Housing, rent and pandemic: these are the novelties to take into account in the income statement | My finances section

by time news

The crisis derived from the coronavirus pandemic has shaken society and the economy from its foundations and this inevitably also has repercussions on how the taxpayer will prepare the next income statement, whose campaign begins on April 7 and ends on June 30 . Like every year, if he has sold his habitual residence to buy another or is the owner of a rented property, he must reflect it in this document. This time, however, he will have to consider all those novelties determined by the measures that were taken with the aim of alleviating the ravages of the health emergency in these areas as well.

Reinvestment in habitual residence

In this way, as in other years, the capital gains obtained from the sale of the taxpayer’s habitual residence will be exempt, when the total amount obtained from the transfer is reinvested in the acquisition of another habitual residence or in the rehabilitation of the one that is to be be.

To benefit from the exemption, the term to reinvest the amount obtained from the sale is two years, “which can be not only those after but also before the sale of the previous habitual residence”, according to the Tax Agency website. However, it must be taken into account that in 2020 the calculation of this period was paralyzed from March 14, the date on which the state of alarm came into force, until May 30.

Leasing Agreements

The pandemic has caused the closure of numerous businesses or a significant decrease in their income. This has meant that, in many cases, the owner and the tenant have agreed on reductions or suspension of rent payments for these premises. The renegotiation of rents has also affected housing lease contracts.

“The Tax Agency has indicated that, in the agreements to lower the rent due to the state of alarm, the lessor will reflect in the declaration as income during those months the new fees agreed by the parties, whatever their amount,” they underline from the organization of Treasury technicians (Gestha).

If the landlord reaches a voluntary agreement with the tenant to defer the rent due to the state of alarm, “the income for these months will be charged based on the enforceability of the new terms agreed by the parties,” they say from Gestha. Likewise, in both types of agreement, the expenses incurred by the owner to be able to rent the property will continue to be deductible and real estate income will not be charged, since it continues to be leased.

unpaid rent

In the event that there has been no agreement between the landlord and the tenant, but the tenant has stopped paying the rent, the uncollected rents become doubtful, so they are deductible for the determination of the net return on capital. real estate.

In normal times, for them to have this type of consideration, the law establishes that more than six months must have elapsed between the moment of the first collection procedure carried out by the taxpayer and the end of the tax period. This term, however, is reduced to just three months for fiscal years 2020 and 2021.

Calculation improvement

In the income campaign that begins in less than two weeks, “the information that is made available to the taxpayer is improved to facilitate the completion of the section on income from real estate capital of the declaration”, highlight the Treasury technicians.

The calculation of the amortization of the property —that is, the expense that the deterioration entails— is now specified in a percentage of the value of the construction of the property (and not of the land, since it is considered that this does not deteriorate). The taxpayer will be shown the information completed in the previous year’s return and will be allowed to transfer it to the 2020 return, and if necessary modify it, and the deductible amortization amount will be calculated.

For next year

Looking ahead to the declaration for the 2021 financial year, which will be presented next year, the Treasury technicians point out that, in certain circumstances, “the owner of a premises that lowers the rent during the pandemic may deduct the amount of the reduction as a theoretical expense. ”.

“In this way, landlords who own up to 10 properties that have signed a lease for use other than housing with a tenant who uses the property for the development of a business, a hospitality activity or tourism, will be able to compute in 2021 for the calculation of the return on real estate capital as a deductible expense, the amount of the reduction in rent that they had voluntarily agreed to as of March 14, 2020 corresponding to the monthly payments of January, February and March 2021 ”, they add.

In the declaration to be filed in 2022, the lessor must report separately the amount of the deductible expense for this incentive and the tax identification number of the tenant whose rent had been reduced. The deduction cannot be applied when the reduction is compensated by the tenant through increases in subsequent rents or other benefits or when the tenants are a person or entity related to the lessor or are a family.

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