Frequently Asked Questions

The driver’s license needs to be exchanged when it is to be renewed. When you are permanently residing in Spain, you cannot renew your Swedish driver’s license in Sweden.

SINK stands for special income tax for people residing abroad. The tax, which amounts to 25% of the income, applies to virtually everyone who lives abroad and is fiscally deregistered from Sweden but has an income from Sweden. Normally, it is a pension that may be considered. Alternatively, you can choose to be taxed according to the Swedish Income Tax Act.

The Spanish stamp duty is calculated on the highest amount of the actual purchase price and the market value calculated by the authority. This value is calculated on the assessed value multiplied by the municipality’s coefficient. If you have paid stamp duty on the actual purchase price, you will have to pay a bit more if the authorities’ assessment is that the reported value is too low. Therefore, always check what the calculated market value is.

Renewing your passport when you live abroad as a Swede can be expensive. Therefore, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs recommends all Swedes living abroad to apply for a passport/ID card when visiting Sweden.

If you do not have the opportunity to apply for a passport/ID card in Sweden, you can do so at the Swedish Embassy in Madrid. Regardless of whether you ordered in Sweden or Madrid, collection can take place from any Swedish consulate.

If you are only in Sweden for a short time and do not have time to wait for the passport, you can apply for a passport/ID card at the police authority as above, and then request that the passport be sent to your nearest foreign authority for delivery there. You will then have to pay a delivery fee at the embassy.

A Swedish citizen residing in Spain submits their pension application in Spain. The application is then sent to the countries concerned and, after processing, they are sent back to Spain for a decision.

Pensions that have been earned in Spain can only be withdrawn from the retirement age reached. Spain does not allow you to work when you have applied for and received a Spanish pension.

Anyone who is not a tax resident in Spain but only owns a holiday home in Spain must declare this in the following way: If the home is used only for private use, you pay a standard income for the holding. If the home is rented out, the rental income must be declared in Spain. Deductions against this income may be made for the costs you incurred in connection with the rental. Remember that the rental income must also be included in Sweden.

If the home is used both privately and for rental, the income for the rental is declared with deductions for costs corresponding to the rental period and the remaining part of the year is declared for private use.

Pensions from public employment in Sweden are taxed only in Sweden with SINK tax. Pensions from private employment in Sweden are taxed in Spain, provided that you are a tax resident in Spain. The possible double-paid tax is regulated between the countries.

Sweden has signed tax treaties with most other countries to avoid a share disposal being taxed in two countries. According to the tax treaty between Sweden and Spain, the right of taxation passes from Sweden to Spain on the date of emigration. Most other tax treaties give Sweden a right of taxation for up to five or ten years after the date of emigration.

If you are a resident in Sweden, Sweden has every right to capital gains tax on securities transactions.

The capital gains tax in Spain (securities, etc.) is 19-23%. However, there are special rules for housing, under certain conditions you can be exempt from capital gains tax.

For non-residents, a preliminary tax of 3% of the purchase price is withheld upon disposal. The amount is available when the capital gains declaration is made, the tax is 19%.

In addition, there is a fee to pay for those who sell their home. Each seller must pay a so-called Plusvalía to the municipality where the property is located. The amount of the fee depends on the assessed value of the land and the length of the holding period. Must be declared within one month of the disposal.

In 2008, Spain removed the wealth tax. It was reintroduced on 31 December 2011 and still applies (2020). There is an allowance of €1,000,000 in Andalucía, of which €300,000 for the permanent residence and €700,000 for other assets. The tax scale is then 0.2 to 2.5% of the wealth. Each region has its tax rates.

A Swedish will is valid in Spain. But it goes significantly faster if a Spanish will is available. With the new EU regulation, which entered into force on 17 August 2015, the inheritance law applies in the country where you live and are registered, unless otherwise stated in the will. Previously, the citizen’s country of inheritance rules applied, but that has now changed. It is therefore important that you write in the will which country’s law should apply if other than what is stated in the law. Note that it only applies to inheritance order, not taxation. Taxation of the assets that are inherited and located in Spain is also taxed in Spain.

NIE number is a Spanish personal identification number. Anyone who buys, sells or inherits a home or starts a business in Spain must have a Spanish personal identification number. The NIE number has nothing to do with tax liability.

All EU citizens have a legal right to work as an employee or start a business in Spain. The business forms are similar to the Swedish ones, sole proprietorship, trading company and limited company. When you run a business, you must belong to the Spanish social insurance fund.

The municipality receives state aid according to the number of inhabitants. This is important for the municipality’s planning of infrastructure, healthcare, schools and other public services.

If you have moved to Spain and receive income from Sweden, for example a pension, you can choose according to which rules this should be taxed. If you choose SINK tax, all income from Sweden will be taxed at 25% tax. If you instead choose to tax according to the Income Tax Act, your tax depends on, among other things, the size of the income and the home municipality. You get deductions for, for example, interest expenses and the right to RUT/ROT.

You can drive your Swedish-registered car for a shorter period. After that, the car must be re-registered and re-insured according to Spanish rules.

Of course. We can help you wherever you are in Spain. We handle it all digitally.

Yes. We can handle both Swedish and Spanish accounting, declarations and control information.

Yes. We work daily with both Spanish and Swedish legal and economic issues.