What is the difference between a tax assessment and a self-assessment?

Clarify your doubts by consulting your particular case

<p>A tax assessment is a decision by the competent tax authority determining the tax debt or, where applicable, the amount to be refunded or offset. It may be provisional or final in the cases laid down by law (Articles 101 and 102 of the Spanish General Tax Law, LGT). A self-assessment is a taxpayer’s return in which the taxpayer provides the required information and carries out the legal classification and calculations needed to determine and pay the tax due or calculate an amount to be refunded or offset (Article 120.1 LGT). It therefore does not necessarily result in a payment; it may show an amount due for refund or offset. Filing a self-assessment and making any resulting payment do not, by themselves, constitute a tax assessment issued by the Administration. The tax authority may verify or audit the self-assessment and, where appropriate, issue its own tax assessment (Article 120.2 LGT). The applicable system depends on the tax. For Inheritance and Gift Tax, it is inaccurate to say without qualification that self-assessment is optional: the law makes it compulsory in the autonomous communities listed in Article 34.4 of the relevant Act. In other cases, the Act provides for a tax return followed by an assessment by the Administration, while allowing taxpayers to opt for self-assessment (Article 31.1 and 2).</p>