Spain treats the private use of a second home as an economic benefit that should be taxed similarly to rental income, even if no cash is received.
If you are tax resident outside Spain and own an urban property in Spain, such as a home, apartment, townhouse or parking space linked to the home, Spain may require you to declare a notional annual income under Non-Resident Income Tax, or IRNR.
When does the rule apply?
The rule normally applies where the property is:
- used personally by you or your family,
- left empty and available for your use, and
- not linked to a business activity.
This rule applies per property and per owner.
If two people own the property 50/50, each owner files their own return for their share.
Who must pay it?
You must file imputed income if:
- you are a non-resident individual,
- you own a Spanish urban property, and
- the property was not rented for all or part of the year.
If the property was rented only part of the year, imputed income applies to the non-rented days.
When does it not apply?
Imputed income does not apply to:
- rural land, or suelo rustico, unless it has an urban building classed as urban for cadastral purposes.
- properties rented all year, because those days are taxed as rental income instead.
- days after a property is sold. You only declare the proportional part for the days you owned it.
Key practical points owners should know
The taxable amount is not based on your market value or purchase price.
It comes from the cadastral value shown on your IBI bill.
- The percentage is 1.1% or 2%, depending on whether the cadastral value was revised in the last 10 years.
- You only pay for the days you owned and did not rent the property.
- If you rented it for 3 months, you impute income for the remaining 9 months.
- It is filed through Modelo 210, and it is an annual filing.
Tax rate
The tax rate depends on where you live for tax purposes.
- 19% if you are resident in the EU or EEA with information exchange.
- 24% for all other countries, including the UK, US and Canada.
Deadlines
Imputed income accrues on 31 December each year.
You must file Modelo 210 during the following calendar year, with the practical deadline being 31 December of the next year.
For example, imputed income for 2025 can be filed anytime in 2026 up to 31 December 2026.