Property Taxes in Spain for Non-Residents (2026)

This guide is for international owners who buy on the Costa del Sol but live abroad. You will learn every tax you pay each year, how much it costs, and when it is due. We use a 500.000 euros home so you can see real numbers.

At a glance: If you own a home in Spain but live there less than 183 days a year, you are a non-resident for tax. You pay tax even if the home sits empty. The main yearly taxes are IBI (local council tax) and IRNR (a small tax on owning). On a 500.000 euros Costa del Sol home, the pure tax bill is roughly 1.000 to 1.300 euros a year, or about 2.400 euros once you add rubbish and community fees.

Here are the headline yearly numbers for a non-resident owner of a 500.000 euros home.

• ~750 euros - IBI council tax
• ~314 euros - IRNR, EU owner
• 19% - capital gains if you sell
• ~2.400 euros - all-in yearly cost

Below we explain each one in plain words. All figures are for 2026.

First: what is a "non-resident"?

You are a non-resident in Spain if you spend less than 183 days a year in the country. Most holiday-home and second-home owners fall into this group.

As a non-resident, you only pay Spanish tax on Spanish income and Spanish property. Your salary or pension from home is taxed at home, not in Spain. That is good news. But you still have a few Spanish taxes to handle, and many owners do not know about them until a bill arrives.

Danger: The Spanish tax office (called Hacienda) has become much stricter. It now chases unpaid non-resident tax going back four years. If you ignore it, you can face fines of 5% to 20% of the tax, plus interest. Never assume "nobody checks." They do, especially when you sell.

You also need a NIE (your Spanish tax ID number for foreigners) to pay any tax. You get this when you buy. Without it, you cannot file or pay.

The cadastral value: the number behind your tax

Before the taxes, you must understand one word: cadastral value (valor catastral in Spanish).

This is an official value the government gives your home. It is not the market price. It is almost always much lower, often 40% to 70% of what you paid. You find it on your IBI bill.

Why does this matter? Because two of your main taxes (IBI and IRNR) are based on the cadastral value, not on the 500.000 euros you paid. This is why the real tax bills are smaller than people fear.

Market price vs cadastral value:

• You paid: 500.000 euros
• Cadastral value: about 150.000 euros

Example: You buy for 500.000 euros. The cadastral value might be set at, say, 150.000 euros. Your IBI and IRNR are worked out on that 150.000 euros, not on 500.000 euros.

Bonus tip: Always ask for the last IBI bill before you buy. It shows the cadastral value, so you can work out the exact yearly taxes in advance. A good buyer's agent gets this for you before you commit.

IBI: the local council tax

IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) is the local property tax. It is like council tax in the UK or onroerendezaakbelasting in the Netherlands. You pay it once a year to the town hall.

• The rate is set by each town. It runs from about 0,4% to 1,1% of the cadastral value.
• On the Costa del Sol, most homes pay roughly 400 to 900 euros per year.

Worked example on a 500.000 euros home (cadastral value about 150.000 euros, town rate 0,5%):

• 150.000 euros x 0,5% = 750 euros per year

The exact figure depends on the town and the cadastral value, so always check the last bill.

Bonus tip: Set up a direct debit from your Spanish bank account for IBI. Deadlines change from town to town, and a missed payment brings a fine. Direct debit means you never forget.

IRNR: tax even if you do not rent

This is the one that surprises almost every foreign owner. IRNR (Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes) is the non-resident income tax.

If your home is empty or only for your own use, Spain still taxes you. The idea is that you get a "benefit" from owning a home, so they tax that imagined benefit. It is often called imputed income tax or deemed income tax.

How it is worked out:

1. Take the cadastral value.
2. The "income" is 1,1% of it (if the value was updated in the last 10 years), or 2% if not. Most are on 1,1%.
3. Apply the tax rate: 19% if you live in the EU, Norway, or Iceland. 24% if you live outside (this includes the UK after Brexit).

Worked example on a 500.000 euros home (cadastral value 150.000 euros):

• 1.650 euros - imputed income (150.000 euros x 1,1%)
• 313,50 euros per year - EU owner: tax at 19%
• 396 euros per year - non-EU owner: tax at 24%

So most owners pay between 300 and 600 euros per year for IRNR. You file it once a year using the form Modelo 210.

Warning: If two people own the home together, each must file their own Modelo 210 for their share. A couple owning 50/50 files two returns, each on half the amount.

Tax if you rent the home out

If you rent the home (for example, holiday lets), the rules change. For the days it is rented, you pay tax on the actual rent, not the imputed income.

• EU and EEA owners: pay 19% on the net rent. You can deduct costs: mortgage interest, IBI, community fees, insurance, repairs, agent fees, utilities you pay.
• Non-EU owners (including the UK): pay 24% on the gross rent, with no deductions allowed under current rules.

This gap is large. Here is one month of 1.000 euros in rent, with 400 euros of costs.

EU owner (19% on net)

• Rent: 1.000 euros
• Less costs: 400 euros
• Taxed on: 600 euros
• Tax: 114 euros

Non-EU owner (24% on gross)

• Rent: 1.000 euros
• Less costs: not allowed
• Taxed on: 1.000 euros
• Tax: 240 euros

So the EU owner pays less than half. This is a real effect of Brexit for British owners.

