One of the most overlooked benefits for Swedes with a home on the Costa Blanca is this: the Swedish state can help pay the labour cost of your renovation – even though the house is in Spain. The ROT deduction applies not only to homes in Sweden but throughout the EU/EEA, and Spain is included. In recent years the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) has paid out hundreds of millions of kronor for work carried out in Spain. The problem is that almost no Spanish builder knows the Swedish system, and few Swedish owners know how it works in practice. This guide explains exactly how, step by step.
What the ROT deduction is
ROT (Renovation, Conversion, Extension) is a tax reduction for the labour cost of renovating your home. For 2026 the deduction is 30% of the labour cost, up to SEK 50,000 per person per year. ROT and RUT share a combined ceiling of SEK 75,000 per person per year, of which ROT may be at most SEK 50,000. If you co-own the property – spouses, for example – each of you has a separate ceiling, so together up to SEK 100,000 of ROT per year.
The conditions – do you meet them?
Three things must hold true. First, you must own the home (wholly or partly – a share is enough) and it must be in an EU/EEA country; Spain qualifies. It must be your permanent or holiday home. Second, you must be liable to Swedish tax and have enough Swedish tax to set the reduction against. Most Swedes who keep a holiday home in Spain while still living and being taxed in Sweden meet this easily; if you have emigrated and no longer pay Swedish income tax, there is usually no tax to offset. Third, the work must be of the right type.
Which works qualify – and which do not
The deduction covers renovation, conversion and extension of an existing home: bathroom refurbishment, repainting, a new kitchen, new tiling, rewiring and plumbing, rendering a façade, replacing windows, and similar work in or in close connection to the home. It does not cover building an entirely new house or a freestanding building (for example a new garage). This matters in Spain: renovating your villa – yes; building a brand-new villa on the plot – no.
Equally important: only the labour cost qualifies. Materials, machinery, travel, waste removal and fees for an architect or inspector do not. The Spanish invoice must therefore separate labour from materials – something a Spanish “presupuesto” rarely does automatically. This is one of the most common pitfalls.
How it works – step by step
Step 1 – Check that you and the work qualify. Confirm ownership, the type of home, and that the work is ROT work as above.
Step 2 – Engage a builder. The Spanish company does not need Swedish F-tax for work performed in Spain. However, it must be able to produce a valid debt-free certificate equivalent to Swedish F-tax – in Spain, a certificado de estar al corriente de obligaciones tributarias from the Agencia Tributaria, showing the firm has no tax debts.
Step 3 – Ask for a correct invoice. The labour cost must be stated separately from materials and other costs, and the ROT deduction must be clearly shown. You pay the invoice amount after the deduction. If you pay the whole labour cost yourself, Skatteverket cannot pay out anything – there is no remaining balance to request.
Step 4 – Pay electronically. Payment must be by a traceable electronic method (card, bank transfer, Swish, BankID). Cash does not qualify. Keep receipts, payment records and invoices.
Step 5 – The builder requests payment from Skatteverket. Once the work is done and you have paid, the contractor requests the remainder of the labour cost from Skatteverket. A Spanish company without Swedish e-identification uses an electronic form, signs it digitally and attaches the debt-free certificate. The request states the company’s details, IBAN and BIC/SWIFT, the type of work, the actual hours worked, material and other costs, the amount requested in Swedish kronor, and your and the property’s details.
Step 6 – Respect the deadline. The request must reach Skatteverket by 31 January of the year after you paid. Miss the deadline and the deduction is lost.
Step 7 – Appoint a representative if needed. Because few Spanish builders can handle the Swedish process, a representative (ombud) can be appointed (form SKV 4854) to file the request on the contractor’s behalf. This is where we come in.
A worked example
Say the labour cost of a bathroom and kitchen renovation is SEK 100,000 (on top of materials). The ROT deduction is 30% = SEK 30,000. You pay the builder SEK 70,000 for the labour (plus materials), and the builder receives the remaining SEK 30,000 directly from Skatteverket. If there are two co-owners, each with their own ceiling, together you can obtain up to SEK 100,000 of ROT in the same year.
How we at Colás Abogados / Advokater help
We bridge the gap between the Spanish builder and the Swedish Tax Agency. In practice we help you: confirm that the work and your situation qualify; make sure the Spanish firm obtains the correct certificado de estar al corriente; structure the invoice so the labour cost is stated correctly and the deduction is shown; act as representative and file the electronic payment request with Skatteverket on the contractor’s behalf; and keep track of the deadline. We work in Swedish, so you do not have to translate and explain the Swedish system to your Spanish builder.
Read more about our services for Swedish clients in Spain here: Colás Jurist – Swedish legal help in Spain.
Kontakta oss / Contact us / Contáctenos:
Email: [email protected]
Teléfono: +34 629 549 430
Web: www.colas-abogados.com