Miguel Angel Piano, Abogados is a Spanish Solicitor’s office with a significant experience in the areas of Spanish Real Estate, Banking, Registrar, Mortgage and Tax Law. Established in 1977, Miguel Angel Piano Abogados gathers a reduced, exclusive, bilingual and highly qualified team of solicitors with experience on their respective activity fields, at your disposal to ensure an integral assistance and solutions to the majority of your doubts and problems.

Miguel Angel Piano Abogados headquarters are located in the city of Denia (Alicante), even though its coverage area stretches along all of the Comunidad Valenciana (Castellón, Valencia and Alicante), Murcia and oriental Andalucia. Likewise, it has associate offices in Madrid and Marbella and a Representative Office in the United Kingdom, in Kent.

Almost since its establishment, Miguel Angel Piano Abogados has provided assistance to numerous banking entities, such as ABBEY NATIONAL GIBRALTAR LIMITED, ABBEY TREASURY INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, NORWICH & PETERBOROUGH BUILDING SOCIETY, LEEDS BUILDING SOCIETY, JYSKE BANK, among others. The firm’s professionalism has given rise to recommendations on specialized publications of Piano Abogados as a Spanish Solicitor’s firm specialized on immovable property transactions addressed to British citizens. In this sense, it is worth highlighting the British author Mr. ANTHONY J. FOSTER and his book “THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BUYING A PROPERTY IN SPAIN”.

Personalized and direct attention to clients, as well as its struggle for efficiency, practicality and speediness in its measures, have always been the main objectives of the firm. Should you wish to contact Miguel Angel Piano Abogados, you may do so through the conventional means of communication or through this Web page. Be kind enough to indicate the essential information to be able to contact you and to respond to your needs.

All those who are not fiscal residents in Spain are obliged by Law to apply for and obtain a Spanish Fiscal Identification Number, NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) for individuals, and CIF (Código de Identificación Fiscal) for corporations.

The new Spanish Regulations approved to combat tax fraud since 2007 have imposed the obligation for all non-residents to evidence their Fiscal Identification Number (NIE or CIF) at the time of completion of transactions related to Spanish real estate, without which payment of taxes and registration of Title Deeds related to such transactions cannot be made.

For further information regarding the documents required for application of Spanish Fiscal Identification Numbers (NIE or CIF), please contact Piano Abogados.

2. – Construction guarantees under the Spanish building laws applicable to finished constructions.

Responsibilities and guarantees in the construction of Spanish dwellings are regulated within Law 38/1999 of November 5TH 1999, in force since May 5TH 2000 and amended by Law 53/2002 of December 30TH 2002, including three kinds of different and time-limited responsibilities:

1. – Constructive defects affecting the finishing of the works.

       The Law makes specifically liable the constructor during the time period of 1 year.

2. – Defects on elements and installations that make the dwelling unfit to be lived in: The Law states that, any of the parties involved in the constructive activity could be liable during the time period of 3 years for such defects.
3. – Defects affecting the building’s structure which put at risk the building’s structural resistance and stability: The Law states that, any of the parties involved in the construction process could be liable during the time period of 10 years for such defects.
4. The Law grants the possibility of contracting insurance policies to cover these responsibilities, the most important of which is the so-called Ten Year Policy Insurance (Seguro Decenal), to be contracted by the promoter, being the minimum sum covered the total building costs.

Building Regulations impose technical controls to be carried out by Technical Supervisor Entities (OCT) before this insurance policy may be issued, which should be applied for, at the same time as the Building License. Although this Ten Year Insurance Policy was initially set as compulsory for all promoters, an important exception was introduced in 2002 for detached houses and auto-promoters, that is, persons instructing builders the construction of a dwelling for themselves, not with the intention of selling it to a third party, and by which auto-promoters are no longer obliged to obtain this Ten Year Insurance Policy as long as they expressly renounce to it on their Title Deed or Declaration of New Building. The fact that this insurance policy is now voluntary for auto-promoters and detached houses reduces the construction costs, although should the auto-promoter decide afterwards to sell the property within the ten years’ time period the purchaser could request this policy for the remainder of the ten years’ time period. For further information regarding this issue, please contact Piano Abogados.

3. – Spanish last wills for British citizens and the Spanish inheritance tax.

Spanish Law does not compel UK nationals owning Spanish assets to dispose of them in a Spanish Will, since according to article 9.8 of the Spanish Civil Code, “succession of death shall be governed by the law of the nationality of the deceased”, and therefore any provisions made under the national law of such person shall be of application in Spain.Nevertheless, it is advisable for UK citizens to grant a Spanish Will, covering only Spanish assets and leaving valid any other Will granted abroad and related to assets located abroad, as it would be easier to execute in terms of time and costs than a UK Will.

UK Law grants British citizens full freedom to determine the destiny of Spanish assets at the time of death, i.e. who the inheritor of your Spanish assets would be and in what proportion, being advisable to appoint a substitute for them, i.e. should they be unable to accept the inheritance, predecease the testator/testatrix or did not survive him/her in a time period of 30 days.From Spanish Inheritance Tax perspective, the grantor of a Spanish Will should be aware that the family relationship between him and the person/s called to be the inheritor/s will be taken into account by the Spanish Tax Authorities, both in the allowances available to inheritors, which are reduced as the family relationship becomes more remote, and to determine the Spanish Inheritance Tax due.

4. – Spanish income tax liabilities of non-resident’s non-residents’ that own and enjoy Spanish real estate.

