I'm going to buy in Spain.

There are quite a lot of Facebook pages for those seeking to and already living in Spain. Maybe search on Facebook. I often see all sorts of very helpful adverts, recommendations etc. from those who have already made the move and are eager to help others.
 
Just on inspiration from another thread on AAM regarding home appliances. We’ve found that Spanish made electrical appliances have brought “made in Japan of the 1960s” to Made in Spain of the 2020s in other words “Rubbish.” We went through Spanish made washing machine, dishwasher, fridge-freezer all of which were having continuous faults for goodBosch replacements.
 
Has anyone on AAM moved to Spain with kids?

Also I presume you would have to fully retire in Ireland while still tax resident to avoid being double taxed on the lump sum?
 
Sunnygirl69 said:
Can anyone recommend an estate agent in Cabo Roig/La Zenia area of Alicante?
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just for info @Sunnygirl69 , there is a proposal to change the tax for non residents in Spain when buying a property. The current government wants to charge a 100% tax charge on the price of the property bought. It is not as yet passed and approved by government but they will try to push for it due to the big problem in finding accommodation for locals in all the tourists areas in Spain.

If you are looking to buy a property you need to think about this. Even if you buy the property now (before the change) you will hardly be able to get the money back on your investment when you want to sell it back if you have paid such a huge tax. Also, the current property prices are currently quite high too.

The proposal was made in January 2025. There are stakeholders affected by it already complaining and there has not been any further announcement so this might take a while and the proposal might change but I believe it is something that people wanting to buy property in Spain need to be aware of it. I doubt that estate agents will say anything about this openly to you.

Edit: I just realised that this might not be relevant for you as your post is from years ago...nevertheless the info might be useful for any other person!
 
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@Fibbernaci poised two questions one regarding moving to Spain with kids and taxation of a lump sum. I can’t answer the latter honestly, but I should point out that the tax situation and total residency in Spain is fairly complex. We spend 183 days in Ireland to remain tax compliant here not wanting to go through the process of “Residencia.” Bear in mind what is tax free in Ireland likely is not tax free in Spain. Irish Revenue and Spanish Revenue communicate electronically like lovers.

I know two couples who have switched to living in Spain each with one child. There are international (pay) schools where teaching is through English. The state schools teach through Spanish (Duh!) and the couples use these. Their kids had little or no difficulty picking up Spanish. In fact, they thrived on it. The parents work in a mainly English speaking environment and have difficulty picking up good Spanish.

The proposal of 100% tax on foreigners buying property is not something that I would consider seriously. It is a proposal to quench the anti tourist rent-a-crowd brigade. Spain has lots of legal immigrants from South America none of whom could afford such a tax. Anti tourist sentiment is real in specific locations, but Spaniards are not stupid and know full well from where their coffers are filled.
 
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Leper said:
The proposal of 100% tax on foreigners buying property is not something that I would consider seriously. It is a proposal to quench the anti tourist rent-a-crowd brigade. Spain has lots of legal immigrants from South America none of whom could afford such a tax. Anti tourist sentiment is real in specific locations, but Spaniards are not stupid and know full well from where their coffers are filled.
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The tax will happen as people have enough. Maybe it wont be for 100% as the current party in power has announced but even 25% - 50% will be quite considerable. Even the right wing parties that are in opposition will have a hard job going against what people are screaming for every single week in those areas.
The draft has already been proposed by the Socialist Party in May this year to congress. I noticed is for Non resident, non EU... you should be ok then ;)

I agree with you that the issue is in specific locations, the problem is that those locations are very vast, we are not talking about a couple of cities (The Islands, the major capitals of the autonomies, The South and the East Coast). Then you can go anywhere else in the centre or North Ouest and you will find empty villages. So even if it is in in the tourists zones the problem is huge and it is due to the massification of tourists not the tourists.

The tax is targeted to non residents who buy property. South Americans are residents in Spain and will not have to pay that tax.
Leper said:
but I should point out that the tax situation and total residency in Spain is fairly complex.
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Yes I agree, Spain has a very complexed and bureaucratic tax system. Maybe it should be more accurate to say that the Irish system is much simpler as other EU countries have also a more complex system to deal with.
 
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In the past I toyed with becoming a Spanish national. I even got to almost signing the documents and about taking out mandatory health insurance. Athough I could still support our sporting Irish teams etc I could not bring myself to continue the process. The Spanish love affair with ultra bureaucracy convinced me to remain Irish. Still we spend much of the colder months in Andalucia, but we keep a strict count of our days there.

I haven’t dismissed the thought of eventually becoming a Spanish Citizen though. In Ireland, I’m not yet used to returning empty soft drink cans and plastic bottles for refunds. Perhaps we Irish becoming more Spanish than the Spanish themselves?
 
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