The deadline for filing income tax returns begins on May 4 and ends on June 30.

April 29, 2009 . The Tax Agency plans to return 12.65 billion euros to 15.2 million taxpayers who have filed Personal Income Tax (IRPF) returns in this Income Tax Campaign, according to the president of the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT), Carlos Ocaña, and its general director, Luis Pedroche, who explained in a press conference. This figure represents an increase of 5.9% compared to last year and a net result in favour of the taxpayer of 5.55 billion euros, since the declarations with a result to be paid will be 3.7 million for a total amount of 7.1 billion euros. The number of declarations with zero quota is estimated at 175,000.

The deadline for filing Income Tax returns begins on Monday, May 4 and ends on Tuesday, June 30. Of the 19 million tax returns planned, 1.6% more than the previous year, 80% will be refunded. The Tax Agency is committed to having processed 85% of the refunds before the beginning of August.

By type of declaration, individual declarations will grow by 2% to reach 14,325,000, while joint declarations will grow by 0.4% to reach 4,750,000, according to forecasts.

NEWS OF THE TAX CAMPAIGN

The main new development is the effective elimination of the Wealth Tax, which in the 2007 Income Tax campaign affected 985,000 taxpayers who are no longer required to declare it this year.

The other significant change is the application of the 400 euro deduction, which many taxpayers have already been able to deduct in advance by reducing their withholdings or making split payments.

Taxpayers who have not been able to apply this deduction in advance have the right to do so for an amount of up to 400 euros, the limit of which will be the taxation actually borne by the reduced net income from work and economic activities up to the aforementioned amount. It is estimated that, in total, around 16 million taxpayers will benefit from this deduction.

Also worth mentioning is the new deduction for renting a habitual residence for taxpayers with a taxable income of less than 24,020 euros. Another new feature is the extension of the four-year period until 31 December 2010 to convert the balance of the housing accounts into a purchase of a primary residence and to be able to maintain the right to deduction. Furthermore, the two-year period for transferring a habitual residence for the purposes of the reinvestment exemption, when a new residence has been previously acquired, has also been extended until 31 December 2010.

INCREASED USE OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES

It is worth highlighting the generalisation of the main Income assistance services: the draft and the online submission.

In this campaign, it is expected that more than 17 million taxpayers will request the draft, which includes practically all those who are required to file, and many who are not, as well as taxpayers who can later opt for a joint declaration. As of April 28, 16.3 million drafts had already been requested.

Call centres can receive 180,000 calls a day, and appointments are the most common method of accessing the rental platforms available. It is estimated that around a third of returns will be filed online.

DRAFT INCOME AND TAX DATA

When the taxpayer requests the draft, the Tax Agency analyses their circumstances and, if they meet the conditions established by law, sends the draft by mail to the taxpayer's home address, unless the taxpayer requested it online with a user certificate, in which case they will access it through the computer. If the draft does not apply to you, the Tax Agency will always send you the tax data to help you prepare your declaration. The draft and tax details can be requested up until 23 June.

The Tax Agency generates the draft with the information available at the time of preparation, which comes from third parties (payers, entities...) and the taxpayer themselves. Once the draft is received, it is necessary to review it because the Tax Agency does not always have complete information on the taxpayer's circumstances. This year, the letters accompanying the draft have provided information on some of the data that may not be included in it so that taxpayers can take this into account when reviewing it. The most common are: union dues, personal and family circumstances and housing-related issues (cadastral reference, purchase, rental and housing account).

As of April 28, 1,650,386 drafts had been confirmed, 600,000 more than at the same time last year, representing an increase of 59.6%. The most commonly used method for confirming the draft in this Income Tax Campaign is the Internet, with 43% of the total.

REFUNDS TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX REPRESENTATIVES

Refunds to personal income tax filers began on April 16 for those who had confirmed their Income Tax return draft. To date, with data as of April 28, the Tax Agency has issued 765,057 refunds for an amount of 525.2 million euros, which represents an increase of 88.8% in amount and 56.8% in number compared to the same dates last year.

ASSISTANCE AND INFORMATION SERVICES

During the Tax Return Campaign, the Tax Agency offers taxpayers assistance and information through the following channels:

Internet ( headquarters.agenciatributaria.gob.es ): without the need for an electronic signature certificate, you can request, modify and confirm the Personal Income Tax draft tax return; make an appointment, cancel or change it, and download the PADRE program. With an electronic signature certificate, you can electronically submit your income tax return and make the payment if the result is due for payment.

Phone :

• Automatic service 901 12 12 24. Request for a draft, confirmation of drafts to be returned, request for an appointment.
• With operator:
  • 901 200 345: Request, rectification and confirmation of draft.
  • 901 22 33 44 : Request appointment.
• Tax Information
  901 33 55 33: Resolution of tax doubts

SMS : send the following message to 5025: Income (space) Draft receipt number (space) NIF . Only for drafts with results to be returned.

Mobile Alerts : Taxpayers can subscribe to a mobile alert service that will inform them about the issuance of the Income Tax draft or the refund in the next year's Income Tax Campaign. To do this, simply include your mobile phone number and tick the box provided for this purpose in your personal income tax return.

OBLIGATION TO FILE

Anyone who obtains income that exceeds the following limits or is different from those indicated below is obliged to file a tax return:

• Gross earnings from work: 22,000 gross euros per year when they come from a single payer or when they come from several payers, provided that the amount received from the second and remaining payers, in order of amount, does not exceed 1,500 euros per year .
• The limit is 11,200 euros per year if it comes from several payers and the sum received from the second and other payers together exceeds 1,500 euros per year; 2) if the payer is not obliged to withhold; 3. in the case of spousal maintenance payments or maintenance annuities - unless they are paid by the parents by a court decision.
• Gross income from movable capital and capital gains subject to withholding or payment on account exceeding 1,600 euros per year in total.

Imputed real estate income derived from more than one unrented urban property other than the habitual residence, income from Treasury Bills and subsidies for the acquisition of officially protected housing or assessed price exceeding 1,000 euros per year in total.