Bonus tip: Rental tax for non-EU owners is being challenged in the Spanish courts, and may change. If you plan to rent, get current advice before you file. Spain Developments can point you to trusted tax specialists who handle non-resident returns.

Rubbish tax and community fees

Two more yearly costs that are not "income tax" but still land on your bill:

• Rubbish collection tax (basura): a small town charge, usually 50 to 200 euros per year.
• Community fees (gastos de comunidad): if your home is in a complex with a pool, gardens, or lift, you pay a share of the upkeep. This is not a tax but it is a real yearly cost, often 600 to 1.800 euros per year, more for luxury resorts.

Worked example on a 500.000 euros apartment:

• 120 euros - rubbish tax
• 1.200 euros - community fees
• Total: 1.320 euros per year

We cover these in more detail in our guide to the yearly cost of owning a home in Spain.

Wealth tax: do you need to worry?

Wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) is a tax on the value of your Spanish assets. For most buyers, the answer is simple: you will not pay it.

• It only starts above 700.000 euros of net Spanish assets, per person.
• A couple owning a home 50/50 each get the 700.000 euros allowance, so together they are covered up to about 1,4 million euros.
• A mortgage reduces the net value, lowering the figure further.

Good news for the Costa del Sol: Andalucía currently gives a 100% discount on wealth tax. So even if you cross the threshold, the regional bill can be zero.

Warning: There is a separate national "solidarity tax on large fortunes" for very high-value assets. The Andalucía discount does not stop that one. If your Spanish assets are well over a million euros, get advice. For a 500.000 euros home, you have nothing to worry about here.

Taxes when you sell

You do not pay these every year, but you should know them now, so there are no shocks later.

• Capital gains tax: 19% on your profit (the sale price minus the price you paid and your buying costs). This 19% rate applies to all non-residents in 2026, whatever country you live in.
• The 3% retention: when a non-resident sells, the buyer must hold back 3% of the sale price and pay it straight to the tax office. This counts towards your capital gains tax. If you overpaid, you claim the difference back.
• Plusvalía municipal: a local town tax on the rise in land value during your ownership. The seller normally pays it.

Worked example: You buy a home for 500.000 euros and later sell for 600.000 euros. After buying and selling costs, say your profit is 70.000 euros.

• 13.300 euros - capital gains tax (70.000 euros x 19%)
• 18.000 euros - buyer holds back 3% of 600.000 euros
• You claim back the difference: 4.700 euros

Bonus tip: Keep every invoice from your purchase, lawyer, taxes, and any improvements. These costs lower your taxable profit when you sell, which lowers your capital gains tax.

The full yearly tax breakdown on 500.000 euros

Here is the full yearly picture for a non-resident owner of a 500.000 euros Costa del Sol apartment (cadastral value about 150.000 euros). Sale taxes are shown separately, as they are one-off.

Yearly costs, EU owner

• 750 euros - IBI council tax
• 314 euros - IRNR (not rented) at 19%
• 120 euros - rubbish tax
• 1.200 euros - community fees
• Yearly total (EU owner): ~2.384 euros

Yearly costs, non-EU owner (such as UK)

• 750 euros - IBI council tax
• 396 euros - IRNR (not rented) at 24%
• 120 euros - rubbish tax
• 1.200 euros - community fees
• Yearly total (non-EU owner): ~2.466 euros

One-off taxes when you sell (example on 70.000 euros profit)

• 13.300 euros - capital gains tax (19% of profit)
• Plusvalía municipal (seller pays): varies by town

So, leaving community fees aside (which are not a tax), the pure non-resident tax bill on a 500.000 euros home is roughly 1.000 to 1.300 euros per year. With community fees and rubbish, the all-in yearly figure is about 2.400 euros.

Deadlines and forms

Keep these dates simple:

• IBI: once a year, date set by the town. Use direct debit.
• IRNR (not rented): file Modelo 210 once a year. Deadline is 31 December of the year after the tax year. So 2025's tax is due by 31 December 2026.
• IRNR (rented): filed yearly now, with its own deadline in January.
• Capital gains (when you sell): file Modelo 210 within four months of the sale.

A non-resident tax specialist can handle all of this for you for a small yearly fee. Many owners find this easier than learning the Spanish forms.

At Spain Developments, our job does not end when you get the keys. We are an independent buyer's agent paid by the developer, so you pay us no fee. We make sure you understand your yearly taxes before you buy, and we connect you with trusted tax help so you never miss a deadline.

Conclusion

As a non-resident owner on the Costa del Sol, your main yearly taxes are IBI and IRNR, and both are based on the low cadastral value, not the market price. On a 500.000 euros home that is roughly 1.000 to 1.300 euros of tax a year, or about 2.400 euros once you add rubbish and community fees. When you sell, expect 19% capital gains tax on your profit. Know these numbers now and there are no surprises later.

Want to know the exact yearly taxes on a home you like? Talk to Spain Developments and we will work it out for you, with no fee and no pressure.