What is a fiscal address?
As set forth in Article 48.1 of Act 58/2003, dated December 17th of the General Tax Law, hereinafter LGT, it is the site the taxpayer has with regards to its relationship with the Tax Administration Office. This is the place where the Tax Administration Office can always contact the taxpayer, although communications may take place through a different address if the taxpayer should request it.
The location varies depending on the type of person to whom the communication is addressed.
Individuals have, as a general rule, their fiscal address at their usual residence. Should the individual develop economic activities, the Administration may consider the address of the aforementioned economic activity as the tax address. Therefore, when it comes to individuals who carry out economic activities, the Administration may either consider the tax address as the usual residence or as the place where the economic activity is developed.
In case these are legal entities or entities without legal personality, as set forth in Article 35.4 LGT – such as the estate of a deceased person – the general rule stipulates that the tax address where the management and direction of the business takes place, or alternatively the place where most of the fixed assets are located, can be considered as the tax address.
With regards to individuals or entities not resident in Spain, the general rule stipulates that the tax address shall be the place where the taxes are paid, or alternatively, the address of the representative.
What happens if you request to change your fiscal address?
If it is an entrepreneur or professional who changes their address, such change shall be reported to the Administration Office within one month by means of model 036 or 037.
For the rest of taxpayers, the deadline for reporting a change in the tax address to the Administration Office is 3 months as of the date in which the change took place.
The failure to communicate the change of the tax address to the Administration is considered a minor tax violation punishable with a fine of 100 Euros, as set forth in Article 198.5 LGT.
It shall be pointed out that the change of the tax address has no effect until it is reported to the Administration Office.Once it has been communicated, the effect is immediate, although there might be special characteristics with regards to procedures that have been initiated prior to communication.Thus, the open procedures will continue to be processed in the new tax address, except if it is a procedure for tax applications initiated by the Administration Office.
In this case, the communication of change of tax address shall take place in the following month. During this period, the Administration Office may initiate a verification procedure of the tax address, which means that the jurisdiction of the court which initiated the procedure is maintained, while the verification procedure of the tax residence is resolved.
Furthermore, when it comes to inspection procedures, the change of tax address does not alter the jurisdiction of the court that initiated it.