Property Taxes for Non-Residents*

The following tables explain the taxes that non-residents are obliged to pay to the Spanish tax authorities as a consequence of owning property in Spain.

Income tax for non-residents who do not rent out their property (standard declaration)
Spanish name Impuesto de la renta de no residentes, declaración ordinaria (IRNR)
Description You pay this version of income tax in Spain if the following conditions apply: 1) You do not reside in Spain, 2) You own property in Spain, 3) The property is exclusively for personal use and you do not rent it out, 4) You have no other source of taxable income in Spain. Although you do not earn an income from the property, in the eyes of the Spanish tax authorities you still derive a benefit from owning a property in Spain and therefore have to pay an imputed income tax.
Tax base and rate Tax base: 2% of the cadastral value of the property (found on the IBI receipt), or 1.1% if the cadastral value has been revised since 1st January 1994. Tax rate: 24% (25% for 2006 and before)
Form Use general section 210-A and indicating income type 02.
Dates Presented before the 30th June each year. For example you have from 1st January to 30th June 2006 to declare tax on income during 2005.
Example Cadastral value of property = 200,000 Euros
Base = 2,200 Euros
Tax = 24% x 2,200 Euros = 528 Euros

Wealth tax for non-residents
Spanish name Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio (Patrimonio)
Note: This tax has been eliminated as from 01/01/2008. However, it still needs to be declared for 2007.
Description Everyone who owns property in Spain (residents and nonresidents alike) has to pay an annual wealth tax based on the net value of their assets in Spain after permitted deductions, such as mortgages. This tax is collected by regional governments.
Tax base and rate The tax is based on the net value of you property (less mortgage, if any) or another value deemed appropriate by the tax authorities. The tax rate works on a sliding scale with marginal rates starting at 0.2% and rising to 2.5% for assets worth over 10.7 million Euros.
Form 714
Dates Presented during June for previous calendar year.
Example For a property in Catalonia valued at 300,000 Euros with no mortgage this tax would be approximately 730 Euros per annum.

Income tax for non-residents who do not rent out their properties, combined with the wealth tax
Spanish name Impuesto de la renta de no residentes, y Patrimonio (IRNR y Patrimonio)
Note: The ‘patrimonio’ wealth tax is being eliminated as from 01/01/08 (see above). Therefore, this combined declaration will be discontinued after the 2007 tax return. In future fill in form 210 (see above ‘Declaración ordinaria Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes’).
Description Under certain conditions non-residents can pay the two taxes mentioned above (IRNR and Patrimonio) in the same declaration and using the same form. Therefore this is not an extra tax, just a more convenient way of paying the two taxes previously mentioned. To present these taxes together in the same form you have to meet the following conditions: 1) You do not reside in Spain 2) you only own one property in Spain, and 3) this property is exclusively for personal use and is not rented out.
Tax base and rate The value of the tax is the sum of the two taxes as explained above.
Form 214
Dates Presented any time during the following calendar year, deadline 31 December. So you present in 2006 for taxes in 2005.
Example N/A

Income tax for non-residents who rent out their property
Spanish name Impuesto de la renta de no residentes, declaración ordinaria (IRNR)
Description If you 1) do not reside in Spain 2) own property in Spain and 3) rent out your property, you have to pay income tax on the rent instead of the imputed tax described above. (If you rent out your property to a Spanish company the company will deduct tax at source and pay it to the tax authorities. Under these circumstances a nonresident is not obliged to present the forms 210 or 215.)
Tax base and rate The tax base is the gross rent, with no deductions allowed, and the tax rate is 24% (25% for 2006 and before).
Form 210 (use general section 210-A and indicating income type 01) or 215
Dates 210 = Monthly, one month after rent is due
215 = Quarterly, in the first 20 days of the month following the end of the quarter.
Example Annual gross rental income of 20,000 Euros
Tax @24% = 4,800 Euros

Municipal property tax
Spanish name Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles (IBI)
Description This tax is the Spanish equivalent of the rates and is collected by local government.
Tax base and rate The tax base is the cadastral value of the property and the rate varies from 0.4% to 1.1% depending upon the region.
Form N/A
Dates Payment period determined by the local authority.
Example Varies, but 200 Euros – 800 Euros per annum will be common.

NOTES
Cadastral value The cadastral value (valor catastral) is the rateable value of a property as determined by the municipal government. The cadastral value is usually much lower than the market value of the property. The cadastral value of a property is identified on municipal property tax receipts (IBI).
Joint ownership Bear in mind that if a property is owned by a married couple or shared by various individuals, in many cases they will be treated as separate taxpayers and must file returns separately.
Capital gains tax If a non-resident sells a property in Spain they will be obliged to pay capital gains tax in Spain on the difference between the sale and the acquisition value of the property. However this is not a tax that a nonresident Spanish property owner has to face in a ‘normal’ year of property ownership. Capital gains for non-residents is taxed at 18%, with a 3% retention at the time of sale to cover tax liabilities (down from 25% and 5% respectively).
Resources

+ Spanish tax bureau

© Mark Stucklin (Spanish Property Insight)