Spanish property

Modelo 210: Spanish non-resident tax for property owners

How Modelo 210 works for non-resident owners of Spanish property: imputed income, rental income, 19% and 24% rates, new 2026 deadlines and AEAT letters.

By Hola Post · Updated 1 October 2026 · 6 min read

Modelo 210 is the Spanish tax return that non-resident individuals use to pay income tax on Spanish property, whether the home is let out or simply kept for holidays. If you live in the UK and own a flat in Spain, you are normally expected to file one every year, even if you never earn a cent of rent from it. The tax is called IRNR (Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes, non-resident income tax) and it is collected by the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT), the Spanish tax agency.

Imputed income on a Spanish home you do not let

Spain treats a home kept for your own use, or left empty, as producing a notional income. This is the renta imputada (imputed income). It applies to non-resident individuals who own urban property in Spain that is not let and not used for a business.

The imputed income is a percentage of the property's valor catastral (cadastral value), which is printed on your IBI bill. See our guide to IBI, the Spanish property tax if you are not sure where to find it.

1.1% applies where the town's cadastral values have been revised under a general collective valuation that took effect in the tax year or in the ten years before. AEAT's guidance says that for 2023, 2024 and 2025 the 1.1% rate applies where the revised values took effect from 1 January 2012 onwards.
2% applies to all other properties.

You can check the year of your town's last general valuation on the Catastro website, under Ponencias de valores. The amount is reduced pro rata if you owned the property for only part of the year, or if it was let for part of the year. Joint owners each declare their share. No expenses can be deducted from imputed income.

As a simple example, a flat with a cadastral value of €100,000 at the 1.1% rate gives imputed income of €1,100. A UK resident pays 24% of that, which is €264 for the year.

Rental income from a Spanish property

If you let the property, you declare the rent instead of imputed income for the days it was let. The taxable amount is the full rent received, excluding VAT. For any part of the year it was not let, you still declare imputed income for those days.

Residents of another EU member state, or of an EEA state with the required tax information exchange, can deduct expenses that are directly related to the Spanish rental income, along the lines allowed under Spanish income tax rules. Typical examples are IBI, community fees, insurance, repairs and a proportion of interest on a loan used to buy the property. Everyone else, which now includes UK residents, is taxed on the gross rent.

Tax rates: EU and EEA residents compared with UK and other residents

Where you are tax resident	General IRNR rate	Rental expenses deductible?
EU, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein	19%	Yes, if directly linked to the rental
UK and all other countries	24%	No, under current law

These are the general rates AEAT publishes for 2026. They have been unchanged since July 2021.

Modelo 210 deadlines, including the changes from 2026

Order HAC/623/2026, published in June 2026, moved several Modelo 210 deadlines. The new rules are being phased in, so the date depends on which tax year you are dealing with.

Imputed income. For 2025, the return is due between 1 January and 31 December 2026, and if you pay by direct debit you must file by 23 December 2026. For 2026 onwards, the window is 1 April to 31 December of the following year, so 2026 imputed income is filed between 1 April and 31 December 2027.

Rental income. Since 2024, landlords can group a year's rental income into one return (subject to conditions) or file separately for each rental. For 2024 and 2025, a grouped annual return was due in the first 20 days of January of the following year. From the 2026 tax year, grouped returns are due between 1 and 20 April of the following year, with direct debit filing from 1 to 15 April.

If you file separately for each rental, returns for income in April to September 2026 keep the old quarterly dates (the first 20 days of July and October 2026). From the fourth quarter of 2026, separate returns also move to 1 to 20 April of the following year.

Selling a property is different. The return for a capital gain is due within three months after the end of the one-month period following the sale, and the buyer must withhold 3% of the price on account of your tax.

The position for UK residents after Brexit

Since the UK left the EU, UK residents pay the 24% rate and cannot deduct expenses from rental income. This has been challenged. In a ruling of 28 July 2025, Spain's National Court (Audiencia Nacional) found that refusing expenses to non-EU residents restricted the free movement of capital. In July 2026 the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal on the point. Until the Supreme Court decides, AEAT continues to apply the law as written. Some owners have filed refund claims to protect their position, and this is worth discussing with an adviser if you have rental income.

The UK and Spain have a double taxation treaty. Spain keeps the right to tax income from Spanish property, and UK residents may be able to claim credit for Spanish tax against UK tax on the same income.

What AEAT letters about Modelo 210 look like

AEAT holds Catastro data, so owners who have not filed imputed income for several years often hear about it eventually. Letters carry the Agencia Tributaria heading, a reference number and a Código Seguro de Verificación (CSV), a code that lets you check the document is genuine on the AEAT website. Common types are:

Requerimiento: a formal request to file a missing return or provide documents, with a deadline.
Propuesta de liquidación provisional: a proposed tax assessment, with a period (usually 10 working days) to put your side in writing (alegaciones).
Liquidación provisional: the final assessment. If it is notified between the 1st and 15th of a month, you have until the 20th of the following month to pay. If notified between the 16th and the end of the month, you have until the 5th of the second following month.
Acuerdo de imposición de sanción: a penalty decision, which is a separate letter.

If a letter cannot be delivered after two attempts, AEAT can publish a notice in the BOE (the official gazette). If you do not come forward within 15 calendar days, you are treated as notified and the deadlines run without you. This is how many owners end up with surcharges they knew nothing about. Our guide on the ten-day rule for Spanish notifications explains the equivalent rule for electronic notices.

Representatives and fiscal representatives

Spanish law requires non-EU residents to appoint a representative resident in Spain in some cases: for example when they operate through a permanent establishment, or when AEAT requires it because of the amount or type of their Spanish income or because they own Spanish property. The appointment has to be notified to AEAT within two months. In practice, most UK owners are not required to have one unless AEAT asks, but many use a gestor or tax adviser to file Modelo 210 for them.

Filing someone else's return or reading their notifications online needs an authorisation. The usual route is the Registro Electrónico de Apoderamientos (REA), explained in our guide to appointing a representative through the REA.

This guide is general information, not tax advice, so check your own position with a gestor or tax adviser.

How Hola Post helps

Hola Post receives post at a staffed address in Almería, Spain and, as your authorised representative through the REA, collects your Spanish electronic notifications from AEAT and other bodies every working day. Each letter or notice goes into your online inbox the same day, so a requerimiento about Modelo 210 does not sit unread. See Spanish notifications and holiday homes, or get started.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to file Modelo 210 if I never rent out my Spanish property?

Yes. A non-resident individual who owns a Spanish home kept for their own use, or left empty, pays non-resident income tax on an imputed (deemed) income, worked out as 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value shown on the IBI bill.

What tax rate do UK residents pay on Spanish property income?

Since Brexit, UK residents pay the general non-resident rate of 24%, not the 19% rate for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

When is the Modelo 210 for imputed income due?

Imputed income for 2025 must be declared between 1 January and 31 December 2026. From the 2026 tax year the window becomes 1 April to 31 December of the following year, so 2026 imputed income is filed from 1 April 2027.

Can UK owners deduct expenses from Spanish rental income?

Under the current law, no. Only residents of the EU and EEA states with tax information exchange can deduct expenses. A National Court ruling of July 2025 challenged this and the Supreme Court agreed in July 2026 to review it, so the position may change.

Do I need a fiscal representative in Spain for Modelo 210?

Not automatically. Non-EU residents must appoint one in certain cases, including when the tax agency requires it because they own Spanish property. Many owners choose to use a gestor or tax adviser anyway.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so check your own situation with a gestor, accountant or lawyer.