Tax on increase in the value of urban land

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The Tax on the Increase in Value of Urban Land, better known as “municipal capital gains tax”, is a conflictive tax that is levied on the increase in value of urban land -whether or not there is construction- as well as real estate with special characteristics -BICE- as a result of the transfer of ownership of the land and the constitution or transfer of any real right, of enjoyment or restrictive of ownership, on the aforementioned land.  

 Following the questioned ruling of the Constitutional Court of 2021 in this regard, Royal Decree-Law 26/2021, of 8 November, was passed, which reformed the calculation of the tax in such a way that a new method of calculating the tax base was introduced; Following this reform, there is no longer an objective system (which was the cadastral value of the land by coefficient) and taxpayers are allowed the option of paying tax on the real capital gain of the land, considering as such the difference between the sale price and the purchase price, for which purpose the local councils are given certain powers to verify these values. 

What is the municipal capital gain?

Capital gains tax is a tax exclusively levied by municipalities. Together with the ICIO and the Tax on Sumptuary Expenses on the use of private hunting and hunting and fishing grounds, it belongs to the group of so-called “taxes of a facultative or voluntary nature”. In other words, local councils are free to choose whether or not to levy it, a decision which they formalise by means of their regulatory powers applied through their corresponding tax byelaws.  

 In addition to a numerous casuistry of cases of non-taxation extended after the latest legislative developments in 2021, the coefficients applicable according to the generation period (years of ownership) have also been updated by the General Budget Law of 2023. The tax, which is already controversial, also has various cases of both objective and subjective exemptions and different taxpayers (in the case of individuals not resident in Spain, or depending on the lucrative or onerous title of the transfer, the taxpayer will be the acquirer or the transferor).  

The tax becomes chargeable on the date of transfer, on the date of incorporation or transfer. In these two cases the deadline for filing the tax return or self-assessment (depending on what the tax ordinance determines) will be 30 working days; however, in mortis causa transfers the deadline will be 6 months, extendable up to one year (at the request of the interested party) from the time of the death of the deceased (not the time of acceptance of the inheritance).  

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CAPITAL GAINS TAX

Following the questioned Constitutional Court Ruling of 2021 in this regard, Royal Decree-Law 26/2021, of 8 November, was passed, reforming the calculation of the tax in such a way that a new method of calculating the tax base was introduced; following this much discussed reform, there is no longer an objective system (which was the cadastral value of the land by coefficient) and taxpayers are allowed the option of paying tax on the actual capital gain. 

Case a) Objective method.  

 The first method, the objective method, is calculated on the cadastral value of the land, so it is essential to have a specialised company such as E-F to check that the tax is correctly settled.  

Successful case of the objective method:  

Cadastral value before Euro-Funding 

5.628.197,12 € 

Cadastral value after Euro-Funding  

717.799,21 € 

Reduction %

87,25% 

Repayment of undue income (principal only) 

990.564,41 € 

 

Case b) Real capital gains, capital losses, other cases of non-taxation.  

 At Euro-Funding we carry out a comprehensive study of the possibilities of optimising the tax either by detecting cases of capital losses, or by auditing the possibility of taxing the real capital gain.  

 Successful case of capital loss:  

IIVTNU quota before Euro-Funding 

954.220,12 € 

IIVTNU quota after Euro-Funding 

0,00 € 

Reduction %

100,00% 

Repayment of undue income (principal only) 

954.220,12 € 

 

How is capital gains tax calculated?

Following the modification of the tax in 2021, there are two calculation formulas for the levy of the tax: on the one hand, the existing one, which was previously compulsory and unique and which consisted of multiplying the cadastral value of the land by a coefficient depending on the number of years of ownership of the property and by the tax rate in force at the time of accrual; on the other hand, the innovation introduced by the legislative reform consisting of the possibility that is open to the taxpayer to – voluntarily – take as the taxable base the difference between the acquisition value and the transfer value as long as this value is lower than the base shown by the objective system.  

At Euro-Funding we have a multidisciplinary team of technicians competent in cadastral and market valuations, lawyers and tax experts who study the tax from the most appropriate perspective in order to obtain the best savings in your profit and loss account.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CASE OF A SALE AT A LOSS?

Although in theory, capital gains tax is levied on the increase in value of urban land when it becomes apparent as a result of the transfer of ownership or the constitution or transfer of any real right, there are sometimes situations in which not only has this increase not taken place, but there are losses.   

However, under the previous legislation, it was obligatory to pay tax on a non-existent capital gain, which led to the absurdity of subjecting to taxation situations that did not express economic capacity. It is precisely this injustice that the recent regulatory change has tried to correct, by allowing taxpayers to prove such a capital loss and not be subject to tax.  

The burden of proof of the disability, the declaration of the transfer and the provision of the necessary documentation will be borne by the taxpayers. It should be noted that the local councils may carry out the corresponding verifications.  

At Euro-Funding we have a multidisciplinary team of technicians competent in cadastral and market valuations, lawyers and tax experts who study the tax from the most appropriate perspective in order to obtain the best savings in your profit and loss account. 

how can our consultancy help you to
reduce your municipal capital gains tax?

We carry out a review of the tax from a 360° perspective: 

Optimisation of the tax base in the objective method.  

Adequacy of the valuation in the subjective method.  

Application for non-taxation in cases of handicap and application of the different rulings. 

 At Euro-Funding we have a multidisciplinary team of technicians competent in cadastral and market valuations, lawyers and tax experts who study the tax from the most appropriate perspective in order to obtain the best savings in your profit and loss account. 

WHY TRUST IN EURO-FUNDING

 At Euro-Funding, we guarantee 100% successful work, we are only remunerated if we generate savings for our clients. Our professionalism offers us a wide variety of cases in the tax treatment of properties studied, having achieved numerous success stories in reducing the tax burden of the same.

We help our clients to optimise this tax thanks to the management of our team of experts in cadastral valuation, who, together with our team of lawyers and the latest technologies available on the market, detect possible tax savings.

Certificates

At Euro-Funding we have developed our own Integrated Management System consisting of: ISO 9.001 Quality, ISO 14.001 Environmental, ISO 50.001 Energy Management and Information Security Management 27.001.

We subscribe to the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labour, environmental protection and anti-corruption, complying with the ten Principles of the Compact, as set out in its Code of Ethical Conduct.

 

We have been calculating and registering our Carbon Footprint in the Registry of the current Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge since 2014, maintaining a constant reduction of emissions.

 

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