If you own a holiday home in Spain and do not rent it out, you may still have a tax obligation you are not aware of. It is called imputed income tax (renta imputada de bienes inmuebles), and it applies to non-resident property owners whose property is not generating rental income throughout the year.
Many British, Scandinavian and other international property owners on the Costa Blanca and across Spain are unaware of this obligation — which can lead to penalties, interest charges and complications in future property transactions if left unaddressed.
What Is Imputed Income Tax?
Imputed income is a notional income that the Spanish tax authorities attribute to properties that are available to their non-resident owners but are not being rented out. The logic is straightforward: if you own a property and use it yourself or leave it empty, you are still benefiting from a real economic asset — and Spanish tax law taxes that benefit.
The tax is calculated on the property’s catastral value (valor catastral), an official assessed value set by the local municipality, which appears on your annual IBI (local property tax) bill. The applicable rate is normally 1.1% of the catastral value if it was reviewed after 31 December 1993, or 2% if it has not been updated since then. The resulting figure is then taxed at a flat rate of 19% for residents of EU and EEA countries.
A Concrete Example – Property Worth €200,000
Let us make this practical. Suppose you own an apartment on the Costa Blanca with a catastral value of €80,000 — a typical figure for a property with a market value of around €200,000:
- Deemed income: €80,000 × 1.1% = €880
- Tax payable: €880 × 19% = €167.20 per year
The amount may seem modest, but failing to file the Modelo 210 declaration — the tax form used for this purpose — can result in late-filing surcharges and penalties that quickly exceed the original amount owed. Unpaid tax debts can also surface and cause complications when you come to sell the property or pass it on through inheritance.
When and How to File
The declaration can be filed at any point during the calendar year following the tax year in question. This means that for the 2025 tax year, you have the whole of 2026 to file and pay. The form to use is the Modelo 210, and payment can be made through a Spanish bank or online via the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria).
The legal basis for this obligation is the Non-Resident Income Tax Act (Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes, IRNR). It applies to all properties situated in Spain that do not constitute your permanent residence and are not rented out for the full calendar year.
Calculate Your Tax Online
Want to find out quickly how much you might owe? Use our free online calculator — just enter your catastral value and the tool does the rest:
👉 Imputed Income Tax Calculator
How We Can Help
At Colás Abogados, we handle the entire process for you: verifying your catastral value, preparing and filing your Modelo 210, and liaising with the Spanish Tax Authority on your behalf. We have over 18 years of experience helping Scandinavian and international property owners navigate Spanish tax and legal obligations on the Costa Blanca.
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