People who ask for a tax residence certificate for the first time often discover, once they have it in hand and it has been rejected, that there were two and they needed the other one. The difference between them is a single line of text; they are requested in the same place by ticking a different box, and they take the same time. This guide is about who requires which, and how to avoid asking for the one that is no use.
How they differ
The ordinary certificate states that you are recorded as tax resident in that country. The treaty certificate states, in addition, that you are resident within the meaning of the double taxation treaty signed with a specific other State, which it names. That express reference is what allows you to rely on the treaty before the other country.
The reason for the distinction is not bureaucratic. A treaty shares out the power to tax between two States, and its benefits reach only those who are resident "for the purposes of the treaty", a concept that belongs to the treaty itself and is not necessarily identical to the one in domestic law. When an administration issues the treaty certificate it is asserting something stronger than when it issues the ordinary one, and that is why they are two documents.
Who asks for which
| Who asks for it | What for | Which one works |
|---|---|---|
| A Spanish or foreign bank | Tax identification of the account holder, automatic exchange of information | The ordinary one |
| A public authority, for a grant or a public tender | To prove your tax residence | The ordinary one |
| A foreign payer of salaries, dividends, interest or royalties | To apply the treaty's withholding cap instead of the domestic rate | The treaty one, almost always |
| A foreign tax administration, on a refund of withholdings | To show that the treaty covers you | The treaty one |
| The Spanish Agencia Tributaria, reviewing a Modelo 210 | To prove where you were resident in the year | It depends on what you are applying: see below |
| An employer, when you relocate | To adjust withholdings | The treaty one, sometimes together with other documents |
The practical rule we apply: if another country is involved, ask for the treaty certificate. In most cases it also serves the purposes of the ordinary one, it is processed the same way and it costs the same. Asking for the ordinary one only makes sense when you know for certain that nobody will rely on a treaty.
The mistake, and why it is expensive
The wrong certificate is not sent back with a friendly note explaining the problem. What happens is that the foreign payer rejects it, or simply files it and meanwhile keeps withholding at the domestic rate, which is always the higher one. By then the time it had to apply the reduced rate has been used up, and the money over-withheld stops being a paperwork problem and becomes a refund procedure in another country, in another language and with other time limits.
The typical sequence is this: you ask for the ordinary certificate because it is the first to come up in the search, it takes a few days, you send it to the payer, the payer does not answer, you ask, they reply that they need the one that mentions the treaty, you apply again, and it arrives when the payment has already been made with maximum withholding. None of this is a mistake by the Administration or by the payer: it is a box ticked wrongly at the start.
How to obtain the Spanish certificate
The Agencia Tributaria issues tax certificates of tax residence in Spain and, where appropriate, the version for the purposes of the treaty with whichever country you name. The procedure lives in the tax office's electronic portal, under certificates, and you have to identify yourself with a digital certificate, an electronic national ID card or Cl@ve, the government's login system. If a third party applies for you, a power of representation entered in the tax office's register is needed.
What the Administration checks before issuing it is its own census, the tax register: the tax address it holds, the returns filed and the registrations and deregistrations recorded. It does not investigate your life; it looks at what it has. That is why the most frequent reason for refusal is not the substance but an out-of-date entry in the register, and why the right order is to fix the register first and ask for the certificate afterwards. How to correct it is in when the tax register does not keep up.
How to obtain the foreign one
If you are resident in another country and what you need is to prove it to Spain (the typical case is the owner of a property who files Modelo 210), the certificate is issued by the tax administration of your country of residence, not the Spanish one. Each has its own procedure, its own form, its own timescales and, in some cases, its own fee.
We do not have a network of advisers abroad and we do not promise one. What we do is tell you exactly which document you need and what it must say, and work together with the adviser you appoint in your country, if you have one. That division of labour works well and avoids the classic problem of receiving a certificate that is correct in its own country but useless for the Spanish purpose.
Validity: one year, with exceptions
Tax residence certificates are valid for one year from the date they are issued. There are exceptions in which validity is indefinite (among others, where the holder is a foreign State, one of its political or administrative subdivisions or its local authorities), but for an individual or an ordinary company the rule is one year.
Two dates sit on the same piece of paper and are confused every day: the date of issue, which is the one that governs validity, and the year to which the residence certified refers. A certificate signed in March certifies whatever it certifies and is valid until March of the following year. If the procedure in which you are going to use it falls in the autumn, asking for it in January "to be on the safe side" is exactly the opposite of being on the safe side.
Translations, apostilles and other formalities
This is the part where people improvise the most and where it is least advisable. Some foreign payers are happy with the electronic document as it comes out, with its secure verification code. Others require a sworn translation. Others have their own national form, and what they want is for the Spanish administration to stamp that form, not to issue its own.
There is no universal rule, which is why we do not give one: what you have to do is ask the payer, in writing and before requesting anything, exactly which document they need and in what format. That question saves weeks and costs nothing.
Keep one every year
A habit we recommend to every client with income in two countries: request the certificate every year, on the same date, even if nobody asks for it that year. It costs little and solves the problem that turns up later, when the residence for a particular past year has to be proved and it turns out that the document for that year was never requested.
The time limits for correcting returns and recovering what was over-withheld are long but not endless, and the evidence required is for the year in question, not for today. Rebuilding that after the event is always harder than filing away a PDF once a year.
If it is refused
A refusal almost never says "you are not resident": it says the data on record do not allow it to be issued. The route is to review the tax address, the returns filed and the registrations and deregistrations, correct whatever is wrong and apply again. If what lies behind it is a real discrepancy (two countries treating you as resident at the same time), then it is not a register problem and it is dealt with in when two countries treat you as resident.
If you want us to request it, the certificate form asks the three things that decide which one you need: what you want it for, who is asking for it and which country is involved. There is more detail on the document itself in the tax residence certificate, and on its effect on a non-resident's tax in the certificate and the rate on your Modelo 210.
The certificate proves a residence; it does not choose it. If the facts place your tax residence in a country, the certificate that will be issued is that country's, with all its consequences. Nor can we guarantee that a foreign administration will accept a particular document: what we do is obtain the right one and warn you of the risks that remain open.
What people ask about your residence certificate
Which one should I ask for if I do not yet know what I will use it for?
The treaty certificate, naming the country. It serves most of the purposes of the ordinary one and also lets you rely on the treaty, and the procedure is the same. Ask for the ordinary one only when you know for certain that no treaty comes into play.
How long is the certificate valid?
One year from the date it is issued, with narrowly defined exceptions of indefinite validity that do not reach an ordinary individual. The year is counted from signature, not from the year to which the residence refers.
My foreign payer wants its own form stamped.
That happens with several countries. It is a different situation from requesting the Spanish certificate, and you should ask the payer in writing exactly which document they need before starting any procedure.
Can you obtain the certificate from my country?
It is issued by that country's tax administration, not the Spanish one. We neither have nor promise a network of advisers abroad: we tell you exactly which document you need and work with the adviser you appoint there.