careful though, they returned my wifes and didnt issue an NT code as she was not working before we moved and even when she was, she was under the threshold. It appears that you are supposed to be paying tax to obtail an NT code. I was advised to send the forms back when she gets her OAP as she may then be paying tax so they can action it.
I have the letter here and its comical to be honest.