Strategic Wealth Planning · Foreign owners of Spanish assets
Strategic asset planning for non-residents with significant holdings in Spain: corporate structures, tax residency, succession, cross-border coordination between Spain and your home country. We run the process alongside specialist partner tax advisers and lawyers.
This is not a service for everyone. It makes sense for substantial holdings or complex situations — and when it does not pay off, we say so.
Recurring patterns. Usually not down to carelessness, but to the absence of anyone competent on both sides of the border.
Buying significant property in your own name, without assessing whether a Spanish SL, a holding company in your own country or a hybrid structure would reduce the burden of wealth tax, capital gains and succession. Most of our first audits reveal optimisations lost at the outset.
Cataluña, the Balearics, Andalusia, Madrid and the Comunidad Valenciana treat wealth tax very differently: some apply heavy regional relief, others a materially higher burden. The same set-up can cost very different amounts depending on where the assets sit and on the tax year — and it has to be read together with the state solidarity tax on large fortunes (ITSGF) above €3M.
Heirs resident in your home country who inherit Spanish property pay in Spain (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones), then claim a tax credit at home. Without planning ahead, there are cases where the combined burden exceeds 30% of the value transferred.
The difference between a well-prepared return and a well-designed strategy, on substantial Spanish holdings, can in the most complex cases be worth tens of thousands of euros a year in tax exposure. How much of that is recoverable in your case, only an audit can say: it exists to establish whether and how much acting is worth it, not to promise a saving.
We do not sell a single package. You assemble the level of intervention that matches the complexity of your case.
Initial Audit
€2,500
one-off
A full diagnosis of your current exposure
Strategic Planning
from €5,000
quoted, according to complexity
Implementing the structures identified in the audit
Annual Advisory
from €3,500
/year
Ongoing advice for holdings that keep changing
Thresholds, reliefs and rates change by autonomous community and by tax year. This table exists to show why planning matters; it does not replace a tax simulation on your own case.
Indicative figures, varying by autonomous community and tax year and subject to legislative change — to be checked and simulated case by case. To be read together with the state solidarity tax on large fortunes (ITSGF) above €3M.
| Community | Indicative threshold | Wealth tax stance |
|---|---|---|
| Madrid | €700,000 | Heavy regional relief |
| Andalusia | €700,000 | Relieved / transitional regime |
| Murcia | €700,000 | Relief introduced recently |
| Comunidad Valenciana | €500,000 | Progressive rates (indicatively 0.25%–3.5%) |
| Cataluña | €500,000 | Materially higher wealth taxation |
| Balearics | €700,000 | Progressive rates (indicatively 0.28%–3.45%) |
| Aragón | €700,000 | Progressive rates (indicatively 0.2%–3.4%) |
| Other communities | €700,000 | State default |
Note: this area is moving. The debate on tax harmonisation between autonomous communities may change these thresholds in the coming years. Our annual Advisory tracks the changes and reads them against your own position.
Regional relief is not the end of the story. For net wealth above roughly €3M you also have to account for the Impuesto Temporal de Solidaridad de las Grandes Fortunas (ITSGF, Modelo 718): a state tax that interacts with the regional wealth tax and can, in practice, reduce or cancel out the benefit of local relief. It is one of the reasons "zero-tax communities" is a misleading simplification, and why a real simulation is needed.
Want a precise map of your exposure?
Audit €2,500: a technical report with an estimate of the real optimisation margin — where one exists. Timings set in the quote.
Anonymised, indicative cases built on patterns that recur across our network. Every outcome is an indicative pre-implementation simulation, not a guaranteed result: the real margin can only be quantified after the audit on the actual case.
Profile
High-income retirees, two properties in Marbella, Spanish holdings of €1.2M.
Starting set-up
Jointly owned property, assets in Andalusia.
Engagement
Audit + Annual Advisory.
Outcome
Andalusia's relieved regime can already make the current exposure efficient: in cases like this the audit confirms it and shifts focus to tracking legislative change and to UK–Spain succession. Indicative simulation, not a guaranteed result.
Profile
Founder of an SME abroad, second home in Mallorca + an investment flat in Madrid, Spanish holdings of €3.2M.
Starting set-up
Everything held in his own name.
