In certain cases, the Tax and Customs Administration conducts an investigation to check whether suspicious movements have been made
Christmas parties are always special. There are many gifts to think about for these dates. You have to prepare everything so that Santa Claus and the Three Kings of the East do not forget a single gift, but it is also a tradition to deliver the well-known Christmas bonuses. They may no longer enforce this custom in many homes, but they certainly do in many others.
The Christmas bonus can be a good option if you don’t know what to give to give money. Now the image of your grandmother or other relative has come to your mind giving you money for Christmas so that you can buy what you want. Those who have behaved very well this year and received a generous bonus are lucky enough to enjoy it, but some may wonder whether this money should be declared to the Treasury.
These types of gifts are regarded by the tax authorities as gifts, which also includes wedding, communion or birthday gifts. If the law has been followed to the letter and you have received a generous Christmas bonus, you will have to pay inheritance and gift taxes, depending on the amount and degree of relationship between the sender and the recipient. In this case, things change depending on which autonomous community you belong to.
Although there is no minimum threshold, the Treasury does not typically examine a 50 or 20 euro bonus. In theory, a delivery of money should always be declared, no matter how small it may seem, but the reality is that banks are only required to report to the Treasury when operations exceed 3,000 euros, to check whether any suspicious movements have been made.
In the case of giving the bonus, i.e. giving away money, the action falls under the definition of donation of the Civil Code in Article 618. «It is an act of generosity in which a person freely disposes of one thing for in favor of another who accepts it.” Elisabeth Ruiz Dotras, professor of economics and business at UOC, states that “state regulations do not distinguish between amounts, but stipulate that everything must be declared.” But this financial expert also acknowledges that “no one does nor does the Treasury strive to, because it would be very difficult to have this exact control.
In practice, the Treasury does not resort to this type of operation because of their low amount. If it is a cash transfer of more than 3,000 euros or if you have entered notes of 500 euros, this may raise the suspicion that you are carrying out a fraudulent practice. Under the Measures to Prevent and Combat Tax Fraud Act, banks are required to notify the Treasury if anyone receives this amount of money and the exact amount of the operation. “The 500 notes are checked, for example if you ask for change at the bank, they write down your ID before giving you the money. The Treasury knows who is using the notes,” Dotras explains. Although the bonus is less than 3,000 euros, but consists of 500 notes, “it has a higher risk of being prosecuted by the administration,” the expert concludes.
In these specific cases it is advisable to declare this transaction. What is under this money is not reported to the banks, so the traditional Christmas gifts and bonuses will not be a nuisance.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
