Spain Explained

To Option to Donate in Spain

When thinking in having things tied up for the future of your love ones, most people make a will to prepare the inheritance for when they die. They want to ensure that they help the people they love by bequeathing their assets to them. However, the inheritance process in Spain is not the same as in some other countries and not everybody knows that to donate in Spain can be an interesting option with certain advantages at the moment and the same result.

So what about giving it away? To begin with, if you do decide you would like to hand over your property before you die then you will still need to go through the process of signing a new title deed. This donation process is called ‘Donación de bienes’ and is a gift from the donor to the donee. Let’s see some of the advantages to donate in Spain:

Donation tax: Although you must declare donation tax too, under current legislation you can take advantage of important reductions, not having to pay in many cases. It also means that you can support your family during the arrangements whilst you are alive. Also, the distinction between the resident and non-resident donation tax was removed years ago, so this can amount to significant savings on donating in comparison to previously.

Avoid troubles between inheritors: disputes whilst estates are settled following death are not uncommon. There can be complications, especially as inheritance tax in Spain must be paid before the property changes hands. We have seen times when those inheriting assets have struggled to make the necessary payments. Not something you want to happen when you are no longer around to help them out. Taking the decision of donating while you are alive, give you the chance to avoid these complications to your love ones.

More straightforward process: donating means that the process is more straightforward as less documentation is needed. When dealing with an inheritance certain documents from a foreign country have to be obtained, legalised and translated. The only documents required dealing with a donation are power of Attorney, NIE numbers, Suma bill and utilities bills.

Less expensive: as lees documents need to be obtained and no sworn translations are required, the process is cheaper too. Moreover, the plusvalia tax which is calculated taking into account the number of years the donor own he property will be also cheaper in a donation now that in a future inheritance.

Not to worry about your age and your faculties: Making arrangements now means that you need not worry about how your age might impact on your faculties as you get older, at least not when it comes to managing your property. Hopefully this isn’t a problem for you. However, it sometimes happens that the property owner is no longer able to make financial or practical decisions about their property and children struggle to get the power of attorney to ensure that they can instead.

Taking all this points into consideration, they could make it desirable to transfer property sooner rather than later. If you are interested to donate your property in Spain, kindly contact our legal department by email at legaldpt@abacoadvisers.com

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8 comments

Christine Louise Dunn

1 December, 2020 1:32 pm

If a married couple decided to do this but one partner died and the remaining partner wanted to sell the property to move elsewhere what would happen?

Oscar Paoli

1 December, 2020 11:48 pm

Dear Christine,
If one of the owners passed away, you would first need to arrange the inheritance process of the property, and then once finalized you could proceed with the sale of the property.
Should you need assistance please do not hesitate to contact us at legaldpt@abacoadvisers.com or by phone at 0034966703750.
With kind regards,
Ábaco Advisers

Mrs Violet Iris Stubbs

10 February, 2021 3:36 pm

Re apartment 1b Molino Blanco, La Zenia. As you will be aware this apartment at present in owned by John and Violet Stubbs and Allison and Andrew Panayi. We have now decided that we would like full ownership passed to Mrs Allison Panayi, our daughter and wife of Andrew. Can you please advise us the best and most cost effective way of doing this and let us know what documentation you will require in order to do so. Also please advise us the amount of costs which will be involved both your own and other legal costs,

Many thanks for your kind attention to our request.
Kind regards, John and Violet Iris Stubbs

Oscar Paoli

11 February, 2021 10:46 am

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Stubbs,
Our colleagues from our legal department will be in touch with you shortly with information and advice on how to proceed.
With best regards,
Ábaco Advisers

John Cumberbirch

26 February, 2021 6:25 pm

What would it cost me to gift two thirds of my Spanish house to my two children. House worth about 1.75M euros . Located in Mallorca

Oscar Paoli

1 March, 2021 10:55 am

Hi John,

Our legal department will contact you directly to give you more details of the cost and process.

With kind regards,

Ábaco Advisers

Susan Lewis

1 June, 2022 10:42 am

What would it cost for me ti gift my house to my husband’s nephew. Property value 160,000e. Based in the Murcia region. Thanks.

Oscar Paoli

1 June, 2022 3:18 pm

Hi Susan,

If we only enter the value of the property in the Region of Murcia and that it is a donation from uncle to nephew, the calculation is approximately €360, assuming that the property is 100% owned by the donor.

To this we would have to add the cost of the Plusvalia if there is any and the external cost such as legal representative if needed, notary fee, land registry, etc.

For this reason, it would be more convenient to have more data of this specific case, for example the value of the property may be reduced taking in consideration the reference value of the property, which is used to calculate the taxes, and in this sense, the price could vary, and therefore, the cost of the tax could vary as well.

An IBI receipt is also needed for the calculation of the capital gain, as well as the purchase price of the property that is now going to be the object of the donation, in order to know if there is a loss or gain with this transaction.

Should you wish to get a more exakt estimate please do not hesitate to contact us at legaldpt@abacoadvisers.com

With kind regards,

Ábaco Advisers