14 September 2026
If you are a non-resident owner who has rented out a Spanish property without declaring it, the way out is Form 210 (modelo 210), filed year by year for the four tax years still open. Coming forward before the Spanish Tax Agency contacts you changes the outcome: instead of a penalty, you pay the article 27 surcharge, between 1% and 15%, cut by 25% if you pay on time. Order HAC/623/2026 has also moved the ordinary filing window from January to April.
What does it mean to regularise Spanish rental income as a non-resident?
Regularising means filing, on your own initiative, the Form 210 returns you never submitted, paying the tax and the surcharge, before the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) asks you to. It covers the tax years not yet time-barred and replaces a penalty with a surcharge.
The starting point surprises many foreign owners: rent from a property located in Spain is taxed in Spain even if the owner never sets foot in the country and the tenant pays into an account in Munich or Miami. Article 13.1.g) of the consolidated Non-Resident Income Tax Act (IRNR, Royal Legislative Decree 5/2004, of 5 March) says so.
What about your double taxation treaty? It does not exempt you. Spain’s treaties follow the OECD model and give taxing rights over property income to the country where the property sits; the treaty then works in your country of residence, to relieve double taxation.
The legal framework as at 14 September 2026
- Royal Legislative Decree 5/2004 (IRNR Act): articles 13.1.g) and 13.1.h), 24 (taxable base and expenses) and 25 (tax rates).
- Order EHA/3316/2010, of 17 December, approving Form 210, as amended by Order HAC/623/2026, of 12 June (BOE of 23 June 2026): filing and direct debit deadlines.
- Act 58/2003, the General Tax Act (LGT): article 27 (surcharges), articles 66 and 67 (limitation periods) and article 191 (failure to pay).
- Act 35/2006, the Personal Income Tax Act (IRPF), referred to by article 24.6 IRNR, for deductible expenses.
How many years must you go back, and to what deadlines?
Four years. Article 66 LGT sets that limitation period for the tax authority’s power to assess, counted from the day after each return’s filing deadline expires. Anything older is time-barred and should not be regularised.
This deserves a pause, because non-resident income tax without a permanent establishment does not work in calendar years. It works income by income: each accrual is declared separately unless you elect to group. From 2024 accruals onwards, rental income from the same property, the same payer and at the same rate may be grouped annually. Before that, the split is quarterly.
Order HAC/623/2026 has redrawn the calendar:
| Income and tax year | Filing window | Direct debit |
|---|---|---|
| Rent, accruals up to 2023 (filed separately) | First 20 days of April, July, October and January | 1st to 15th of those months |
| Rent, 2024 and 2025 accruals grouped annually | 1 to 20 January of the following year | 1 to 15 January |
| Rent, 2026 accruals grouped annually | 1 to 20 April 2027 | 1 to 15 April |
| Rent filed separately, accruals up to Q3 2026 | Quarterly windows still apply (Q3 falls due on 20 October 2026) | 1st to 15th of the relevant month |
| Rent filed separately, accruals from Q4 2026 | 1 to 20 April of the following year | 1 to 15 April |
| Imputed income accrued on 31-12-2025 | Any time during calendar year 2026 | Until 23 December 2026 |
| Imputed income accrued on 31-12-2026 onwards | 1 April to 31 December of the following year | 1 April to 23 December |
Source: Order EHA/3316/2010, articles 5 and 13.6, as amended by Order HAC/623/2026, and the AEAT notice.
In a regularisation these deadlines have all passed. The calendar still matters: it fixes the day from which the months of delay run, and with them the surcharge.
How is the tax calculated? Rate, deductible expenses and imputed income
The taxable base is the gross amount received from the tenant, excluding VAT and, as a general rule, with no deduction of expenses (article 24.1 IRNR). The exception in article 24.6 turns on where the owner lives.
| Owner’s tax residence | Tax rate | Expenses deductible? | Base the rate applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU Member State, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein | 19% | Yes, those allowed by the Personal Income Tax Act, on proof of a direct and inseparable economic link with the Spanish income | Net income |
| All other countries (US, UK, Switzerland, Andorra, Latin America…) | 24% | No under the letter of the law. See the case law point below | Gross income |
That gap is not cosmetic. A worked example. A French-resident owner, flat in Valencia let for all twelve months of 2024 at €900 a month: €10,800 of income. Expenses for the year: €320 council tax (IBI), €720 service charges, €180 insurance, €400 repairs and €2,700 depreciation (3% of the building value). Total €4,320. Net income: €6,480. Tax at 19%: €1,231.20. The same flat with a US-resident owner: 24% of the gross €10,800, or €2,592. More than double.
That outcome is what the Spanish National Court (Audiencia Nacional), Administrative Chamber, judgment of 28 July 2025 (appeal 636/2021) found contrary to the free movement of capital in article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which protects residents of third countries too. The court allowed a US resident to deduct expenses under the IRNR. It is an open route rather than settled law: the AEAT has not changed its general position and an appeal to the Supreme Court remains possible. For a non-EU owner with significant expenses, the practical reading is usually to regularise on the administrative criterion and, in parallel, request rectification of the years still open, relying on that judgment.
One warning that saves trouble: the reduction for residential letting in article 23.2 of the Personal Income Tax Act does not apply to the IRNR. The Central Economic-Administrative Tribunal confirmed this in its ruling of 16 December 2020 (case 00/04465/2019), concerning a Portuguese resident. Neither the old 60% nor the percentages introduced by Act 12/2023.
