Public benefit status: a badge that does not bring the tax advantages with it
It is the most expensive confusion in the non-profit sector. The declaration is one thing; the patronage tax regime is another. You need both, and they are applied for separately.
The administrative declaration recognising that an association serves the general interest, with associated advantages and accountability obligations.
Articles 32 to 36 of Ley Orgánica 1/2002 govern it and the procedure is in RD 1740/2003. The requirements in article 32:
- Statutory purposes that tend to promote the general interest.
- That the activity does not benefit only the members.
- That members of the governing bodies who receive payment do not receive it out of public funds and grants.
- Adequate human and material resources.
- Having been incorporated, registered, operating and genuinely pursuing its purposes for at least the two years before the application.
What it requires of you
Article 34 requires the previous year's accounts to be presented within six months of the year-end, together with a report describing the activities.
The nuance that costs money
The declaration of public benefit does not by itself apply Ley 49/2002. For that you have to opt expressly for that regime on form 036 and meet the ten requirements in its article 3. The difference shows up on the donation certificate:
- Without the regime of Ley 49/2002: the donor deducts 10% (article 68.3.b) of the Personal Income Tax Act).
- With it: 80% on the first €250 and 40% on the rest, as worded by RDL 6/2023.
With numbers: a donation of €400. Without the regime, €40 of deduction. With it, €200 (80% of 250) plus €60 (40% of 150) = €260.
The mistake that comes up most
Issuing donation certificates with the percentages of Ley 49/2002 without having opted for the regime. The donor deducts too much, the cross-check with form 182 catches it, and the one answerable for the mistake is the entity that issued the certificate.
Where this carries on in Cairos: Associations: obligations and advantages.
Terms that go with this one
Almost no tax concept makes sense on its own. These three are the ones that most often turn up beside it.
Annual financial report
The document in which a non-profit body sets out its income and expenditure for the year, identified by category and by project.
Non-profit bodiesCuenta justificativa
The file with which the recipient of a grant proves to the awarding body that the activity was carried out and how the funds were spent.
Non-profit bodiesMandatory reserve fund
The non-distributable reserve to which a cooperative has to allocate a minimum percentage of its surplus each year.
This, handled without thinking about it
Cairos keeps the invoices, the record books and Hacienda's forms from the same data, so the theory on this page turns into boxes that are already filled in.
No card and no minimum term.