Engagement
Audit + Strategic Planning (a Spanish management SL + holding company, assessed for genuine economic substance) + Annual Advisory.
Outcome
The analysis aims to cut the recurring annual burden (wealth tax + future capital gains) through structuring and reallocation. The real margin is quantified in a pre-implementation simulation and depends on the set-up: it is not guaranteed up front.
Profile
A family office running cross-border assets for an HNWI family, with Spanish exposure spread across Cataluña, Andalusia and the Balearics.
Starting set-up
An existing Spanish holding company, inherited structure, never optimised.
Engagement
Audit + Strategic Planning + dedicated Annual Advisory + permanent coordination with the family office.
Outcome
The goal: realign asset allocation between autonomous communities and build a coherent cross-border succession plan. The size of the benefit depends on the starting set-up and is estimated in an indicative simulation; it is not a guarantee.
Your case fits none of these? Most of our audits cover hybrid, non-standard situations.
Request a free discovery callThe three packages are independent but follow on from one another. Most clients start with the audit.
The audit does not promise a saving: it establishes whether acting is worth it and estimates the real margin. If your situation is already efficient, the report says so.
A full diagnosis of your current exposure
one-off
Suited to
For those who do not yet know whether structuring pays off
Time
Timings set in the quote
Implementing the structures identified in the audit
quoted, according to complexity
Suited to
For those who already have the picture and want to execute
Time
Timings set in the quote
Ongoing advice for holdings that keep changing
/year
Suited to
Available after an audit or a planning engagement
Time
Ongoing
Modelo 210, IRNR, the annual return: day-to-day compliance is covered by the tax package Investor, from €1,500/year. This page is about strategic asset planning (Strategic Wealth Planning). They are complementary, not alternatives: the first keeps the filings in order, the second designs the structure.
What your holdings consist of, the current set-up, your goals. We tell you honestly whether we can help, or whether your case falls outside our scope.
⏱ 60 min · free
Documentation, technical analysis, benchmarking, identifying optimisations. Report + 60-minute briefing.
⏱ Timings set in the quote
Structuring, notary contacts, asset reallocation, coordination with your own accountant. A detailed quote before anything is executed.
⏱ Timings set in the quote
4 calls a year + email/WhatsApp support on topics within scope + regulatory monitoring + support on one-off decisions.
⏱ Ongoing
The main technical instruments of asset planning in Spain. Not all of them make sense in every case — the audit identifies which apply to yours.
A Sociedad Limitada can hold property in place of an individual. Possible advantages: asset protection, wider deductibility, simpler succession planning. It becomes worth considering above roughly €1–1.5M of property value, but only with genuine economic substance and real management: it is not an automatic arrangement, and it has to be assessed case by case, including for its IRNR and capital gains implications.
A holding company owning shares in a Spanish SL can allow a tidier cross-border plan. It only makes sense for substantial holdings (indicatively above €3–5M) and with genuine economic substance: we do not propose off-the-shelf structures, or structures built purely to reduce tax. Every hypothesis has to be validated by qualified professionals.
For HNWI who move their tax residency to Spain while keeping activities abroad: typically a reduced rate on Spanish income for a limited period and favourable treatment of foreign income, within precise requirements and limits. The access conditions are strict and have to be checked case by case.
The NLV allows non-EU nationals to reside in Spain without local gainful activity. You become a Spanish tax resident, taxed on worldwide wealth, but with access to autonomous communities that tax HNWI lightly. A complex trade-off, to be modelled case by case.
Lifetime gifts can reduce the future estate. Treatment varies by autonomous community (Madrid gives 99% relief on gifts). Planning horizon of 5–15 years.
Want to know which instruments make sense in your case?
The audit identifies the optimisations that apply and estimates what they are worth.
Five typical situations where a dedicated audit delivers tangible value.
It is worth at least an assessment: to establish whether and where there is room to optimise, and whether acting really pays off. Sometimes a few targeted moves are enough, sometimes the set-up is already efficient — the audit tells you honestly.
Buying in your own name is often sub-optimal above €1M. The structure has to be decided BEFORE completion: acting in advance is generally far more effective than acting afterwards.
Capital gains are planned in the 12–24 months before the sale. Documenting improvement costs, choosing the timing and restructuring beforehand can all reduce the exposure significantly.
