IRPF Law 35/2006 of November 28 indicates that "Public benefits such as birth, childbirth or multiple adoption, adoption, dependent children and orphanhood will be exempt from taxation".
On this the Supreme Court has based to declare exempt from payment of personal income tax to maternity benefits of 16 weeks that women workers receive from Social Security after the birth of a child.
It thus contradicts the Tax Agency and ratifies a previous ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) of June 2017, which ordered the Treasury to return to a woman the amount that she paid for the IRPF received during her maternity benefit in 2013.
In Babies and more, have you been a mother since 2013? You can claim the IRPF of the maternity benefit to the TreasuryTreasury is left alone
This judgment of the Second Section of the Room III of the Contentious-Administrative, dismisses an appeal that the State Advocate filed against the decision of the TSJM, defending that said benefits should not be exempt from the payment of personal income tax, on behalf of the Tax Agency and following your criteria.
The Treasury claimed that the benefit paid replaces the usual salary, which does pay income tax. It also adds that the IRPF law does exempt maternity benefits from autonomous communities or local entities, but not those received from the Central Administration.
However, the Supreme Court considers that the exemption from payment covers all maternity benefits, regardless of who pays them.
In Babies and more According to the AEPap, maternity leave should be extended to at least six monthsAnd it justifies it further by stating that the Personal Income Tax Law uses a "too" to talk about the exemptions of the autonomous administrations. So, "a grammatical interpretation" of the article indicates that it was taken for granted that those of the Central Administration were exempt.
It also explains that in the description of the intentions of the law:
"It follows that the exemption that is established includes the provision of maternity and not only those of birth, multiple birth, adoption and dependent child."
You can claim if you have already paid the IRPF
The ruling of the Supreme Court implies that any mother (and also a father) who has received the benefit in the last fiscal years (since 2014), which is the limitation period, can claim.
You must file a claim for refund of improper income before the State Agency of the Tax Administration, making a settlement parallel to that already presented in the corresponding year. The resolution can take up to six months.
In Babies and more, are you going to have a child in 2018? These are the state aid for children offered by the GovernmentIn the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) you can download a model to request the claim. In addition, it explains how to fill in the data and documents that you have to present.
And don't worry if you don't keep the amount of the tax data sent by the Treasury or a copy of your statement from previous years. You can check them on the website of the Tax Agency.
- The Treasury has no legal obligation to return the amounts (At the moment there is no rectification of the law), but it is true that this ruling of the Supreme Court opens the possibility of having an affirmative response from the Tax Agency without having to take individual legal actions as before.
The economic expenses and the dilation in the time that implies a judgment, discouraged many women to demand the return of the IRPF.
In addition, criteria may be standardized and that mothers (and fathers) who had a child in 2018 will not have to pay taxes for the benefit received.
And if you wonder how this measure can benefit economically from now on, a clue: although the amount varies depending on the contribution base, an annual salary of 24,000 euros would mean an IRPF during maternity leave of about 1,000 euros. It is worth it!
Source | EFE
In Babies and More | Paternity benefits exceed maternity benefits for the first time
