Landlord Taxes in Barcelona: IRPF, Form 210 and IBI

Who this guide is for

It is for owners who let a home in Barcelona, whether you live in Spain or abroad. Which half of the guide applies depends on your tax residence. If you do not let the flat at all, skip to the section on empty homes.

How is rental income taxed in Spain?

Rent from a Spanish property is taxed in Spain, whoever receives it. Spanish tax residents declare it in their annual personal income tax return (IRPF). Non-residents declare it separately on Form 210, under the non-resident income tax (IRNR). The two regimes differ on four points: the rate, the expenses you can deduct, the reductions available and the filing dates.

Resident landlords: how IRPF works

You declare gross rent, subtract deductible expenses under article 23 of the IRPF law, and then apply any reduction to the net result. Deductible expenses are those linked to letting the property, for example property tax, community fees, insurance, repairs and depreciation. Keep every invoice.

The new reductions from 8 October 2026

Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 rewrote the reductions on net rental income, with effect from 8 October 2026. They apply only if you are not a large holder at the date of the contract, and only to income you declared correctly in your own return before any tax audit starts.

First letting of a flat:

New contract on a flat you have let before:

Other cases: a flat rehabilitated in the two years before the contract (60%), and flats let at social rent to a public body or non-profit (70%). If more than one reduction applies, you get the largest. A reduction of 80% applies during tacit extensions if the initial rent did not exceed the reference maximum. No reduction applies to a contract that breaks the rent rules in article 17.6 of the rental law (LAU), so the rent cap and the tax relief work together. Our guide to Barcelona's rental rules explains the cap.

These rules are in a decree that Congress still has to validate, and the text does not say how contracts signed before 8 October are treated. Ask your gestor before you prepare your 2026 return, due in spring 2027. If you are close to the large-holder threshold, read our guide to large holders first, because the status removes these reductions.

Non-resident landlords: how Form 210 works

If you live outside Spain, you pay non-resident income tax on Spanish rent and file Form 210.

• Rates: 19% if you live in another EU member state, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein. 24% for everyone else.

• Expenses: the base is the gross rent with no deductions. The exception is residents of the EU and EEA, who can deduct the expenses allowed by Spanish IRPF law, provided they show the costs relate directly to the Spanish income. Keep the documents, and expect to attach a certificate of tax residence if you deduct expenses.

• Reductions: the reductions above are written for Spanish tax residents, and the tax agency's guidance for non-residents mentions none. The European Commission has challenged this difference, so check before you file.

• Filing: each accrual is declared separately, or you group them annually.

Form 210 deadlines for rental income

The agency's Order HAC/623/2026 moved the deadline for rental filings with tax to pay to the first 20 days of April of the following year, for filings from 1 January 2027. Filings from 2027 also need a new annex that itemises your deductible expenses.

What if the flat is empty?

An owner who does not rent a Spanish home out is still taxed on an imputed income. For non-residents it is 2% of the cadastral value (the value on your IBI bill), or 1.1% where the cadastral values were recently revised. No expenses are deductible. The same 19% and 24% rates apply, and the income is prorated by days if you owned or rented the flat for part of the year.

If you let the flat for part of the year, the rent is taxed as rent and the remaining days as imputed income.

What can you not pass on to the tenant?

Under article 20 of the rental law as rewritten by the October decree:

• You cannot make the tenant pay the taxes linked to the dwelling, including IBI, the municipal property tax, unless the tenant is the taxpayer.

• You cannot charge the tenant property agency fees or the cost of drawing up the contract.

• You can pass on general running costs, such as community fees, only if the contract says so in writing and sets the annual amount.

Common mistakes

• Filing as a resident when you are not, or the reverse. Check your tax residence first, because the rate and the deductions differ.

• Forgetting empty months. Rent covers the let days. The other days are imputed income.

• Claiming a reduction you do not qualify for. The new ones depend on the rent, the zone, the tenant's age and large-holder status.

• Missing the October deadline. Rent from July to September 2026, filed separately, is due by 20 October.

• Charging IBI to the tenant. The decree now bars it.

• Deducting expenses without proof. A non-resident deduction needs invoices and a certificate of tax residence.

If you want the rent records and year-end figures ready for your gestor

Most of the tax work is not the filing. It is knowing what rent arrived, what you paid for and where the invoices are. Missing documents are what stop a deduction.

Zaest's Rental Management covers that side for a flat in Barcelona. On the Managed plan (€145 per month, IVA included) we collect the rent and send a monthly income and expense statement, and repair invoices are paid from the rent. Hands-Free (€195) adds year-end figures for your gestor. We do not give tax advice and we do not file returns, so the filing and the choice of reductions stay with your gestor or tax adviser, and we do not search for tenants.

Get started and tell us how you let your flat.