Cost of Fiscal rep - can you recommend anyone

[Prices in Algarve]

Hey,
how much you property owners paying your fiscal rep
my wife and I jointly own a property with another couple and we
are paying €200.00 to our fiscal rep ( the other couple are also paying him
€200.00 per annum )
All he does for this is he asks once a year
to pay around €196.00 IMI Tax ( other couple also pays the same )
and for that privilege we have to pay him the €200.00 - seems a tad expensive
just for handling a single payment
Has anyone else got any idea how much a fiscal rep normally charges, are these
charges reasonable - we never make any profit on our apartment
either
Does anyone know what the going rate is for a fisacl rep
and would you recommend anyone
please
thanks

[Algarve Eagle]

There appear to be cheaper options, unless we have been particularly fortunate. I asked the lawyer who handled our purchase to recommend a fiscal representative; she replied that she handled these matters free of charge to her clients. In fact, she actually charges around 30 euros + IVA on a transaction by transaction basis, and as she too only pays the annual IMI bill on our behalf, our annual cost of fiscal representation is 36 euros.

Maybe a starting point would be to determine whether your lawyer offers a similar service.

[Prices in Algarve]

Hi AE
thanks, unfortunately it is our lawyer that is charging us these fees - it seems a big difference from your lawyer to ours
particularly also as the other couple are absolutely identical to us - so he sends us both the same bill,
and presumably despatches the amount on both our behalfs at same time and charges us both €200 each for the privilege
any chance of sending on name of lawyer
thanks again
PIA

[mixerman]

I belive that it not a legal requirement to have a fiscal rep to pay your IMI , any one who has access to your mail to collect the bill and someone you can trust with the money can do this for you .

[Al Garb]

Correct :and if you have an online bank account with a Portuguese bank all you need is someone to open the letter and let you know the amount and the 15 digit transaction code and you can do it from the UK. You have approx 2 month slot between the bill appearing end of March early April and last day of May which is the final payment day so depending on the frequency of your and friends visits you may be able to DIY. Also if you miss the date the late payment charge is minimal a few €, much cheaper than paying a lawyer

[MALLYMAL]

We were always told that we had to have a fiscal rep because we had "fiscal dealings" in Portugal (ie an obligation to pay "council tax"), but were not resident (Portugal is where we have our holiday home).

Our solicitor (who handled the purchase) nominated herself as our fiscal rep, and charges 100 euros each time she passes on our twice yearly bill from the camara.

Can anyone confirm that we DON'T need her services, even as non residents, as long as we have a Portuguese bank account?

Thanks,

Mal

[sanreen]

If you look at the topic Fiscal Query further down, replies say that you need a fiscal representative by law if you are a non-resident and own property in the Algarve. We pay our lawyer 200 euros each April to pay our rates to the Camara, and he was the lawyer who did the transactions when we bought our apartment. One of our visits to our apartment is always beween April and May and we would be able to pay our own rates. Why the big difference in price between the lawyers?

[Prices in Algarve]

Hi,

yes, this is it exactly, - when there are good times these charges may not be so noticeable but when people are being put under pressure financially at home - then every penny counts and you become more attentive to spending and no doubt about it the recession has not hit home here in the Algarve as far as providers of services are concerned.
I think you might be right about having to have a fiscal rep if you are not based in Portugal and the fiscal rep is liable for your tax if you fail to pay it - not sure that is the situation but it was offered as an explanation at one point .
Any ideas how we can make this more cost effective - are there specialised companies that provide this service does anyone know
regards
PIA

[cereza]

My lawyer has told me that this idea that the Fiscal rep is responsible for unpaid taxes is completely false and when you think about it what person in their right mind would take that responsibility on. It is probably used as an excuse to charge over the top fees.

[qht]

Hi,

I have just joined the forum and must congratulate you all for your very useful information. I only recently(2 yrs ago) purchased an apartment in Albufiera and am also annoyed at the €240 fee being charged by my Fiscal rep. Can anyone confirm if I can pay this tax directly when I am in the area next month and/or where does one pay it in Albufeira?? I presume the Camara??

[Al Garb]

On line, Multibanco, Post Office,Financas

[jfs]

Have read all the Fiscal Rep responsives without a definitive answer to the question "" who can be nominated as your fiscal rep"I am in the same situation as others whereby my Lawyer has nominated himself as my F/R and charges both my wife and self 200euros each plus vat for the privledge of paying my rates once a year.There must be a cheaper way of paying a tax(rates) bill of 380euros.Any legal experts out there ?
jfs

[snowytheboy]

Anyone who is resident in Portugal can be your Fiscal Rep.

[Gambrinus]

There seems to be some confusion about the function of the fiscal rep. We handle fiscal representation free of charge for our clients and have been advised that as fiscal reps we DO have a certain (as always not completely specific) responsibility in case of fiscal matters that may arise.

As an example: If a client we represent is audited by the finance department, we are the point of contact and soley responsible for providing accurate documentation for this foreign resident in his absence. Although I cannot say what the implications of failing to comply with this would be for the rep, a person representing someone else is in the line of fire of the finance dept if push comes to shove.

Whilst this makes the payment to the fiscal rep more of an insurance against failing to comply with stringent deadlines imposed in the case of an audit (the reprecussions of failing to comply with said deadlines being much more severe than a slap on the wrist and a few euros), it does seem like a reasonable price to pay for being able to sleep well at night.

The most important aspect to remeber is that the finance department is a God-like institution with pretty much limitless reach and power and you would be ill-advised to ignore a stipulation like obligatory fiscal representation.

Finance departments do cross-reference data with other countries and they do communicate fiscal discrepancies to other finance departments.

[shanagarry]

I have just paid mine - €252 + Iva (expensive lawyers in Lagoa)