Question 1

Do I pay Spanish tax on a property I never rent out?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A non-resident who owns a second home in Spain pays tax on an imputed income, even with no rent at all. The base is the cadastral value on the IBI bill, not the purchase price or the market value, and nothing is deductible against it. The rate is 19 percent for residents of the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, and 24 percent for everyone else.

Question 2

Can I deduct expenses from Spanish rental income as a non-resident?

Accepted Answer

Only if you live in an EU country, or in Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. Those owners deduct management fees, insurance, repairs, the community charge, mortgage interest and depreciation, and are taxed on what is left at 19 percent. Everyone else is taxed on the gross rent with no deductions at all, at 24 percent.

Question 3

Why does the buyer keep 3 percent when a non-resident sells in Spain?

Accepted Answer

It is not a tax. The buyer must withhold 3 percent of the agreed price and pay it to the tax office on modelo 211 within one month, as a payment on account of the seller’s capital gains tax. The actual tax is 19 percent of the gain, for everyone. If the 3 percent exceeds what is owed, the difference is refunded on a return filed from one month after completion and within the following three.

Question 4

What happens if I file modelo 210 late?

Accepted Answer

It depends entirely on whether the tax office has written to you first. File late on your own initiative and it is a surcharge: 1 percent, plus 1 percent for each complete month of delay, up to 12 months, then a flat 15 percent plus interest from month 13. That surcharge replaces the penalty that could otherwise have been imposed, and is reduced by 25 percent if you pay within the voluntary period. Once a demand has been issued, none of that applies.

Question 5

Do I charge IVA on a Spanish holiday let?

Accepted Answer

It depends on what you provide during the stay, not on how long the guest stays. A residential let with no services is exempt from IVA. Add hotel type services during the stay, such as daily cleaning, reception or breakfast, and the let is taxed at 10 percent. 21 percent applies where the operation is neither an exempt residential let nor a hotel type accommodation service. Cleaning between guests is not a hotel type service.

Question 6

How many days can I spend in Spain without becoming resident?

Accepted Answer

A third country national may stay in the Schengen area for no more than 90 days in any 180 day period. It is a rolling window, not a calendar year, so days from the previous autumn still count against a trip in spring. Both the date of entry and the date of exit count as full days of stay, which makes a long weekend four days rather than two.

Question 7

Who pays for storm or flood damage to a Spanish property?

Accepted Answer

Not always your insurer. A public body, the Consorcio de Compensacion de Seguros, covers extraordinary risks: earthquake, extraordinary flood, volcanic eruption, atypical cyclonic storm and others. Extraordinary wind means gusts above 120 km/h measured over three seconds; below that, storm damage is your own insurer’s ordinary storm cover. The Consorcio is not bought separately: if you hold a qualifying policy, the surcharge is already collected with your premium.

Question 8

Can I choose my own lawyer under Spanish legal expenses cover?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Under Spanish insurance contract law you have the right to choose your own lawyer and procurador in any kind of proceedings, and the lawyer you choose takes instructions from you, not from the insurer. The right does not depend on the insurer agreeing, and does not require a conflict of interest. Inside a combined home policy the legal expenses cover must appear as a separate chapter with its own premium, and the policy must state the right expressly.

Question 9

How long do I have to challenge a decision of the owners meeting in Spain?

Accepted Answer

Three months if the ground is that the decision seriously harms the community or unfairly harms one owner, and one year if the ground is that it breaks the law or the statutes. An owner who was not at the meeting counts the window from the day the decision was communicated to them, not from the day of the meeting. To challenge, you generally have to be up to date with community payments or have paid the disputed amount into court first.

Question 10

Do I inherit the seller’s unpaid community fees when I buy in Spain?

Accepted Answer

Partly, and the property itself answers for them. A buyer takes on the seller’s unpaid community charges for the elapsed part of the year of purchase plus the three previous calendar years. This is why a certificate of debt from the administrator is asked for at completion: it is the only way to see what you are taking on before you sign.

Question 11

How long do I have to claim for a hidden defect after buying in Spain?

Accepted Answer

Six months from the day the property was handed over. Not six months from the day you found the defect, which is what catches people. It is the shortest and harshest period in Spanish property law. A separate route, setting the contract aside for mistake or deceit, has four years counted from completion of the contract, and is a different claim with different requirements.

Question 12

What are the building guarantees on a new build in Spain?

Accepted Answer

Ten years for structural defects, three years for defects that make the home unfit to live in, and one year for finishes, against the builder only. All three run from the date the works were signed off. Separately, once a covered defect appears you have two years to bring the claim, counted from when the damage occurred. The regime applies to buildings whose planning permission was applied for on or after 6 May 2000.

Question 13

How is the plusvalia calculated when I sell in Spain?

Accepted Answer

Two methods, and the taxpayer may elect the lower. The objective method multiplies the cadastral value of the land by a coefficient for the holding period. The real gain method uses the actual increase between the two deeds. Where no increase arose there is no liability, though the transfer must still be declared with both deeds. The deadline on a sale is 30 working days from the date of the public deed. Coefficients and rates vary by municipality.

Question 14

Which form and fee do I need for a Spanish NIE?

Accepted Answer

The NIE application form is the EX-15, and the fee for assignment of a NIE is 9.84 euros. The EX-18 is a different form: it is the EU citizen registration certificate application, under a separate procedure, and turning up with it instead is a common reason for being sent away. The NIE is usually the first step, because the utility and council registrations depend on it.

Question 15

Does a Spanish second home count as a morada if I leave it empty?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Second residences and seasonal residences are a morada, provided the legitimate occupiers carry on their private life there, even occasionally. That matters because the protection attaching to a morada is stronger than most owners abroad assume. A separate civil express recovery route is also open to natural persons and non-profits.

Question 16

When do I file Spanish rental income from 2026?

Accepted Answer

The quarterly rhythm ends. Q3 2026 is the last quarterly rental return, due 1 to 20 October 2026. Rental income accrued from 1 October 2026 goes into a single annual return filed in the first 20 calendar days of April the following year. Imputed income for accruals from 2026 is filed from 1 April to 31 December of the following year, with direct debit closing on 23 December.

Question 17

Do non-residents pay Spanish wealth tax?

Accepted Answer

Non-residents are taxed by obligacion real on Spanish assets, with a 700,000 euro minimo exento. A return is due where the tax payable after deductions is positive, or where the value of assets and rights exceeds the filing threshold even if no tax is payable. EU and EEA non-residents may opt to apply the autonomic rules of the Comunidad where the greatest value of their assets is situated, which can change the outcome considerably.

Question 18

Do I need an energy certificate to sell or let in Spain?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A registered certificate is required for new buildings and for existing buildings that are sold or let. Maximum validity is ten years, with one exception: where the rating is G the validity is shorter, so an old certificate on a poorly rated property may already have expired even though ten years have not passed.

Question 19

Can a Spanish community of owners stop me letting to tourists?

Accepted Answer

A three-fifths majority of owners, who must also represent three-fifths of participation quotas, can restrict or condition tourist letting. The current wording takes effect from 3 April 2025. The agreements have no retroactive effect, so an owner already carrying on the activity is not caught by a later vote. The same majority may set a special expense quota or increased share of up to 20 percent.

Question 20

Do I have to register guests when I let a property in Spain?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Anyone carrying on or intermediating in lodging activity, expressly including private hosts, must submit traveller data, with a deadline of 24 hours. Separately, the single digital window and the platform data-sharing duties survive as implementation of EU rules, and regional tourist registration and licensing is unaffected and remains fully in force. Those are three different obligations, not one.

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