Say you retired in October, moved to a flat in Alicante in November, and by January the post has turned into a small mountain. Banks, a letter from somewhere official, a calendar full of things you don’t understand. If you’ve typed expat tax advisor Spain into a search bar, the short answer is yes, there are people for this, and asking early beats guessing.
Meet Brenda and Colm from Galway. I made them up, but plenty of real couples would recognise them. This post follows their first few weeks of sorting it out, using only what the Advisors in Spain site says about its tax pages, its enquiry form and how a case starts. No tax advice and no rates. The page doesn’t give any.
The Shoebox Under the Stairs
Colm keeps every bank statement in a shoebox. Every single one. Brenda keeps the pension letters in a folder she can’t quite find. Neither has done anything wrong, and neither knows what, if anything, needs filing in Spain, which is exactly how most first winters go.
The Advisors in Spain home page puts personal and cross border tax under individuals, next to property and banking. So a first message from newcomers has an obvious home. It sits under Tax and Financial, where the menu lists tax advisors and accountants, along with separate pages for the Beckham law and US expat taxes.
What the Tax Advisors Page Lists
Income tax and wealth tax, plus non resident filings. That’s it. That’s the whole entry on the menu, so I can’t tell Brenda and Colm which of those touches them, and neither can the page. What it does give them is words. Words they can use in a first message and know they match how the site talks.
The contact form has choices like Spanish tax advice or a tax return, and wealth, investment or exit tax planning. Brenda circles the first one. Colm, who has read one scary forum post, circles both.
Writing to the Team on a Sunday
Expat tax advisor Spain is the search that finally gets Brenda off the sofa, after a week of putting the shoebox off. This time she skips the results and opens the enquiry form on the Advisors in Spain site. It asks whether she’s enquiring as an individual or a business. Individual. Then what she needs help with, then the region.
Region: Valencian Community, since Alicante sits there. Timing: within three months, which is honest. Then a short description. Retired, moved in November, bank and pension income, no idea what to file. Three minutes in total. Nothing to sign, and no charge for sending it.
After the Send Button
A Reply and a Written Quote
The site says it aims to reply within one business day, and that the team reads every enquiry itself. If two working days pass with nothing, Brenda can write in and they chase it the same day. Even a matter it can’t take on gets a direct reply by email. That last bit made Colm raise an eyebrow, in a good way.
The quote follows once the specialist understands the work. Scope and fee, in writing, before anything starts. Reading it doesn’t commit them to a thing. The decision comes after, and the site says they’ll get the engagement terms first as well.
Who Actually Does the Work
Colm’s question, naturally. Depending on the service, Advisors in Spain may do the work itself where that’s permitted. Other times it coordinates delivery, or it introduces an independent professional who works under their own engagement terms. Before professional work starts, the couple would know who is responsible, the scope, the fees and the terms.
The site also says it checks qualifications or registration where they apply. It looks at the person’s stated area of practice and whether they can handle the matter in English or Spanish. For a couple from Galway, that last one is pretty much the whole reason they’re asking.
A Messy Wednesday at the Bank
Wednesday, Colm goes to the bank with the shoebox, because that seemed sensible at nine in the morning. The clerk wants to know where certain money came from. He doesn’t have the paper, and Brenda isn’t answering her phone. Classic. He leaves with a headache and a bag of documents he never opened.
The site lists bank accounts in Spain, non resident and corporate, with KYC handled, and the form has a separate option for opening a Spanish bank account. I’d ask what handled means before leaning on it. Colm adds one line to the enquiry: needs a non resident account, if that’s something the team does.
A Friend With a US Passport
Brenda’s friend Dana holds a US passport and asks the question nobody had asked: what about the US? The site has a whole page called US expat taxes, listing FBAR, FATCA and treaty based filings. I won’t pretend to know what they mean for her. The form has an option for US expat taxes while living in Spain, and that’s where Dana starts.
Dana’s message is short. She says she’s an individual, picks the US expat option, names the region, and writes two lines about her income. No passport attached, because the site asks people to keep passports and other sensitive documents out of the first message. It’ll say later what’s needed.
The Question for Later
Capital gains tax Spain property is the phrase Colm types, months later, when he starts wondering what happens if they ever sell the flat. The results disagree with each other, loudly. By lunch he has three answers for capital gains tax Spain property sellers and trusts none of them.
Honestly, I can’t answer that, and the Advisors in Spain home page doesn’t try to. It lists a tax advisors page, plus selling a property in Spain as its own form choice. So the sensible plan is a question for the team, put in writing, long before any sale.
Last Thoughts
An expat tax advisor Spain can point you to won’t empty the shoebox, but a written scope and a named person turn a pile into a plan. Send one honest message, name the region and keep the passports at home for now. If a sale is ever on the horizon, ask about capital gains tax Spain property owners should know about, early and in writing.
FAQs
Is there an expat tax advisor Spain residents can ask about?
The tax advisors page lists income tax and wealth tax, plus non resident filings. Use the enquiry form and describe your situation.
Can it all run in English?
Yes. The site says your case can run in English or Spanish, including the explanations and the updates.
Does the site explain capital gains tax Spain property sellers face?
No. The home page doesn’t set out rules. It lists a tax advisors page and a form option for selling a property in Spain, so ask the team.
What does it cost to ask?
Nothing. The site says there’s no charge to submit an enquiry, and a written quote comes before any work starts.
What should I leave out of the first message?
Passports, medical records, criminal records and other sensitive documents. The site says it will tell you later what’s needed.
