Many non-resident owners don't realise they owe Spanish tax even if they never rent out their home. Here's what you need to do before the deadline, and what changes in 2027.
Thousands of British and Irish owners with a home in Mallorca have until 31 December to file a Spanish tax return, even if the property is never rented out. For many, the island is where life slows down, and the Spanish tax office rarely features in that picture. Yet every non-resident who owns property in Spain has a return to file each year, whether the home is let or simply waiting for the next visit.
The deadline for the 2025 tax year is Thursday 31 December 2026, or Wednesday 23 December if you would like to pay by direct debit. From January, the form itself changes. Below is a clear guide to what the obligation is, who it applies to, what is new for 2027, and how IberianTax can help you file online, in English, in a few minutes.
A tax on a home you don't rent out?
Yes. Spain treats a second home as if it generates a notional income for its owner, even when it earns nothing. This is known as imputed income, and non-residents declare it on a form called the Modelo 210.
The calculation is simpler than it sounds. The notional income is a percentage of your property's cadastral value (the official value shown on your annual IBI council tax bill): usually 1.1% or 2%, depending on when your town hall last updated its cadastral values. Tax is then applied to that figure:
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UK owners pay 24%, as residents of a country outside the EU.
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Irish owners pay 19%, as EU residents.
As an example, a home with a cadastral value of €150,000 and the 1.1% rate gives a notional income of €1,650. For a full year, that means €396 for a UK owner and around €314 for an Irish owner. If you bought or sold during the year, you only declare the days you owned the property. If the home is jointly owned, each owner files their own return for their share.
This applies to you if you are not tax resident in Spain and you own residential property here. If you let your property for part of the year, the rental income is declared separately, and imputed income still applies to the days it was not rented.
The key date: 31 December 2026
Imputed income is declared the year after it relates to. That means your return for 2025 must be filed by Thursday 31 December 2026.
If you prefer to pay by direct debit from a bank account in the SEPA area, the last day to file is 23 December. With Christmas in between, it pays to leave a little margin.
What changes in 2027
Spain has updated the Modelo 210 through a ministerial order published in June 2026. The tax rates stay the same, but the dates and the form change.
1. New filing dates. From 2027, the window for declaring imputed income opens later. Your 2026 return can be filed from 1 April to 31 December 2027, rather than from January. In addition, any return filed from 1 January 2027, whatever year it relates to, must use the new version of the form. In practice, if the 2025 return slips past 31 December, you will be filing late and on a different form.
2. If you rent out your property: more detail on the form. The new Modelo 210 asks for additional information, such as the number of days you owned the property, your ownership share and its cadastral reference. Owners who declare rental income will also need to break down their deductible expenses by category in a new annex: community fees, IBI, insurance, utilities, repairs and similar costs. Only EU and EEA residents, such as Irish owners, can deduct these costs today. UK owners are taxed on their gross rental income, although Spain's Supreme Court is now reviewing whether this difference is lawful. Rental income for 2026 will be declared from 1 to 20 April 2027 if there is tax to pay, or from 1 to 20 January 2027 if the result is zero or negative. The practical advice is simple: start keeping your receipts organised by type now.
3. Possible VAT on holiday lets. A government decree published in October 2026 (Royal Decree-law 29/2026) would apply 10% VAT to furnished lets of 30 nights or fewer from 1 December 2026, even where no hotel-style services are offered. Until now, these lets were generally exempt. The decree still has to be ratified by Parliament's Standing Committee, expected in early November, and a previous version was rejected in October. If it goes ahead, owners who let their Mallorca home to holidaymakers would need to register for VAT in Spain and file quarterly VAT returns, on top of their Modelo 210. IberianTax will keep its blog updated as the situation becomes clear.
What you'll need before you file
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Your NIE (Spanish foreigner identification number)
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Your latest IBI bill
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Your property's cadastral reference and cadastral value, both shown on the IBI bill
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The date you bought the property and your ownership share
What happens if you miss the deadline?
Filing late is not the end of the world, but it does cost more the longer it is left. If you file late on your own initiative, Spain applies a surcharge of 1%, plus an extra 1% for each full month of delay, rising to 15% plus late-payment interest after a year. If the tax office contacts you first, the penalties can be considerably higher. Spain increasingly cross-checks property ownership records, so an unfiled year is likely to surface eventually.
The good news is that past years can also be filed. If you have missed a return, putting it right sooner is always cheaper than later.
A simpler way to file from abroad
IberianTax was built for exactly this situation: owners who live outside Spain, don't speak the language of the tax office and simply want the job done correctly. The platform is 100% online and works in English. You create a free account, add your property, answer a few clear questions, review the result and submit. Your return goes directly to the Spanish Tax Agency, and the official receipt arrives by email and in your dashboard.
IberianTax is a registered collaborator of the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) and has filed more than 30,000 tax returns for property owners. You can also set up automatic yearly filing, so next year's deadline takes care of itself.
Don't let 31 December catch you out. File your 2025 imputed income return with IberianTax today: it only takes a few minutes, and you can do it from wherever you are.