Just as the owners of rental apartments must declare their income, tenants who receive public aid to pay the rental fees for their home or room are obliged in most cases to submit the income tax return and pay taxes on the rent. amounts received for this concept.
The amounts of this type of subsidies are considered a capital gain, since they are neither income from work nor a profit derived from an economic activity. They must be included, therefore, in heading F1 (“Equity gains and losses that do not derive from the transfer of assets”) of the declaration in box 0303.
Among these subsidies is the Young Rental Bonus, which is granted to young people up to 35 years old with the aim of facilitating their emancipation. This benefit is compatible with that of the youth aid program and to contribute to the demographic challenge, which is granted to people with limited financial means so that they can access a home or room on a rental basis or transfer in use.
According to Francisco Serantes, coordinator of the Personal Income Tax Expert Group, this aid must be declared as capital gains on the general basis, which means that “they are subject to the maximum progressivity of the tax”, which can reach up to 54%, depending of the community in which one resides. The general base includes, among others, income from work, as well as real estate and personal capital. In contrast, the maximum bracket of the savings tax base reaches up to 28%, making it more advantageous.
Another question that may arise is in which year these subsidies must be taxed. According to current personal income tax regulations, public aid will be allocated to the tax period in which it is collected.
Even though the taxpayer does not exceed the minimum income that generally requires filing the declaration, the fact of receiving a public subsidy lowers this threshold to 1,000 euros per year. From this figure, the beneficiary of the aid must settle accounts with the Tax Agency despite not having received income from work equal to or greater than 22,000 euros or 15,000 euros when they come from more than one payer and the sum of the group of payers does not exceeds 1,500 euros.
