Are you a non-resident in Spain? Do you know what your tax obligations are? Andalucía Lawyers gives an outline of some different taxes you need to be aware of as a non-resident in Spain.

Am I a Spanish resident?

According to Spanish law you are a Spanish tax resident under the following circumstances:

• You live more than 183 calendar days a year on Spanish territory.
• The principal centre or base of your economic interests is in Spain.
• Your centre of vital interest is in Spain i.e. your spouse or dependent minor children live in Spain.

If none of these apply to you then you are a non-resident of Spain. The Spanish tax system operates through self-assessment. Both residents and non-residents with property in Spain are obliged to file tax returns. Read on to find out what non-resident income taxes are applicable to your situation.

Non–Resident Personal Income Tax 2021

In Spain, non-residents are taxed on their gross Spanish source income and on capital gains arising from assets located in Spain. However, non-residents may also be taxed on deemed income in certain cases.

Non-residents in Spain are required to declare income earned in Spain at a general rate of 24%. If you are resident of an EU member state or EEA country with an effective exchange of tax information with Spain you’ll be charged Spanish income tax at a rate of 19% for 2016.

Non-resident Spanish Property Owners

If you are a non-resident but you own property in Spain you will be subject to the following Spanish taxes:

Non-Resident Property Tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes)

When a property is owned by more than one person each one of them is considered an independent taxpayer and must present a separate tax return. Depending on the use of the property, the applicable income taxes are:

Income Tax on Properties for Private Use

This is calculated from the property’s cadastral value (valor catastral). All properties in Spain are registered on a census and assigned a cadastral value. From 2015 onwards, the income tax on properties for private use is 2% of the cadastral value, of which you are charged a percentage (see table below).

This is an annual tax calculated according to the calendar year (1 January – 31 December). If you’ve not been the owner of the property during the whole year or if the property was rented out for some portion of the year then you will only pay income tax proportionate to the time period in which the property was yours for private use only.

Paperwork

Form 210 (income type 02). Payable throughout the year.

Income Tax on Rented Property

If you’re a non-resident and you rent your Spanish property then you are obliged to declare the total amount of rent you receive without deducting expenses. However, if you are a member of an EU state, Iceland or Norway then from 1 January 2015 in order to calculate the tax base you can deduct allowed expenses directly related to your rental income as established in the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta de Personas Físicas.

You will be required to pay tax on rental income at the following rates:

Rental tax is declared and paid quarterly between the following dates. You pay tax on income earned during the 3 month period previous to the declaration:

• 1 – 20 April
• 1 – 20 July
• 1 – 20 October
• 1 – 20 January

If the tax return shows that you are owed money by the state, this is paid back to you from 1 February of the year following the date of the declared income and within a period of 4 years from the end of the declaration period concerned.

Paperwork

Form 210 (income type 01): to declare one source of rental income or several sources of rental income during a set period.

Taxes on Selling your Spanish Property as a Non-Resident

To find out about taxes applicable to non-residents who sell their Spanish property, such as Spanish capital gains tax and the plusvalía tax, please read our article Spanish Capital Gains Tax for Non-residents 2020.

Spanish Council Tax (IBI) for Non-Residents

Read our article outlining Spanish council tax for resident and non-resident owners of Spanish property.

Spanish Wealth Tax for Non-Residents

Read our article about Spanish wealth tax for residents and non-residents.

Contact Us

Are you a non-resident in Spain and you need help with your taxes? Contact us!