Reclaiming PlusValia on a property sale

Hi,

Sold our apartment last September, our lawyer wanted €1500 to reclaim our PlusValia, but declined as i thought i could do it my self.  All my taxes are up to date and i still have my Spainsh account open, as i have been informed that the refund can only be paid back into a Spanish bank account?

I have been trawling through the threads, but cant find any that detail the reclaiming procedure, can anyone please point me in the right direction?

Regards

Drew

Took me over 2 years to get my 3% back I know people get it back in 6 months, I had to hire a 2nd solicitor to get it back, as the first one was a waste of space. ( Sold in Murcia ) 

We sold our house in Sevilla province in October 2016 and there is still no sign of us getting our 3% Capital Gains Tax back even though all our paperwork was in order and tax paid up to date.  You can have your CGT refund paid into a UK bank account you just enter your Iban number on the reclaim form.

Might be some confusion here, I think Drew was referring to the 'Plus Valia'. I believe that this tax in most cases is reclaimable because not many properties make a profit when sold.

Would be helpful if someone is aware of this and also if there is a need for a solicitor to be involved, as it looks like another Spanish rip-off if the only way to retrieve this is through a solicitor???

According to this lawyer, you can try (and fail) to claim it back yourself! 

http://www.larrainnesbittabogados.com/entrada.php?id=202

Have to say, on this he's probably right: if you try yourself you'll almost certainly get absolutely nowhere. Maybe Maria will have something to say on this?

Plus Valir tax is the tax payable by the seller (unless otherwise agreed) and is the tax on the increased value of the land (or percentage in the case of an apartment) upon which the property stands,

If one has owned the property for a long time, even allowing for the fact that over recent years the land value probably has not increased,  prior to that it may well have.

If the land has increased in value, that tax is not reclaimable. 

If the town hall charged tax on land that had not increased in value, then the tax probably can me reclaimed in whole or in part

How much of this tax did you actually pay chief?

Helpful info here

http://www.cognisantassociates.co.uk/plusvalia-tax-ruling-in-spain/

So Roberto.....( if I’ve understood this correctly) what we have in essence, following the constitutional ruling, is that this ruling will probably never be enacted at point of sale until such time as the tax law is repealed and rewritten, which is highly unlikely given the current political climate where local authorities are overly dependent on receipt of this tax.

This means in practice that everyone who has sold at a loss still has to pay the plus valia tax from the outset, and then hire a lawyer to reclaim the tax ( since it requires legal authorisation?) rather than not pay it from the outset of sale. 

What a waste of time and effort by the constitutional courts to declare a ruling that is highly unlikely to be followed through. You couldn’t write this script I’m afraid.

Not resolving issues at source in Spain in this way has led to so many overly complex scenarios .....and the sad aspect to all of this is that it is the “ little guy” who always loses out.

Not exactly efficient or for that matter particularly ethical is it????

http://www.leadingpropertygroupspain.com/en/2017/05/recent-court-rulings-in-spain-that-may-enable-you-to-reclaim-property-costs-taxes/

Extract:-

4. Selling property at a loss: claiming back ‘Plusvalia’ tax from town halls

Recap: A new court ruling has established that there can only be taxation when a seller makes a profit. Town halls have to payback all overcharged tax on selling at a loss. This ruling can be made extensive to all of Spain.

Who can claim: Sellers who sold property in Spain at a loss.

Timeframe to claim: The previous four years. Sellers can only claim back on property sold at a loss since February 2013 onwards.

Amount claimed back: For most sellers, a paltry amount in the hundreds of euros. Exceptionally, some large plots of land are lined up for a huge windfall.

Success outcome: Moderate. It is likely town halls will fight back appealing, forcing lawyers to go through a full-blown litigation procedure.

3794.38 Euro plus valia!!!

My selling fees were as follows

Expenses:

 

Community of Owners Certificate: 28,99€

Power of Attorney Substitution: 97,44€

Energy Efficiency Certificate: 90€

Star la Cala S.L. (Agency Fees): 3.539,25€

Your dream Home (Agency Fees) 3.539,25€

Our legal fees: 1.815€

Mortgage Land Registry Cancellation: 800€

Plusvalue Tax: 3.794,38€

3% Non- Residents Tax retention: 3.510€

 

Total amount of the costs: 17.214,31€

 

3794.38 Euro plus valia!!!

My selling fees were as follows

Expenses:

 

Community of Owners Certificate: 28,99€

Power of Attorney Substitution: 97,44€

Energy Efficiency Certificate: 90€

Star la Cala S.L. (Agency Fees): 3.539,25€

Your dream Home (Agency Fees) 3.539,25€

Our legal fees: 1.815€

Mortgage Land Registry Cancellation: 800€

Plusvalue Tax: 3.794,38€

3% Non- Residents Tax retention: 3.510€

 

Total amount of the costs: 17.214,31€

 

Looking back to reclaim is different to moving forward from this ruling Johnzx.....

But whatever the circumstance, reclaiming, whether post 2013 or from this moment in time, with inevitable appeals, is time consuming, costly, and will exacerbate an already overloaded court system.

Hence the query why this lengthy procedure will CONTINUE even for new sales (which were sold at a loss) as an inevitable consequence for an indefinite period of time?

Chiefmissile.

May I ask how long you had owned tbe property, as it seems, from whamt I remeber paying on properties I have owned,  that 3,794 € would seem to a quite a lot.

This might be intersting to some: 

https://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/tax-and-pensions/plusvalia-property-tax-in-spain/

Purchased off plan in 2003, sold Sep 2016

Question: Should a reclaim of plus valia have been included in the legal fees for sale if this legal ruling implying new rights for refund ( in the case of loss) occurred prior to the sale? Would this be considered part of the sellers’ lawyers due diligence?

Why doesn’t Spain just increase it’s tax rates and cut out all this scamming, ducking and diving. Wouldn’t it be a better country if it had morals and regulation instead of a joke justice system that encourages every cowboy and spiv to operate here. Or would that be turkeys voting for Christmas?.

Great idea, but not everyone pays their taxes, so the Spanish Havienda is just playing everyone at their own game......the dishonest ones.....that’s what PlusValia pays for😩

Why don’t conveyace lawyers represent their clients interests and make sure all these charges and costs are challenged at source?

(Chief.         Great idea, but not everyone pays their taxes, so the Spanish Havienda is just playing everyone at their own game......the dishonest ones.....that’s what PlusValia pays for

Plus Valir is not a AEAT (Hacienda ) tax but a town hall tax, just as IBI (council tax) is.

It legally payable by the seller.

As you bought in 2003 (before the crash)  then presumably you sold (at I think 117,000 €) that was more than you paid when you bought it. That would mean the value of the land has also increased and you would almost certainly be liable for some Plus Valir tax. How much be a matter to be discussed wth your lawyer, if she /he is any good.

I believe Plus Valir can also be charged if the land on which the property was built has increased in value for some reason, say local amenities have improved so the area is more desirable.