Do I pay tax if I only let the property for two weeks a year?

Yes, on both counts. You declare the rent from those two weeks, and you also declare imputed income for the rest of the year, because Spain taxes a second home for the time it is available to you rather than let. The two weeks do not exempt you from the fifty weeks.

Can I deduct my costs?

It depends on where you are tax resident, and this is the single biggest thing British owners get wrong since Brexit. Residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein are taxed at 19% on the net figure, so mortgage interest, community fees, IBI, insurance, repairs and agency commission come off first, in proportion to the days let. Residents outside that group, which since Brexit includes the United Kingdom, are taxed at 24% on the gross rent with no deductions at all. Same property, same rent, very different bill.

My spouse and I own it together. Do we file one return or two?

Two. Spanish non-resident tax is filed per taxpayer, not per property, so each co-owner declares their own share. A couple owning fifty fifty files two returns. It is the detail that surprises almost every new owner, and it is why quoted prices per return can be misleading if nobody tells you how many you need.

Does my tourist licence number go on the tax return?

The licence and the tax return are separate systems. Your VT number identifies your property in the regional tourism register; the tax return identifies you as a taxpayer and your property by its cadastral reference. Holding a licence does not by itself create a tax bill, and having no licence does not remove one.

I have owned the property for years and never declared anything. What now?

You are not the first and it is fixable. Late returns filed voluntarily, before the tax office writes to you, carry a surcharge that is much lighter than the penalty for being caught. The worst option is to keep waiting, because rental platforms now report to the Spanish tax authorities and the letters do arrive. Tell us how many years are open and we will tell you what it costs to put straight.

Is this included in my licence price?

Neither, and that is deliberate. Your tax return is a separate service at the ordinary price, exactly what somebody who never bought a licence from us pays. We would rather you paid the normal price than a bundle that looks cheaper and is not.

The bill that arrives after the licence

Tax on holiday lets in Spain

If you are not resident in Spain and you let your property to holidaymakers, you pay Spanish income tax on that rent, and you pay again on the property itself for the weeks it sits empty. Both go on the same form. It is a separate matter from your tourist licence, and it is separate from what you pay us.

Written by Daniel Bertomeu, Tax and Legal Advisor (AEDAF nº 06838, APAFCV nº 3080). Legal review by Juan Antonio Bertomeu Valles, lawyer, ICALI nº 4643. Reviewed 4 August 2026.

Two different things that get mixed up

The licence is permission. The tax is the consequence.

Your VT number lets you advertise and let legally. It does not create a tax bill and it does not remove one. They are two different administrations that do not talk to each other on your behalf.

You can hold a licence and owe nothing. You can owe tax with no licence.

If you never let the property, there is no rental income to declare, only the imputed part below. And if you have never held a licence at all, the imputed part has still been running every year you have owned a second home in Spain.

We do the licence. The tax return is priced separately.

The tax side is handled by our tax advisor at the ordinary price, the same as somebody who never came through us. Nothing you buy here makes your tax return dearer or cheaper.

What you pay on the weeks it is let

You declare the rent you collect. What changes everything is where you are tax resident, because that decides both the rate and whether your costs count.

You are tax resident in	Rate	Taxed on
The EU, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein	19%	Net rent, after deducting your costs in proportion to the days let
Anywhere else, which since Brexit includes the United Kingdom	24%	Gross rent, with no deductions at all

This is the Brexit detail that catches British owners. Before 2021 a British owner deducted the mortgage interest, the community fees, the IBI, the insurance, the repairs and the agency commission, and paid 19% on what was left. Now the same owner pays 24% on the whole rent, with nothing taken off. The rate went up and the deductions went away, in the same move.

What you pay on the weeks it is empty

This is the one almost nobody knows about until a letter arrives. Spain taxes a second home for simply being available to its non-resident owner. It is called imputed income, it has nothing to do with whether you ever set foot in the property, and it is filed once a year, not quarterly.

The taxable amount is a percentage of the cadastral value of the property: 1.1% where the municipality has had a general cadastral revision recently enough, and 2% where it has not. Your rate on that figure is the same 19% or 24% as above. Which percentage applies is decided by your municipality, not by your property, so two identical flats in different towns can be taxed differently.

If you let the property for part of the year, the two parts share the calendar: rental income for the days let, imputed income for the days not let. They are not alternatives.

If you own it with your spouse

Spanish non-resident tax is filed per taxpayer, not per property. Two owners means two returns, every year, each declaring their own share. There is no joint return for a couple.

It matters when you compare prices. A quote per return is not a quote per property, and a headline figure that quietly assumes a single owner is half of what a couple actually pays. Ask anyone quoting you which one they mean.

Work out what you actually owe

The figures depend on your cadastral value, your municipality, your days let and how many owners there are. Our tax side has a calculator for exactly that, and it is free to use. Same firm, same people, separate service, ordinary price.

Work out what you owe Ask us about your case

Questions we get asked

Do I pay tax if I only let the property for two weeks a year?: Yes, on both counts. You declare the rent from those two weeks, and you also declare imputed income for the rest of the year, because Spain taxes a second home for the time it is available to you rather than let. The two weeks do not exempt you from the fifty weeks.
Can I deduct my costs?: It depends on where you are tax resident, and this is the single biggest thing British owners get wrong since Brexit. Residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein are taxed at 19% on the net figure, so mortgage interest, community fees, IBI, insurance, repairs and agency commission come off first, in proportion to the days let. Residents outside that group, which since Brexit includes the United Kingdom, are taxed at 24% on the gross rent with no deductions at all. Same property, same rent, very different bill.
My spouse and I own it together. Do we file one return or two?: Two. Spanish non-resident tax is filed per taxpayer, not per property, so each co-owner declares their own share. A couple owning fifty fifty files two returns. It is the detail that surprises almost every new owner, and it is why quoted prices per return can be misleading if nobody tells you how many you need.
Does my tourist licence number go on the tax return?: The licence and the tax return are separate systems. Your VT number identifies your property in the regional tourism register; the tax return identifies you as a taxpayer and your property by its cadastral reference. Holding a licence does not by itself create a tax bill, and having no licence does not remove one.
I have owned the property for years and never declared anything. What now?: You are not the first and it is fixable. Late returns filed voluntarily, before the tax office writes to you, carry a surcharge that is much lighter than the penalty for being caught. The worst option is to keep waiting, because rental platforms now report to the Spanish tax authorities and the letters do arrive. Tell us how many years are open and we will tell you what it costs to put straight.
Is this included in my licence price?: Neither, and that is deliberate. Your tax return is a separate service at the ordinary price, exactly what somebody who never bought a licence from us pays. We would rather you paid the normal price than a bundle that looks cheaper and is not.

Related reading: all guides, your five year renewal, and reporting your guests.