Practice area · Lifetime gifts
Lawyer for gifts of property and money in Tenerife
Giving a home or money to your children or relatives during your lifetime can be a sound decision, if it is properly planned. We advise on the legal and tax side before you sign.
02
Gifts of property and of money
We advise on and handle gifts (donaciones) of homes, premises, land and money between parents and children, spouses and other relatives. A gift of real estate is only valid if it is made in a public deed before a notary, with the recipient's acceptance, and it must then be registered at the Land Registry.
For gifts of money, documenting the transfer correctly is just as important: both the proof of the origin of the funds and the tax reliefs depend on it.
Tax on a gift in the Canary Islands
A gift has tax consequences for both parties. The recipient pays Inheritance and Gift Tax, on which the Canary Islands apply very significant regional reliefs for descendants, spouses and ascendants where the legal requirements are met. A person who gives away a property may have to pay income tax on the capital gain, and the municipal land value tax (plusvalía) also falls due.
Before you sign, we calculate the full tax cost and compare it with the alternatives — a sale or an inheritance — so that you decide with all the figures in front of you.
Protecting the donor and respecting the heirs
A well-designed gift also protects the person giving. You can retain a life interest (usufruct) in the home, agree that the asset reverts to you in certain events, or restrict the recipient's power to dispose of it.
Gifts are also taken into account in the future inheritance: they cannot prejudice the reserved share of the forced heirs. We review your family situation to prevent later claims between siblings.
Non-resident donors and recipients
Where the donor or the recipient lives outside Spain, it is necessary to establish which country taxes the gift and which rules apply. We coordinate the transaction remotely, under a power of attorney if needed. We work in Spanish, English and German.
02
How we handle your gift
01
Preliminary review
We look at the asset, the family situation and your aim, and calculate the tax cost of each alternative.
02
Structuring the gift
We define the terms: usufruct, reversion, restrictions and how it fits with the future inheritance.
03
Deed before a notary
We prepare the paperwork, coordinate the signing and accompany you at the notary's office.
04
Taxes and registration
We file the tax returns on time and register the change of ownership at the Land Registry.
03
Common mistakes we prevent
Poorly planned gifts prove expensive years later:
- Transferring money to a child without documenting or declaring it.
- Giving away a property without first calculating the donor's own income tax bill.
- Giving away your main home without retaining a life interest.
- Favouring one child without considering the reserved share of the others.
- Missing the tax filing deadline and losing the reliefs.
04 — Expected costs
Expected costs
The total cost includes fees, notary, Land Registry and taxes. We give you a full written estimate and a fixed quote for our fees before you make your decision.
- Lawyer's fees — fixed written quote.
- Notary and Land Registry — official scale according to the value of the asset.
- Inheritance and Gift Tax — depending on relationship, value and the regional reliefs in force.
- Donor's income tax and municipal plusvalía — where the gift is real estate.
05 — Documents required
Documents required
With these documents we can prepare the tax review and the deed:
- ID, NIE or passport of the donor and the recipient.
- Title deed and Land Registry extract (nota simple) for the property.
- Latest IBI (property tax) receipt and cadastral reference.
- Family book or documents proving the relationship.
- For gifts of money, bank evidence of the origin of the funds.
06 — Realistic timescales
Realistic timescales
The preliminary review is delivered within a few days. With complete paperwork, the deed can be signed in one to two weeks. There is then a legal deadline for filing the taxes, which we handle, and registration is usually completed a few weeks later.
07 — FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to give during my lifetime or leave it in my will?
Can I give away my home and carry on living in it?
Does a gift of money to a child have to be declared?
Can a gift be revoked?
08
Other practice areas
Services closely related to lifetime gifts.