Empty months are taxed too. For periods when the property was not let, imputed income under article 13.1.h) IRNR applies: 1.1% of the cadastral value where the municipality has carried out a general revaluation in force during the previous ten tax periods — or, for 2023, 2024 and 2025, where the revaluation took effect on or after 1 January 2012, under the fifty-fifth additional provision of the Personal Income Tax Act — and 2% otherwise. It accrues on 31 December and is pro-rated for the days the property was at the owner’s disposal.
What does filing late cost? Surcharges versus penalties
| Situation | Surcharge | Late payment interest | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voluntary filing within 12 months of the deadline | 1% plus a further 1% for each complete month of delay (12% maximum) | No | Excluded |
| Voluntary filing after 12 months | 15% | Yes, from the day after the 12-month mark | Excluded |
| Regularisation after an AEAT request or audit has begun | No surcharge | Yes | Yes: article 191 LGT, with a fine starting at 50% of the unpaid tax |
The surcharge also carries a 25% reduction where it is paid within the voluntary period opened by its notice and the tax itself has been paid (article 27.5 LGT).
Back to the French example. The €1,231.20 for 2024 fell due on 20 January 2025. Filed in September 2026, more than twelve months have passed: a 15% surcharge, €184.68, which the reduction brings down to €138.51, plus interest from 21 January 2026. If an AEAT letter arrives first, the same tax bill can carry a penalty of €615.60.
Step by step
- Fix the years. Count four years back from each return’s deadline and drop anything time-barred.
- Split let months from empty months. The first are rental income; the second, imputed income.
- Gather the paperwork. Contracts, proof of rent received, invoices, the IBI receipt showing the cadastral reference and value, the purchase deed for depreciation, and a certificate of tax residence, valid for one year and essential to apply the 19% rate and deduct expenses.
- Calculate each return under the rules of its own tax year, not today’s.
- File one Form 210 per accrual or grouping, using that year’s version of the form, and one per co-owner in proportion to their share.
- Pay the tax and keep the receipts: each return will generate its own surcharge assessment, which must be paid within the voluntary period to keep the 25% reduction.
- Review your other obligations, in particular Spanish Wealth Tax on a limited-liability basis and consistency with what you have declared at home.
Common mistakes, and how the AEAT finds undeclared lettings
Six errors recur: forgetting the imputed income for empty months; applying the Personal Income Tax letting reduction; filing a single annual Form 210 for years before 2024; paying 24% because no residence certificate was obtained; declaring the whole of a jointly owned property; and not checking whether the tenant withheld tax. That last one matters: where the tenant is a business or professional — typically commercial premises — they must withhold and pay through Form 216, with an annual summary on Form 296, and an owner who has borne that withholding is not required to declare the income again. In a residential letting to a private individual there is no withholding and the obligation falls entirely on the owner.
As for detection, drop the idea that rent collected abroad goes unnoticed. The 2026 Annual Tax and Customs Control Plan guidelines (Resolution of 11 March 2026 of the AEAT’s Directorate-General) announce action to identify undeclared lettings and to verify rental income earned through platforms. Three information streams feed it: Form 238, which brings digital platform data into Spain under the DAC7 Directive and replaced Form 179 from 2024; the Single Rental Register and Digital One-Stop Shop created by Royal Decree 1312/2024, in force since 1 July 2025 for short-term lets; and internal cross-checks against the Cadastre, regional rental deposit registers and utility consumption.
Frequently asked questions
How far back can the Spanish tax authority go for undeclared rent? Four years. Article 66 LGT sets that limitation period, counted from the day after each Form 210 deadline expires. Older years are time-barred. Note that if the AEAT notifies any audit or verification step, the period is interrupted and starts again.
What surcharge do I pay if I file Modelo 210 late? 1% plus a further 1% for each complete month of delay in the first year, capped at 12%. After twelve months the surcharge is 15% plus late payment interest. In both cases the penalty is excluded, and the surcharge is cut by 25% if paid within the voluntary period.
I live outside the EU. Can I deduct my rental expenses? The wording of article 24.6 IRNR reserves that deduction for EU and EEA residents. On 28 July 2025 the Audiencia Nacional extended it to a US resident under the free movement of capital. It is not settled law, but it opens the door to rectifying the years still within the four-year window.
I am in the UK. Did Brexit change my position? Yes. The United Kingdom is no longer an EU or EEA state, so under the letter of the law British owners are taxed at 24% on gross rent with no deduction of expenses. The 2025 National Court judgment is the argument to watch, and it applies to UK residents on the same free-movement-of-capital reasoning.
Do I have to declare the months the property sat empty? Yes. Imputed income applies for those days: 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value depending on the municipality, pro-rated and accruing on 31 December. It is the item most often forgotten and the first to surface, because the Cadastre already identifies the owner.
Can I file a single Modelo 210 for the whole year? For 2024 accruals onwards, yes: rental income from the same property, the same payer and at the same rate can be grouped annually. For 2023 and earlier, no — one return per calendar quarter in which the income accrued.
Can I be penalised if I come forward myself? Not for failure to pay. Article 27 LGT replaces the penalty with a surcharge where the return is filed without a prior request from the authority. That is the point: without a prior request. Once an audit has been notified, the surcharge route closes.
Conclusion: who moves first
Regularising undeclared Spanish rent is arithmetic and calendar work rather than strategy. The final cost is not decided by the tax itself but by who moves first. Pulling together the contracts, the IBI receipt and a residence certificate takes less time than most owners expect.
If you own a let property in Spain and have not filed Form 210, at Martínez-Cardós Abogados can help. We will check which years remain open, what the surcharge amounts to today and which expenses you can deduct given your country of residence, and submit the form for you.