Modelo 210 for owners of a second home in Spain

Why you still file as a non-resident

Modelo 210 is the form for the Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes, the income tax for non-residents, often shortened to IRNR. The idea is simple: you are a tax resident abroad but you own property in Spain, and Spain wants to tax the income from that property. This applies whether you rent the house out or not. If you rent it, there is real rental income. If you do not, Spain works with a deemed income, and it is exactly this second part that many owners miss.

It is not a return you file once and then forget. As long as the house is in your name and you live abroad, the obligation comes back every year. That sounds heavier than it is in practice, but it is worth planning for from the moment you get the keys.

The deemed income on an empty house (renta imputada)

The renta imputada is the heart of the matter for most holiday-home owners. Spain assumes a second home gives you a benefit, even if it sits empty most of the year, and therefore taxes a fixed percentage of the valor catastral, the property's cadastral value. That percentage is 1.1 percent if the cadastral value has been revised in the last ten years, and 2 percent if it has not. You then pay the tax rate on that amount.

An example makes it concrete. Say your apartment on the Costa Blanca has a valor catastral of 90,000 euro and that value was recently revised, so you use 1.1 percent. That is 990 euro of deemed income for the whole year. As an EU citizen you pay 19 percent on it, so roughly 188 euro of tax for that year. Not a huge sum, but an obligation that returns every year and one the Agencia Tributaria can chase you for if you skip it.

Where to find the valor catastral

The valor catastral is on your IBI bill, the local property tax you receive each year from the ayuntamiento. Grab that bill and you have the figure you need for the calculation. If you are unsure whether the value was revised in the last ten years, that is usually in the municipal data too, and your adviser can check it for you.

The rate: 19 percent for EU and EEA residents

For you as an EU citizen the rate is 19 percent. That applies to residents of the European Union and the European Economic Area. Residents from outside the EU and EEA pay 24 percent, so it matters who lives where. This 19 percent rate applies both to the deemed income of an empty house and to the net rent if you do let the property.

What if you rent the house out

If you rent your holiday home out, say a few months a year to tourists, the picture changes. You then declare the actual rental income instead of the deemed income for the rented period. The advantage for EU and EEA residents is that you may deduct costs related to the letting, in proportion to the rental period. Think of part of the community fees, insurance, maintenance and the IBI. You then pay 19 percent on the net result. For the months the house stood empty, the renta imputada applies again for that same period.

Deadlines and how often you file

You file the return on a year's deemed income in the following year. So the income for 2025 is declared in 2026, with 31 December of that following year as the deadline. For rental income the return has been annual rather than quarterly since 2024, which makes things clearer. The exact dates can differ by situation and by year, so it is wise to confirm the current deadlines with the Agencia Tributaria or your tax adviser before you file. Honestly, this is exactly the kind of detail that changes now and then, so do not rely blindly on a date from an old article.

Each owner files separately

If you and your partner own the house together, each for half, then each of you files your own Modelo 210 for your own share. The Spanish return follows ownership, not the household. Two owners means two returns, each on half of the deemed income or the rent. Good to know, as it explains why a couple with a jointly owned apartment sees two forms instead of one.

The role of a tax representative (representante fiscal)

For EU and EEA residents a representante fiscal, a tax representative in Spain, is not mandatory. Even so, many owners choose a gestor or an asesor fiscal. The reason is practical: the return is in Spanish, requires the right calculation with the valor catastral and the correct percentages, and you want to avoid a small mistake turning into a back payment with interest years later. A representative can take the annual return off your hands and keep an eye on the deadlines. It is not compulsory, but for anyone who does not speak Spanish or has no appetite for the research, it is often worth the money.

And the double-taxation treaty

You may wonder whether you now pay tax in two countries on the same house. This is where the double-taxation treaty between your home country and Spain comes in. The treaty divides taxing rights and prevents double taxation, so the Spanish tax on your second home is credited or exempted at home according to the treaty rules. Exactly how it works out depends on your personal situation. And none of this works without your NIE, since that number is on every return and every bill.