Double inheritance taxation between Spain and your home country is one of the most under-planned areas. In some cases the combined burden can exceed 30% of what is transferred.
The Beckham Law or the NLV change the tax picture radically. The decision has to be modelled over 5–10 years, with multi-variable scenario simulation.
Our principle
We do not design structures to pay less at any cost.
We design asset structures that are legitimate, declared and defensible — the only kind that really protects wealth over time.
Realdream runs the process and the relationship with you: data gathering, analysis, scenarios, overall direction. The tax, legal and notarial analysis and deeds are carried out and signed by the relevant qualified professionals (tax advisers, lawyers, notaries) where required. The service agreement sets out clearly what falls where: what Realdream does, what the partner professionals do, and what stays with you and your own accountant. No ambiguity about who answers for what.
We plan, coordinate and model. For filing notarial deeds and for litigation we bring in a partner law firm.
We coordinate with your own accountant, we do not replace them. If you do not have one, we refer you to someone in our network.
No third-party commission, no conflicts of interest. Only the fee you pay us directly.
Every case is different. We only estimate the real margin once we have seen the actual set-up — and sometimes the honest answer is "it is not worth it".
The service usually makes sense from around €1M of Spanish assets, or from complex situations. Below that, our standard annual tax service is often the better fit — and we say so, rather than selling you an audit you do not need.
The service usually makes sense from around €1M of Spanish assets (property, accounts, investments), or from complex situations: several properties, a corporate structure, cross-border succession. Below that threshold our standard annual tax service is often the better fit. The audit exists to establish whether acting is worth it — it does not promise a guaranteed saving.
As a non-resident you are taxed under "obligación real": only on assets located in Spain (property, accounts, Spanish shareholdings), not on your worldwide wealth. Tax residents, by contrast, are taxed under "obligación personal" on wealth wherever it sits. That distinction is the starting point of any plan and changes the numbers radically.
Yes. In fact the move from tax residency at home to Spanish tax residency is one of our most technical areas (Beckham Law, NLV, optimisation by autonomous community). That move also triggers the Modelo 720 — a reporting obligation that applies only to tax residents, covering assets held abroad, filed between January and March. Planning in the 12 months before the move is critical.
Yes. We take no commission from banks, asset managers or financial products. Our only revenue is the fee our client pays us, so that our interests line up with theirs and nobody else's.
It depends on the starting set-up and cannot be predicted before the audit. In complex cases the margin can reach tens of thousands of euros a year; in others it is modest or nil because the situation is already efficient. The audit exists precisely to estimate the real margin and to tell you honestly whether acting is worth it. We do not quote figures before seeing your situation.
Audit and Planning are one-off, with timings set in the quote. Annual Advisory is renewable, and typically continues for as long as the assets stay in Spain.
Yes. Typically as the specialist partner for the Spanish share of the portfolio. We coordinate with the client's family office and any existing external advisers. Bespoke service-level agreements are available for family offices with several clients.
Yes, and that is not negotiable. We design asset structures that are legitimate, declared and defensible before the Spanish tax authority, with genuine economic substance. No opaque offshore, no aggressive schemes, no nominees. Legitimate tax planning operates inside the law, not outside it — and it is the only kind that really protects wealth over time.
We bring them in from the start. They receive the strategic documentation, they know the structures being proposed, and they validate the impact on your home-country return. Without their sign-off, we do not proceed.
We say so in the final report. It happens rarely, but it happens: an already optimal set-up, a threshold not reached, a situation still moving that makes acting premature. Even then the audit has value: you know for certain you are doing the right things.
Yes, absolutely. The audit is a standalone piece of work. Afterwards you decide whether to go on. No exclusivity clauses, no penalties. Some clients come back after 12–24 months, when their situation has changed.
Fill in the form: we get back to you within 24 working hours — by email or phone — to book the 60-minute qualifying discovery call. We tell you honestly whether we can help, or whether your case falls outside our scope. At no cost.
Everything you need to buy and run a home in Spain, with a single advisor.
Significant assets in Spain?
Strategic Wealth Planning · audit from €2,500
Assistente Realdream
Mutuo, casa e burocrazia in Spagna
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