Are you aware that the deadline for the payment of the I.B.I. tax is September 10th?

What is the I.B.I.?

The I.B.I. is the short name for Impuesto de Bienes Inmuebles that means a yearly tax applicable to all Spanish properties. The I.B.I. is a local tax to be paid to the Council by the owners of the properties independent of the residential status. The property is liable for the tax, not the owner. The tax goes to maintain the infrastructures and the services of the Town Hall.

Which entity is responsible for the management of the I.B.I.?

It is called the Patronato de Recaudación Provincial. It has offices in Marbella, San Pedro de Alcantara and Estepona. The addresses and contact numbers are the following:

- Main offices

www.prpmalaga.es Ph.: 902 152 000

- Estepona

Puerto Deportivo Estepona, Edif. Puerto Sol. Ph.: 95 280 13 66 Fax: 95 280 02 12

- San Pedro de Alcantara

Conjunto San Luis, local 12-B. Ph.: 95 278 88 33 Fax: 95 278 03 57

- Marbella

Avda. Del Mar, 5. Bajo. Edif. Marino. Ph.: 95 276 41 34 Fax: 95 277 64 06

When is it due?

It is usually due in early / mid September. The Patronato de Recaudación Provincial issues a letter with the receipt between June and August where owners are informed about the deadline for payment and the amount due. If the payment is done after the due date, a penalty charge will be applied. That penalty may be between 10 and 20% of the amount due.

How to pay it?

There are different ways:

· By taking the receipt the owner received by post to your bank to be charged on your account or to be paid in cash. If you did not receive the receipt, you are not exempted to pay. You should ask for one at the offices of the Patronato or call them to ask for an emailed copy.

· Directly at the offices of the Patronato. I would not recommend this one because the offices may be busy and you may have to wait for a while.

· Bank transfer: If you call the information number of the Patronato, they will tell you the bank account where to send the money and the reference code you have to use for the transfer.

· Direct debit: there are two options:

- The Patronato de Recaudacion will charge the amount directly on your bank account when due (usually some days or weeks earlier). To set up the procedure, you can go to the offices of the Patronato to give the authorization for that direct debit or do it by phone or even by internet on www.prpmalaga.es.

- The owners can also ask for a fractional payment without any interest charged. The set up is similar to the direct debit. There are different options:

Þ In two equal payments: April and October

Þ In three equal payments: April, July and October.

Þ In nine equal payments: from March to October.

How is the tax calculated?

 

The IBI is based on the 'Valor Catastral', or the ratable value of the property, which may bear little resemblance to what you believe the property to be worth, or what you actually paid for the property. However, this figure can be legally adjusted every eight years to allow for extra taxes to be accrued through appreciation in the value of the property. In fact, Marbella updated its catastral values at the end on 2011 so you will notice those changes on the receipts for this year.

The rate applied is 1.08% of the tax base (depends on the catastral value) of the property for Marbella (for most of the properties in Marbella) and 0.5% for Benahavis (an increase from the 0.4% of last year). For more details contact the Patronato.