Short answer: if you move halfway through the year, ask an expat tax advisor Spain residents can reach as early as you can, because paperwork from two countries tends to pile up in the middle. Say you’re Maya, a product manager from Toronto who sold her flat in May, shipped two boxes in June and landed in Madrid in July with a laptop and a lease.
By August, a quiet worry set in. Which paperwork belongs to which country, and who decides? This post follows Maya through her first enquiry, using only what the Advisors in Spain site says about its tax pages, the form and how a case starts. No tax advice from me and no rates, since the page gives none.
Two Countries, One Calendar Year
Maya’s calendar is split down the middle. January to June in Toronto, July onwards in Madrid, with a gap week in a friend’s spare room. She’s not asking whether she did anything wrong. She’s asking what she’s supposed to do now, and honestly nobody at her company seems to know.
That’s a normal place to be stuck. The Advisors in Spain home page lists personal and cross border tax for individuals, with tax advisors for income tax and wealth tax, plus non resident filings. It doesn’t set out the Spanish tax residency rules or say how a split year would be treated, and I won’t guess. That’s what the first reply is for.
Two Pages Maya Noticed
The menu names a Beckham law page, described as a way to check if the flat tax rate applies to you, plus a separate page on US expat taxes. Maya is Canadian, so the second one isn’t hers. The first? She has no idea whether it fits.
Good. That’s the right level of ignorance to arrive with. The form even has The Beckham Law special tax regime as its own choice, so Maya ticks it and adds one line: please check whether this is relevant to me. Short and easy to answer.
Writing the First Message on a Sunday
Expat tax advisor Spain is what Maya typed into her phone one hot August evening, scrolling until her eyes glazed. Eventually she closed the tab and opened the enquiry form on the Advisors in Spain site. Individual. Madrid as the region. Within three months for timing. A few honest lines about the move. Three minutes, nothing to sign.
She leaves her passport out of it. The site asks people not to send passports, medical records, criminal records or other sensitive documents with a first enquiry, and says it’ll tell her later what’s needed. There’s also an optional phone number field, which she skips, and a note that the team replies by email.
The Reply, the Quote and Who Does What
A Quick Answer, in Writing
The site says it aims to reply within one business day, and that the team reads each enquiry itself. If two working days pass, Maya can write in and they chase it the same day. A written quote follows once a specialist understands the work, covering the scope and fee before anything starts. No charge for asking.
Maya reads the quote at her desk, pen in hand, circling anything vague. The site says she’ll see the scope, fees and engagement terms before deciding whether to proceed, so there’s no pressure to say yes on the first read.
Whose Name Is on the Work
Maya’s question: is the person who replies the person who does the work? Depending on the service, Advisors in Spain may do it itself where permitted. Other times it coordinates delivery or introduces an independent professional, who works under their own engagement terms. She’d know who’s responsible before professional work begins.
It also says it checks qualifications or registration where they apply, along with the person’s stated area of practice and the regions they cover. And whether the person can work in English or Spanish. Canadian English is fine, she assumes. She’ll ask.
A Messy Thursday With a Moving Company
Thursday, the movers email to say one of her two boxes is stuck in customs. Her landlord wants a document she can’t find. The bank wants to know where her money came from, in Spanish, over the phone. Maya laughs, a little hysterically. The site lists non resident and corporate bank accounts, with KYC handled, and the form has its own option for opening a Spanish bank account.
She adds a line to her enquiry and moves on. I’d read handled loosely and ask what it means in practice, since the page doesn’t spell it out. Same goes for any promise on any website, honestly: if a word carries weight, ask for the longer version.
The Part About Tax Residency
A colleague at the Madrid office says Maya should look into Spanish tax residency rules, then shrugs and goes back to her lunch. Maya looks them up anyway and finds four confident blog posts that disagree with each other. So she writes the phrase into her enquiry instead, and lets someone who can see her actual dates answer.
The home page doesn’t list the Spanish tax residency rules, so Maya won’t find them there. What she finds is a form that routes the question. Spanish tax advice or a tax return is one choice, and wealth, investment or exit tax planning is another, and if she’s unsure she describes the situation and the team routes it.
The Dull Bit: Yearly Filings
After the move comes the yearly rhythm. The accountants page lists tax returns, gestoria and annual filings, while the tax advisors page lists income tax and wealth tax, plus non resident filings. Maya doesn’t know which page owns her year, so she says so in the enquiry and lets the team decide.
One more detail she likes: the site says it doesn’t currently use advertising trackers or optional analytics cookies. Not a reason to hire anyone. Still, when you’re typing your move into a form, it’s nice to see.
Last Thoughts
Moving halfway through the year makes the paperwork lumpy, not impossible. Maya’s plan is simple: send one honest message, name the region, and ask who’s responsible. An expat tax advisor Spain residents can ask about is a good first call, and the Spanish tax residency rules are a question for them, not for a forum. Read the quote slowly.
FAQs
Is there an expat tax advisor Spain newcomers can ask about?
The tax advisors page lists income tax and wealth tax, plus non resident filings. Use the enquiry form and describe your situation.
Does the site list the Spanish tax residency rules?
No. The home page names tax topics but doesn’t set out residency tests. Ask the team how they apply to your dates.
What if I move halfway through the year?
Say so in your first message, with the months and the countries involved. The team reads each enquiry and works out what the case needs.
Can I do it all in English?
Yes. The site says your case can run in English or Spanish, including the explanations and the updates.
What does it cost to ask?
Nothing. The site says there’s no charge to submit an enquiry, and a written quote comes before work starts.
