Propuesta de Liquidación Provisional in English: Hacienda's Draft Bill

A propuesta de liquidación provisional is a draft assessment. The Agencia Tributaria has compared your return — or a year you did not file — with the data it holds from banks, notaries, the land registry and employers, and proposes to correct the tax. It is not a bill yet: before deciding, the tax office must let you answer (trámite de alegaciones). It often follows a requerimiento, but it can also be the first letter.

What the letter contains

• The tax and the year — income tax (IRPF), the non-resident tax (Modelo 210), VAT.
• The facts the tax office relies on, and why it disagrees with your figures.
• The amount it proposes: the tax, and late-payment interest (intereses de demora) when a return was missing or wrong.
• The period to answer and how — usually online at the Agencia Tributaria's website, with a digital certificate, Cl@ve or through a representative.

The 10 business days

You have 10 business days from the day after the notification to send your objections (alegaciones) and documents. Weekends and national holidays do not count — enter the day you received the letter on this page and the site counts the last day. The proposal itself is not paid: there is nothing to pay yet.

What happens next

• If you agree or do nothing, the tax office issues the liquidación provisional — the actual bill. It is paid by the 20th of the next month (notified between the 1st and the 15th) or by the 5th of the second month after (notified later in the month).
• If you object, the decision must answer your points: the tax office may accept them in part or in full, or close the case without a bill.
• Against the liquidación you can appeal within one month — a recurso de reposición to the tax office or a claim to the Tribunal Económico-Administrativo.
• A separate penalty procedure may start within six months when the tax office thinks tax was left unpaid.

Before you answer

Signing your agreement (conformidad) with the facts makes them hard to challenge later; on the other hand, agreeing and not appealing reduces a later penalty. Common errors in these proposals are income already taxed in another country, a home that was your main residence, and a non-resident's expenses that were not deducted. A tax lawyer or adviser can check the figures and write the objections within the 10 days.