Question
How difficult it is to file quarterly taxes in Spain on your own, as opposed to paying for a tax accountant?
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
”I had a look at my tax return and I can understand less than 0% of it, which even I know is impossible! A properly qualified gestoría is regulated and regularly checked so if they make a mistake you’re covered. So make sure they’re qualified and they are worth their weight in gold”
”I have never tried it, in theory, it should be possible if you have the digital key. However, I believe the reason that most Spaniards, not just foreigners, use professional help is the risk of mistakes – and the sanctions which can result, if anything goes wrong and a payment is missed or something incorrectly filed. We all have different risk tolerances”
”The quarterly modelo 130 (income tax) is not difficult at all, it is just sums and a money transfer at the end. You will probably spend a bit of time understanding what each box means but it’s doable. The same should go for the IVA autoliquidación (where you balance incoming and outgoing VAT; I don’t know as I’m in Canarias, we have a separate system). It’s likely to be a box where you put in how much you received in IVA from your clients and how much you paid making purchases etc. And you transfer the difference amount if positive. Then there are a couple of other quarterly forms (Modelo 349, 111, 303) but they are also just about the total sums and can be learned (but it will take time). If you have clients and suppliers in Spain, you also need to deal with retenciones which I always found confusing but it’s essentially just basic bookkeeping. However, those forms are not all there is to DIYing your taxes in Spain during the year. You are required by law to have a libro de gastos and a Libro de ingresos ready to show within 10 days at any time if they request it. This is why I ultimately ended up getting a gestor after four years of DIY. The Libros need to follow a defined format. Not impossible but comes with a learning curve. If you plan to do the quarterly yourself and have someone do the year to save money, your books would have to be in tip-top order so it’s worth it for a gestor to do at a reduced price. Not sure you will save a lot of money this way. If you want to do the yearly yourself, too, that is doable but a huge learning effort because you need to understand the rules of what can be deducted how and what can’t be deducted at all, what other info you need to give in the final declaration, etc. etc. This always took me at least 3, if not 4 very stressful days to do (but I am also a slob when it comes to keeping receipts in order and that probably contributed. With perfect books maybe I could have done it in a day or two). I’m glad I did it as I can now navigate the system myself if need be and am much less dependent on gestures as one usually is, but it is not for everyone.”
So in conclusion, according to Spainguru Facebook group members, filing taxes in Spain on your own can be manageable, especially for forms like income tax and VAT autoliquidación or autoliquidation. It may require some time to understand the calculations involved, but it is doable. However, DIY-ing your taxes in Spain throughout the year involves maintaining proper books of expenses and income, which can be a learning curve. If you choose this route, your books must be well-organized. Doing the yearly declaration yourself is possible but requires significant effort to understand deductions and rules. Also, the rules change very often, and you need to be up to date. The decision to do it yourself or hire a tax accountant depends on your risk tolerance, familiarity with regulations, and time availability, with the potential upside of saving the accountant’s cost. On Spainguru.es top menu you can find recommended tax experts.
