What is the deadline for paying property transfer tax (ITP) in Catalonia and who files the return?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

In Catalonia you have one month from the date of the deed to file the return and pay the tax, using the Form 600 self-assessment. It is filed by the buyer, who is the person liable to pay it, either personally or through a representative, such as an agency (“gestoría”). If you buy with a mortgage, the bank's agency usually deals with it, but you are still the one paying the tax. If you file late of your own accord, you pay a surcharge. If the “Agència Tributària de Catalunya”, the Catalan tax authority, detects it first, you pay interest and there may also be a penalty. One month from the deed The Catalan time limit is one month. Some guides mention thirty working days, but that is the national time limit, which only applies where the autonomous community has not set a different one. The month is counted from date to date. If you sign the deed on 15 March, the last day is 15 April. If that day is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the time limit ends on the next working day. Within that month you must file the self-assessment and pay. The notary sends the details of the deed to the tax authority. If this has already been done, there is no need to attach a copy to the self-assessment. Who files it The person liable is the buyer. The buyer can file it personally or instruct a representative, such as an agency or a lawyer. If you buy with a mortgage, it is normally handled by the agency that works with the bank. You pay the tax, with money you advance to the agency. What the agency charges for the mortgage is paid by the bank. Ask at the notary's office whether they can file and pay it on your behalf. Even if someone else handles it, you remain responsible to the tax authorities. Ask for proof of filing and payment. Without it, the “Registro de la Propiedad”, the Land Registry, will not register the purchase in your name. If the time limit is missed If you file late of your own accord, without the tax authority having demanded it, there is no penalty, but there is a surcharge: 1 % plus a further 1 % for each full month of delay. After twelve months, 15 % plus the interest accruing from then on. The surcharge is reduced by 25 % if the tax is paid when the return is filed and the surcharge is paid within the time allowed for doing so. If it is the tax authority that detects the delay and demands payment, there is no surcharge, but interest is payable and there may be a penalty starting at half of the amount left unpaid. There is another one-month time limit worth knowing about. If you applied a reduced rate and later stop meeting a requirement, for example because you do not move into the flat, you have one month from then to file a supplementary self-assessment and pay the difference with interest. In the rest of Spain the time limit is set by each autonomous community and does not always match the Catalan one. The return is filed in the community where the home is located.