According with the Spanish Law 5/2004, of March 5TH 2004, that regulates the Spanish Income Tax, all non-residents that on December 31ST of each year own, use or enjoy Spanish immovable property or immovable property rights Spanish properties located in Spain, will be liable to the Spanish Income Tax on a yearly basis. Although no income may be effectively derived from the Spanish immovable property or immovable property right owned, such income is deemed to be derived under the Spanish Law by the non-resident just from the mere ownership or enjoyment of the Spanish immovable property or of the Spanish real estate right. When the Spanish immovable property or Spanish real state right is legally owned by non-resident’s individuals, the notional income deemed to be derived will be determined as a percentage of the cadastral value given to the property and, taxed at 25% for fiscal year 2006. After the income tax law reform introduced by law 35/2006, of November 28th 2006, with effects from January 1st 2007, the tax rate has been reduced to 24%.

When the Spanish immovable property or Spanish real estate right is legally owned by a non-Resident Corporation, it will be subject to the Spanish Special Corporate Tax since its approval by Law 18/1991, of June 6TH 1991.

The Spanish Special Corporate Tax is levied on a yearly basis over the cadastral value attributed to the property at 3% tax rate.

Tax exemptions for Spanish Corporate Tax are available if fiscal residence certificates issued from the competent authorities of countries with whom Spain has Tax Treaties for the Avoidance of Double Taxation including exchange of information are provided.

Should you wish to avail yourself of the fiscal services offered at Piano Abogados feel free to contact us.

The Spanish Law 5/2004, of March 5TH 2004, that regulates the Spanish Income Tax applicable to non-residents includes within its scope the taxation of rental income derived by non-residents from letting Spanish immovable property.

The tax base in these cases is determined by the gross amount derived by the non-resident as rental income, without any allowance, deduction or reduction permitted.The tax rate applied was 25% for fiscal year 2006, although after the Income Tax Law Reform introduced by Law 35/2006, of November 28TH 2006, with effects from January 1ST 2007, the tax rate has now been reduced to 24%.

Rental Income Tax Assessment may be filed on a monthly or every three months basis.

Should you wish to avail yourself of the fiscal services offered at Piano Abogados feel free to contact us.

The Spanish Law 5/2004, of March 5TH 2004, that regulates the Spanish Income Tax applicable to non-residents consider that, gains derived by non-resident’s from the sale of Spanish immovable property located in Spain constitute income derived from Spain on completion of the sale and, therefore, subject to Spanish Capital Gains Tax.

The tax base or fiscal gain is determined by the difference between the property’s sale value, stated in the Sale Title Deed, and the property’s purchase value stated in the Purchase Title Deed. This purchase value includes the real amount for which the property sold was acquired, plus expenses and taxes attached to the purchase (interest excluded) paid by the seller. The selling value will include the sale´s price deducting any official cost paid by the vendor.

The capital gains tax due, after the Income Tax Law Reform introduced by Law 35/2006, of November 28TH 2006,with effects from January 1ST 2007,will be determined at a fixed tax rate of 18%.

The Capital Gains Tax Assessment must be filed and paid in the time period of 3 months counted from the end of the period allotted to the purchaser for paying in the withholding tax imposed by the Spanish Revenue Service (one month after the date of completion).

When a non-resident sells Spanish real estate, the purchaser must withhold and pay to the Spanish Public Treasury, on account of the final capital gains income tax levied on the seller, 3% of the property’s price stated in the Title Deed of Sale after the Income Tax Law Reform introduced by Law 35/2006, of November 28TH 2006, with effects from January 1ST 2007.

Should you wish to avail yourself of the fiscal services offered at Piano Abogados feel free to contact us.

According to the Spanish Wealth Tax Law, Law 19/1991 of June 6th, all non-residents that own Spanish immovable property on each year’s December 31st, are subject to the Spanish Wealth Tax.

This tax takes into account the net value of the Spanish property (land plus building) and a progressive tax rate is applied ranging from 0,2% to 2,5%, depending on the net value of each legal owner’s share in the property.

The Spanish Wealth Tax must be self-assessed and returns filed on a yearly basis.

Should you wish to avail yourself of the fiscal services offered at Piano Abogados feel free to contact us.

The Spanish Law 39/1988 of December 28th, which entered into force on January 1ST 1990, regulating the Municipality Taxation replaced the taxes on urban and country property (Contribuciones Territoriales Urbana y Rústica y Pecuaria) and the tax on building land (Impuesto sobre Solares), stating that all owners of immovable properties located in Spain, both residents or non-residents, are liable to the Municipal Rate Taxation (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles or I.B.I.).

This local Tax is levied by the Municipality in which terminus the property is located, imposing this tax on a yearly basis over the cadastral value attributed to the property. The tax rate applied differs among Municipalities.

The Spanish Law 39/1988 of December 28th on local finances, replaced the tax on the increase in the value of land (Impuesto sobre el Incremento Del Valor de los Terrenos) as from 1 January 1990, by this new Municipality Plusvalía Tax.

This tax is payable by the transferor in the case of transfers for valuable consideration and by the acquirer in the case of transfers for profit, over the increase in value during the tax period of land whose ownership is transferred by whatever method, or land in which any real right of enjoyment is created or transferred which restricts the rights of ownership.

The basis of the assessment is the increase in the value of land, being the rate applied dependent on the population of the municipality (Ayuntamiento) where the land is situated and the length of time since the preceding transfer.

Should you wish to avail yourself of the fiscal services offered at Piano Abogados feel free to contact us.