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V2964-20 1 October 2020 · SG de Impuestos Patrimoniales, Tasas y Precios Públicos Criterion in force
ISD · donación

Transfers between personal and joint accounts with a spouse do not constitute donations in themselves

A query was raised regarding whether moving money between sole-ownership accounts and joint accounts held with a spouse (under a regime of separation of assets) constitutes a donation. The Directorate-General for Taxes (DGT) ruled that such transfers do not necessarily imply a donation if the legal requirements of liberality are not met.

The question raised

Whether bank transfers made from accounts of which one is the sole owner to accounts in which one is a joint holder with one's spouse, and vice versa, are considered donations.

The DGT's ruling

Transfers of money between one's own accounts and joint accounts do not in themselves constitute a donation if the essential elements are not present: impoverishment of the donor, enrichment of the donee, intention of liberality (animus donandi), acceptance (animus accipiendi), and legal formalities. Joint ownership only grants availability of funds before the bank, but does not determine the ownership of assets nor create a community of property.

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