Splitting Time in USA/Spain to avoid Bureaucracy

Posted by Diamond_Specialist@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 20 comments

Has anybody decided to just split time living between US & Europe to avoid the constant visa renewals, filing Euro taxes, etc ? How realistic is it that I spend 5 months in Spain and 7 in the US and use Spain as a vacation home ? I understand you don't need to be a (fiscal) resident to purchase property.

In regards to this I have 2 specific questions:

Housing

How hard is to get rentals / housing for recurring periods every year. I'm open to buying a property to live in while i'm there but what happens when you're not there ?

2) Health Care

Can I use private health care as my main health care in Spain and just use "catastrophic" or travel insurance for coverage in the US ?

If anybody is doing something similar I'd appreciate any insights.

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Illustrious-Cup2174@reddit

Seems expensive and more inconvenient than hiring a lawyer to get you an NLV - but I guess you could do it

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Moist-Ninja-6338@reddit

Maybe the wealth taxes are an issue for the OP

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No_Entrance_1755@reddit

Spain will decide you are a tax resident and tax you. That's the end result of your plan.

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Moist-Ninja-6338@reddit

You need to spend 183 days plus in Spain - the OP will spend less and maintain their vital center of interest in the US

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Diamond_Specialist@reddit (OP)

LOL I wouldn't be surprised but technically I wouldn't meet any of their criteria to be deemed a tax resident.

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HeatOnly1093@reddit

Over 183 days your deemed a resident. So your 5 months a year does qualify

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lazylazylazyperson@reddit

What am I missing? The most any 5 months would be is 155 days.

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No_Entrance_1755@reddit

You would meet enough of it, the half a year is a point that is often used but wouldnt save you here. If you purchase or rent and travel with the intent of avoiding tripping the day count they would consider it malicious to not file.

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T0_R3@reddit

OP would also likely be in breach of visa terms if they do labour on a tourist visa.

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Diamond_Specialist@reddit (OP)

I'm retired I just want to spend part of the year there.

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No_Entrance_1755@reddit

Look at non lucrative visa then, thats the more habitual retirement path if you dont work.

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No_Accident8684@reddit

i am sure you realize you might not have been the only one who came up with this idea and you can be sure that Spain is gonna tax you. Even if you do not have any home and are a true "nomad", they assume its spain, because no-one has no home. and as soon as you have a place of abode, even if only theoretical, they gonna assume you are tax resident.

See the PwC Tax Guide for Spain:

Individuals are resident in Spain for tax purposes if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

Spend more than 183 days in Spain during a calendar year. In determining the period of stay, temporary absences are included in the count, except when the tax residence in another country can be proven. Special anti-avoidance rules are established for tax havens. Temporary visits to Spain to comply with contractual obligations under cultural and humanitarian collaboration agreements with the Spanish authorities which are not remunerated are not included when calculating the 183-day residence period.
Have Spain as their main base or centre of activities or economic interests. It is presumed, unless proven otherwise, that a taxpayer’s habitual place of residence is Spain when, on the basis of the foregoing criteria, the spouse (not legally separated) and underage dependent children permanently reside in Spain. Spanish PIT law contains specific anti-avoidance rules regarding this matter.

if you want to do this you have to have a main base in a tax free country (UAE and the like) and then also have to rent always different houses, because there were already cases where they assumed its your main base when you rented the same hotel room.

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Diamond_Specialist@reddit (OP)

I have a main base already in California and Spain would just be my secondary home. So i'm not sure how Spain would be my main base of economic activities.

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No_Accident8684@reddit

then you obviously have to pay taxes in the US

see tax guide for the US:

The determination of an alien's residence status is subject to a set of relatively objective tests. These rules generally treat the following individuals as residents:

All lawful permanent residents for immigration purposes (i.e. 'green card' holders). Resident alien status generally continues until the green card is formally relinquished. Thus, individuals who hold green cards but leave the United States to live abroad indefinitely or permanently will generally continue to be classified and taxed as resident aliens until the green card is relinquished. Complex rules also apply to individuals who relinquished their green cards if they held the green card in at least eight of the 15 years prior to relinquishment. Professional tax advice should always be sought prior to obtaining or relinquishing a green card.
Individuals who meet the 'substantial presence test'. An individual meets this test if present in the United States for at least 31 days in the current year and a combined total of 183 equivalent days during the current year and prior two years. For the purposes of the 183-equivalent-day requirement, any part of a day the individual is present in the United States during the current calendar year counts as a full day; each day in the preceding year counts as one-third of a day; and each day in the second preceding year counts as one-sixth of a day.

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coneofpine2@reddit

For a non working resident visa would this still apply? Where you have none of the benefits, pay for insurance, and are not allowed to work?

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Top-Half7224@reddit

If you are not a fiscal resident, why would you be entitled to national health care? (Paid for by taxes).
Also, due to the housing crisis in Spain, they are increasingly cracking down on non-residents owning property that sits vacant for months at a time. Understandably.

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Diamond_Specialist@reddit (OP)

Where did it say anything about national health care ? I'm planning to buy private as I stated above.

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