Non-resident property taxes in Spain: what you pay every year after buying

The purchase taxes are a one-off. What surprises many international owners is the recurring tax bill that starts the year they buy — even if the property sits empty. Here’s the honest annual picture for a non-resident owner in Spain.

1. IBI: the municipal property tax

The IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) is Spain’s council tax, paid by every owner — resident or not — once a year to the town hall. It’s a percentage of the cadastral value (not the market value), and typically runs from a few hundred euros to over a thousand for high-value urban properties. The cadastral value on the IBI bill is also the key input for the next tax, so keep the receipt.

2. The one that surprises everyone: imputed IRNR

If the home is for your own use (or empty), Spain deems that you obtain a benefit from it and taxes a notional income through the non-resident income tax (IRNR, filed on form 210):

• Deemed income: 1.1% of the cadastral value — or 2% if the municipality’s cadastral values haven’t been revised recently (roughly the last ten years).
• Tax rate: 19% if you’re resident in the EU/EEA; 24% otherwise (that includes UK residents post-Brexit).

Worked example: cadastral value €80,000, revised, non-EU owner: 80,000 × 1.1% = €880 deemed income × 24% = €211 per year. Annoying rather than ruinous — but it must be filed every year, and the tax agency does chase it when the property eventually sells.

3. If you rent it out

Rental income replaces the imputed tax for the rented periods, with a sharp EU/non-EU split:

• EU/EEA residents: 19% on the net income — you can deduct the proportionate costs: IBI, community fees, insurance, repairs, mortgage interest, depreciation.
• Non-EU residents: 24% on gross income, no deductions. This changes the arithmetic of a rental investment dramatically — run the numbers in the rental calculator with your after-tax figures.

4. Wealth tax, briefly

Spain’s wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) can touch non-residents on their Spanish assets above the general €700,000 allowance, with rules and reliefs varying by region — Madrid, for instance, has traditionally relieved it, and a state “solidarity” tax applies to fortunes above €3 million. Most buyers of a single holiday home never meet the thresholds, but if your Spanish assets are substantial, get personal advice.

5. When you sell

Two things happen: the buyer withholds 3% of the price and pays it to the tax agency (form 211) as an advance on your capital gains tax — you file to settle the real gain at the non-resident rate (19%) and reclaim any excess — and the municipal plusvalía on the land’s appreciation also falls on you economically — though as a non-resident seller, the buyer must pay it as “substitute taxpayer” and will typically retain the amount from the price. Estimate it with the plusvalía calculator.

Budget the full picture before buying: purchase taxes in buying property in Spain: taxes, financing in the non-residents mortgage guide, and these annual costs on top. No surprises, no drama.