For many this is a sore subject, and they turn to us for advice every day much more often than one might think.
Let’s start by recalling why this is important. To maintain a residence without the right to work “no lucrative”, you need to spend 183 days a year in Spain.
The calculation is as follows: the beginning of the calendar year for counting the days of stay in Spain is carried out from the moment of entry, regardless of the date of obtaining a category D visa at the Consulate of your country or directly a resident card in Spain.
Example: you received a D visa at the Consulate on 03/01/2020, entered Spain on 03/10/2020. Upon arrival, they were fingerprinted, for example, on 03/20/2020, and on 04/20/2020 they already received a ready-made card.
The calendar year for calculating the length of stay will be counted from the date 03/10/2020. Accordingly, 183 days of stay must fall in the period from 03/10/2020 to 03/10/2021.
Another important point related to the number of days spent in Spain more than 183 days a year is tax residency.
Under Spanish law, an individual becomes a tax resident in the year in which 183 days are spent in the country.
We continue our example. Thus, if you entered on 03/10/2020 and after that did not leave the country anymore, then 09/10/2020 will turn 183 days, and, accordingly, in 2020 you become a tax resident. This means that already in the 21st year it is necessary to start filing all mandatory tax returns.
If in the first year of your residency in 2020 you were in Spain “for short visits”, and were not here all 183 days, the rest of the days will end in 2021. Further, accordingly, in 2021 there will be a total of at least 183 days. This means that in 2021 you will become a tax resident.
And in 2022, it will be necessary to start filing all tax returns.
We hope that now the picture has cleared up for many. Well, if you still have doubts and questions, please contact us, we will be happy to analyze the situation using your specific example and, if necessary, solve the difficulties that have arisen.