tax returns

If you are tax resident in Spain, you need to send in a tax return for the first year you are eligible, even if you don't think you will end up paying any tax due to a low income. This is to get you registered on the tax system.

As others have pointed out, your tax status will also have an effect on other aspects of your life in Spain, for example how much if anything you pay for prescriptions at the pharmacy.

Thank you it is helping us to get things in order for when we move out

If you don't already know, you should note that the Spanish tax year is the calendar year, not April to March like in the UK.

Also, the date when you first move over will determine when you are considered tax resident. Broadly, if you arrive in the second half of the calendar year, you won't be considered a tax resident for that year.

 Conversely, if you arrive in the first half of the calendar year, you ARE considered a tax resident for that year. Please note this means the whole of that year. So if you moved over in June 2024, for example, you would be considered as tax resident for the whole of 2024, and you would have to declare all your 2024 income to the Spanish tax man, even your income from January to May when you hadn't moved out yet!

Note this has consequences for capital gains tax too. In the above example, suppose you sold your UK house in February 2024 and made a capital gain on it. You would have to declare that gain in your Spanish tax return for 2024.

Good luck.

Thank you for explaining that there are so many rules and taxes to work through and it's a bit of a head spinner so any information is good because you all have experienced it in one way or another thank you again more ( silly ) questions on the way