Six months? How long does the Hacienda have to respond to the alegaciones?

And now that you have submitted the «alegaciones» (statement of objections), how much time does «Hacienda» (Spanish Tax Authority) have to «contestar las alegaciones» (reply to your statement of objections)?

When you file alegaciones with «Hacienda», you want the Agencia Tributaria (Spanish Tax Agency) to respond.

It’s natural. Everyone, when we ask a question, wants an answer.

You have filed «alegaciones», meaning you have asked «Hacienda»: «Mr. Inspector, have I done everything correctly? Could you please confirm that I have done everything properly?»

But do you know what? «Hacienda» takes its time to respond to you.

You are given 10 or 15 business days to file alegaciones. Business days, so you understand, are Monday to Friday excluding holidays. In practice, that means 2 or 3 weeks, but 2 or 3 weeks is not much time for you to prepare everything and file «alegaciones».

Between gathering documentation, drafting your written statement, and finding a way to submit it, the days fly by—not everyone has a DNI-e key or an FNMT certificate.

Moreover, «Hacienda» must think that the only thing we have to do is file «alegaciones», but all of us, including you, are already extremely busy, and filing «alegaciones» with «Hacienda» is an extra task for which we had not set aside 2 or 3 weeks this year.

Hacienda has more time to contestar your alegaciones… much more

How much time does «Hacienda» have to contestar the «alegaciones»? Well, it depends.

And you might say — What does it depend on?

De según cómo se mire todo depende…🎶 like that song by Jarabe de Palo once said. The real palo (blow), though, is the one «Hacienda» wants to give you.

It depends on the date the procedure began and on the type of procedure.

If the procedure is a «gestión» procedure (a type of tax procedure), the «AEAT» (Spanish Tax Agency) has 6 months to respond to you, not from when you file alegaciones but from the start of the procedure. But if it is an inspection procedure, the standard period is 18 months.

In other words, it’s about figuring out how much time «Hacienda» has left to finish reviewing or investigating your taxes.

But one thing is «cuánto tiempo tiene Hacienda para contestar a las alegaciones» (how much time the Tax Agency has to respond to the objections.)…

And another thing is how long «Hacienda» actually takes to contestar the alegaciones.

To start with, it’s common for the Tax Agency to respond to your alegaciones after the deadline they have to finalize the tax procedure. When that happens, we call it «caducidad».

And what happens with «caducidad»? Well, basically, if you don’t appeal in time, according to what the TSJ of Galicia told us, nothing. Yes, sorry, in case you didn’t know, I am a tax lawyer and for more than 12 years —13 is very unlucky— I have been working as a lawyer for appeals against «Hacienda».

This means that if «Hacienda» misses the deadline to finish the procedure after you have submitted your alegaciones, it only matters if you file a reconsideration appeal or an economic-administrative claim and argue that the procedure has expired.

If you don’t appeal, the Liquidación (assessment), Sanción (penalty), Comprobación de valores (valuation check), or «Acuerdo de Derivación de Responsabilidad» (tax liability transfer agreement) becomes final and nothing happens just because Hacienda missed the deadline to contestar your alegaciones.

As a result, Hacienda tends to respond before the deadline to finish the tax procedure.

How long does Hacienda usually take to reply to alegaciones?

It usually takes between 15 and 60 days, depending on how much time remains before the tax procedure ends and on whether there are holidays like Christmas, Easter, a long weekend, or the summer vacation period in between.

So if Hacienda takes a while to respond, don’t worry, it’s normal, and many times bad news is better delayed.

This is because when the Liquidación (Assessment) arrives, you have to pay, even if you appeal. However, if you appeal the Sanción (penalty), you don’t have to pay it until the recurso (appeal) is decided.

What matters for you is that your alegaciones are successful

If you think about it, “cuanto tiempo tiene Hacienda para contestar las alegaciones” doesn’t really matter. What matters is that they find in your favor, and that doesn’t depend so much on your goodwill, but on how well-written and well-focused your alegaciones are.

If alegaciones are filed, my clients often win their cases, though I wish it were 100% of the time.

“Get to the point” and “what is good, if brief, is twice as good.” And be precise with the applicable legislation and regulations, lest you say something that ends up hurting you.

Some people go on and on, but remember that everything you write afterwards has to be read by the Hacienda Inspector. The less they have to read, the more likely you are to get a favorable outcome.

If it’s a matter of alegaciones before the AEAT, the most important thing is where you file them. To save you time, here’s a link to the official AEAT webpage where alegaciones are filed.

And if you have any doubts and want a professional to help you complete, review, or submit your alegaciones, just let me know.

What I do is deal with Hacienda and taxes, making sure that you make peace with Hacienda, the Inspector decides in your favor, and you save on taxes, of course.

Others have trusted me before you did, and it has worked out very well for them. Below is Alberto’s story; at one point, he also asked me how much time Hacienda has to contestar the alegaciones.

See in this video 🎥 Alberto’s most personal testimony.

Alberto’s journey: How can alegaciones save you 300,000 euros in taxes?

Regardless of “cuanto tiempo tiene Hacienda para contestar a las alegaciones” you submit.

Back in 2015, Alberto was an entrepreneur in A Coruña, living as normal a life as anyone else. He had a tax advisory service that handled his Limited Company’s books and tax returns, and Alberto paid his taxes.

It’s true that sometimes the quarterly filing was tough, because billing is one thing and having cash on hand is another. But Alberto lived calmly and felt secure knowing that he paid his taxes.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Alberto received a letter initiating an inspection. He told his tax advisor about it, and his advisor confirmed that it was probably routine, telling him not to worry.

The surprise came the day Alberto found out the reason for the inspection.

It was horrible. It turned out that his main collaborator had serious problems with Hacienda, and this collaborator swore up and down that Alberto’s Limited Company had issued some invoices that Alberto had never issued.

So Alberto had to prove to the Hacienda Inspector that he was innocent. Alberto needed help; his tax advisor was overwhelmed, and everything looked grim.

A friend of Alberto’s had already worked with me and knew about the great results I achieve, since I had found him a way to make peace with Hacienda.

And the Inspector asked Alberto to appear at his office in one week to file alegaciones.

That was the day Alberto met me. Alberto had a consultation with me. It was a tough meeting for Alberto, during which I clearly explained the situation to him, and Alberto understood what he was really facing.

Alberto hired me to draft the alegaciones to the Inspector. For Alberto, it was a difficult test to pass. He hardly knew me.

Yes, I seemed like a serious, responsible, honest, and transparent person, and many others spoke of my ability to solve Hacienda-related problems, but the one who had the problem was Alberto, not me.

Alberto had to trust me—he had no other choice. And he also had to be patient until our alegaciones were accepted. Because we already know how much time Hacienda has to contestar the alegaciones: a lot.

Time went by. And the courts upheld our alegaciones, ruling in our favor. That was the day Alberto realized how important it was for him to find a tax attorney he could trust.

Now that the decision was in his favor, Alberto saw that there were many tools he could use to defend himself against Hacienda and save on taxes.

He began using them, and now whenever Alberto receives a notice or a letter from Hacienda, his first step is always to consult us.

Ever since then, Alberto has never again been troubled by Hacienda.

And Alberto has also never again struggled with what to file, when to file, or worrying about when they will respond or how long Hacienda has to contestar the alegaciones.

Alberto focuses on growing his business and boosting his sales. Alberto is doing well.

And file alegaciones knowing you’re doing it correctly.

Video GUIDE TO KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES HACIENDA TO RESPOND TO YOUR ALEGACIONES.

Here we share a video guide that explains how much time Hacienda has to contestar the alegaciones.