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V1010-20 22 April 2020 · SG de Fiscalidad Internacional Criterion in force
IRNR · costas procesales

Proceeds from legal actions of UK residents taxed solely in UK

A UK tax resident asks whether they must pay Spanish tax on legal costs from a favourable judgment. The DGT rules that, as not being capital gains under the Convention, these costs are taxable only in the UK.

The question raised

Question raised: Whether, by virtue of the Convention for the avoidance of double taxation between Spain and the United Kingdom, income from legal costs obtained in Spain must be taxed.

The DGT's ruling

Legal costs constitute the incorporation into assets of a credit or money, qualifying as a capital gain according to domestic law. However, as they do not constitute a disposal, they do not fall under Article 13 of the Convention with the United Kingdom. Therefore, they are considered 'other income' under Article 20 of the Convention, which allows them to be taxed exclusively in the State of residence of the beneficiary.

Apply this to a real case

What is published here, applied to a company or a specific case. The first meeting is free.

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