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Workers who in 2020 have been affected by a temporary employment regulation file (ERTE) must take into account some particularities when submitting their 2020 income tax return, the campaign of which begins on April 7.

The fact of having more than one payer, the possible errors made by the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) in the payment of benefits or the withholdings applied can have important consequences in the declaration.

These are some keys.

Why is the income tax return different for those affected by an ERTE?

Because the workers who have been affected by an ERTE have received a benefit from the SEPE, so that in 2020 they had two payers (their company and the SEPE) for tax purposes.

Your tax situation is the same as that of any worker who has had more than one payer, but different from when you have only one.

What does it mean to have two payers?

That the threshold that requires filing the income statement is lower.

When the taxpayer has a single payer, he is only obliged to present the income statement if his income in the year exceeds 22,000 euros, although he can present it voluntarily if it is below this amount.

When the taxpayer has more than one payer, he is obliged to file a declaration if he has entered more than 14,000 euros, unless the payments of all payers from the second do not reach 1,500 euros.

This is so because some payers do not know the credits and withholdings of the others, so it is necessary to adjust the taxation.

Do you have to pay more if you have two payers than if you have one?

No. The taxation is the same, since it depends on the income obtained and not on the number of payers.

- So, will the result of the declaration be the same as in other years?

It depends on the withholdings that have been made.

Normally, when a worker has a single employer, he applies withholdings according to his income.

However, if you have more than one payer, none of them knows what the total income is, so the withholdings could be excessive or insufficient and this will have to be adjusted in the personal income tax settlement.

In the case of those affected by an ERTE, if the benefits they have received are small, it is likely that the SEPE has barely applied withholdings, so they will have to pay the pending taxes with the declaration.

And what about deductions?

Family deductions - for large families, dependent ascendants or descendants with disabilities or single-parent families with two children who do not receive an annuity for food - are not affected, since they are linked to registration with Social Security or the collection of benefits.

However, the maternity benefit, which is charged by women with children under three years of age, is linked to the development of an activity for their own account or for someone else, so that if it is interrupted by an ERTE or cessation of activity, the requirements to apply it.

What happens if there are errors in the SEPE payments?

This is one of the main concerns of many groups and even the Ombudsman has warned of the exceptional situation in which workers who have received benefits from an ERTE higher than those that correspond to them find themselves.

According to the finance technicians (Gestha), if the SEPE has claimed the reimbursement of the amounts unduly paid and they have been returned in 2020, the tax data should be correct and reflect the real income.

On the other hand, if the SEPE has demanded the refund and the refund has been made in 2021, it is possible that the draft does not include the adjustment.

In these cases, the taxpayer would have to modify the draft to record the actual amounts collected, once the refund has been discounted.

Finally, in cases in which the SEPE has not yet claimed the refund at the time of filing the return, the taxpayer has to declare the total income received.

Subsequently, once the SEPE requests the refund and the refund is made, the taxpayer may submit a request for rectification of self-assessment to correct the return and, where appropriate, recover the excess taxed amounts.

Is any change in the taxation of this group foreseen?

No. The Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, has insisted that the personal income tax regulations have not changed and that all taxpayers will pay "based on what they have charged, not one euro more nor one euro less."

What do the experts recommend?

The experts recommend reviewing all the data before confirming the draft, especially those referring to the quantities received from SEPE and possible returns.

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