Skip to main content
Form 100. Personal Income Tax Return 2018

5.4.1. Habitual residence in the territory of an Autonomous Community

Habitual residence in the territory of an Autonomous Community (or Autonomous City of Ceuta or Melilla) will be determined based on the following situations:

  1. TAXPAYERS WITH HABITUAL RESIDENCE IN SPANISH TERRITORY

    Residents in Spain who remain in Spanish territory for more than one hundred and eighty-three days during the calendar year will determine the Autonomous Community (or the Autonomous City of Ceuta or Melilla) where they reside according to the following criteria:

    1. Staying for a longer number of days

      As a general rule, taxpayers are considered to have their residence in the Autonomous Community in whose territory they remain for the greatest number of days of the tax period.

      Temporary absences will not be discounted when determining the period of stay.

      Unless proven otherwise, a natural person shall be deemed to reside in the territory of an Autonomous Community when his or her habitual residence is located in said territory.

    2. Main center of interest

      When it is not possible to determine permanence, they will be considered residents in the territory of the Autonomous Community where they have their main center of interests.

      The territory where the majority of the taxable base of the Personal Income Tax is obtained, determined by the following income components, will be considered as such:

      1. Employment income, which will be deemed to be obtained where the respective workplace is located, if it exists.

      2. Income from real estate capital and capital gains derived from real estate, which will be deemed to have been obtained in the place where the property is located.

      3. Income derived from economic activities, whether business or professional, which will be deemed to be obtained where the management centre of each of them is located.

    3. Last declared residence

      When residence cannot be determined according to the above criteria, they will be considered residents at the place of their last declared residence for the purposes of Personal Income Tax.

  2. RESIDENTS WHO DO NOT REMAIN IN SPANISH TERRITORY FOR MORE THAN 183 DAYS

    Persons who do not remain in Spanish territory for more than one hundred and eighty-three days during the calendar year, but who are residents in Spain because they have the main core or base of their activities or economic interests in said territory, directly or indirectly, will be considered residents in the territory of the Autonomous Community in which the main core or base of their activities or economic interests is located.

  3. RESIDENTS IN SPAIN BY RESIDENCE OF THE SPOUSE AND MINOR CHILDREN

    It is presumed, unless proven otherwise, that the taxpayer has his or her habitual residence in Spanish territory when the spouse who is not legally separated and the minor children who depend on the former habitually reside in Spain.

    Natural persons resident in Spanish territory by application of this presumption will be considered residents in the territory of the Autonomous Community in which the legally non-separated spouse and minor children who depend on them habitually reside.

AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY IN PERSONAL INCOME TAX IN CASE OF JOINT TAXATION

When, exceptionally, taxpayers in a family unit have their habitual residence in different Autonomous Communities and opt for joint taxation, the Autonomous Community will be determined according to where the member of said unit with the highest taxable base has his habitual residence in accordance with the rules for individualization of the tax.

TAXPAYERS WITH RESIDENCY ABROAD

Spanish taxpayers who have their habitual residence abroad and are in any of the following situations are not considered residents of any Autonomous Community, so that their entire tax debt corresponds to the State:

  1. Spaniards, and members of their family unit, who are taxpayers for the IRPF, but who have their habitual residence abroad due to their status as members of Spanish diplomatic missions or consular offices, public officials or holders of official office or employment, as referred to in article 10 of the Income Tax Law.

  2. Spaniards who do not lose their status as taxpayers (during the tax period of the change and the following four) by establishing their residence in a country or territory regulated as a tax haven (art. 8.2 of the Tax Law).

CHANGES OF RESIDENCE

Individuals residing in the territory of an Autonomous Community who, in accordance with the previous rules, have their habitual residence in another, will fulfil their tax obligations in accordance with the new residence.

Changes of residence that do not produce effect

However, changes of residence whose main objective is to achieve a lower effective tax rate on this tax will not take effect.

It shall be presumed, unless the new residence is prolonged continuously for at least three years, that there has been no change, when the following circumstances occur:

  1. That in the year in which the change of residence occurs or in the following year, the taxable base of the Personal Income Tax is at least 50% higher than that of the year prior to the change.

    In the case of joint taxation, the tax base will be determined in accordance with the individualization rules.

  2. That in the year in which the situation referred to in the previous letter occurs, your effective taxation for Personal Income Tax is lower than what would have corresponded in accordance with the regulations applicable in the Autonomous Community in which you resided prior to the change.

  3. That in the year following the one in which the situation referred to in letter a) above occurs, or in the following year, he/she once again has his/her habitual residence in the territory of the Autonomous Community in which he/she resided prior to the change.

When it is considered that there has been no change of residence, the taxpayer must submit the corresponding supplementary declarations, including late payment interest.

The deadline for filing supplementary declarations will end on the same day as the deadline for filing Personal Income Tax declarations for the year in which the circumstances that determine that there should be no change of residence occur.

COMPLETION

The taxpayer must indicate, in the window that appears for this purpose, the Autonomous Community of residence that corresponds to each of the members of the family unit and the one applicable in the joint declaration, in accordance with the preceding rules, selecting it from the list that appears in each of the boxes provided for this purpose.