Tax relief - Property tax (IBI)
Tax relief can be obligatory or facultative.
Relief which must be given is that recognised in the Texto Refundido de la Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales (Revised Text of the Regulatory Law of Local Revenue Agencies), while facultative relief is attributed to local councils by the law, to be incorporated, following their own criteria, in the byelaws.
Applications for recognition of the right to relief must be presented at an office of BASE-Gestió d’Ingressos.
Obligatory relief
- Social housing covered by an official protection regime under the conditions established by the autonomous legislation of Catalonia have the right to 50% relief on the total tax quota, during the three tax periods following the granting of the definitive qualification.
However, when the definitive qualification is granted after the first tax period applying the new rates, then the first round of tax relief will be in that year.
This relief is conceded on application by the interested party. It can be applied at any time before the end of the three tax periods when relief is applicable, and is effective from the tax period following the one in which the application was presented.
For this relief to be applied, the following documentation must be attached to the application form:- Photocopy of the latest IBI (Property Tax) bill on the property or land where the building is.
- Copy of the document stating that the home is considered social housing in the official protection regime, issued by the competent body of the autonomous community.
- If the person who applies for relief is not the owner of the property according to Land Registry files, the ownership of taxable property rights must be accredited.
- The relief can be up to 90% of the full tax payment if the interested parties make the application before works start, on properties where land development and construction companies and building promoters, carry out their activity, whether for new construction or renovation comparable to a new construction. Also, the built structures may not be regarded assets of the companies involved.
The period for application of this relief is between the tax period following that in which works begin to that following completion, as long as land development or construction is carried out during this time period. In no case can the time exceed three tax periods.
For this relief to be applied, the following requisites must be complied with:- Relief is only given to those who finance their own means of production and human resources, or one of the two, within the chain of production or distribution of goods or services.
- With respect to the immovable property for which the application is being made, the applicant must be the owner of one of the taxable rights.
- The property for which this relief can be applied must not be included in the fixed assets of the companies involved.
- The resolution which awards the relief and determines the duration, which in no case is greater than the three tax periods. If, during the period when relief is applicable, the works for development, construction or building promotion are finalised as a result of sale of the property, the taxpayer to whom relief is given is obliged to notify the circumstances to the entity responsible for tax management. Noncompliance with this obligation is a tax offence, in accordance with the Ley General Tributaria (General Tax Law).
The application form must be accompanied by the following documents:
- Document which accredits the ownership of one of the rights which are taxable.
- Certificate issued by the works’ supervision team, in which figures the start date of the works.
- Document which accredits the company involved is listed in the IAE tax register.
- Copy of the IBI tax bill for the property for which relief is requested.
- Copy of the statutes of the company which shows that the business activity is land development, construction or building promotion, both for new construction or renovation.
- Copy of the company balance sheet, detailing the property included in the fixed assets, or a certificate issued by the administrator stating the non-inclusion of the property under construction in the fixed assets.
- Communication of the cadastral references of the property where the new constructions or total renovation works are carried out. If the works affect several plots, the cadastral reference of each one should be included.
Every year, a certificate issued by the works’ supervision team should be presented, with the stage of execution of the works for land development and construction realised, to renew the relief after the first tax period.
- A relief of 95% of the full quota is also applicable to non-developed land of agrarian and communal land exploitation cooperatives, as established by the 20/1990 law, 19 December, on Régimen Fiscal de las Cooperativas (Tax Regime for Cooperatives).
- Tax benefits can not be accumulated by a single taxpayer. For this reason, it is the taxpayer who should decide, in the application, which relief should be applied. If there is no explicit indication, the most beneficial relief for the taxpayer will be applied.
Facultative tax relief
- For social housing under official protection, the relief of up to 50% the can be extended in the years following the finalisation of the initial relief conceded.
- Taxpayers subject to IBI, who are heads of or co-responsible for large families, can receive relief of up to 90% of the full tax. The criteria and management of this relief are determined by tax byelaws.
- For property where solar collectors or photovoltaic panels are installed, relief of up to 50% of the full tax is applied. The application of this relief is dependent on the heat-producing installations having collectors with the homologation from the corresponding administration.
- Property belonging to public research institutions and universities can receive relief of up to 95%.