Non-resident tax in Puerto de la Cruz

Long before the south of Tenerife was built, Victorian visitors came to Puerto de la Cruz for the climate of the Orotava valley, and the town has kept that character: an Anglican church, a British cemetery, the Taoro park on the hill and the botanical garden on the road to La Paz. Today's non-resident owners, often retired, hold flats in La Paz, Punta Brava, Martiánez: La Paz on the cliff above the Lago Martiánez pools, Punta Brava beside Loro Parque and Playa Jardín, Martiánez between the old harbour and the seawater lido. 31,137 people live here year-round, many more for the winter only.

In the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, foreign owners come mainly from Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland. German and British owners have the longest roots in Puerto; the north coast is greener and cooler than Costa Adeje, and prices have stayed more modest. Asking prices currently average €3,448/m² (September 2026), against cadastral values that are much lower, which is what the non-resident tax is based on. Foreign buyers represent about 30% of purchases in the province.

Owning a home in Spain without renting it out produces, in the eyes of the Agencia Tributaria, an imputed income. Non-residents declare it once a year on the Modelo 210. The base is the cadastral value (valor catastral) times a coefficient fixed by law. Puerto de la Cruz applies 2%, because its last general cadastral revision took effect in 2001; the reduced 1.1% coefficient is reserved, for tax years 2023 to 2026, for municipalities revised with effect from 2012 onwards, and all others use 2%.

Here is the arithmetic with the municipality's average residential cadastral value, €50,500 according to the Catastro statistics for 2026. The imputed income is €50,500 × 2%. At the 19% rate for EU and EEA residents, the tax comes to €191.90 per owner per year; at the 24% rate for UK, Swiss, US and other non-EU residents, €242.40. A couple owning the flat jointly files two returns, each for half, and your own IBI receipt gives the value to use.

The tax is owed for the days the flat was at your disposal, whether you spent the winter there or did not visit at all. For income year 2025 the return is filed during the following calendar year; from the 2026 income year, the filing window becomes 1 April – 31 December of the following year (Orden HAC/623/2026). There is no deduction and no tax-free amount for non-residents. UK owners have paid 24% with no deductions since Brexit and, where the flat is let, normally declare that income on the foreign pages of their Self Assessment with credit relief for the Spanish tax.

Puerto de la Cruz's IBI, the municipal property tax, is collected by Consorcio de Tributos de Tenerife (Cabildo de Tenerife), Puerto de la Cruz is a member municipality. The voluntary payment period usually runs 6 May – 20 August. The urban rate currently applied is 0.52%. A direct debit protects you in the years you cannot travel: an unpaid bill moves to enforcement with a surcharge.

The receipt matters beyond the IBI itself: it shows the referencia catastral and the valor catastral that your Modelo 210 is calculated on. Receipts can be downloaded from the collector's sede electrónica with a NIE and a digital certificate. Owners without a certificate can ask Fiscasa to retrieve the cadastral data from the address or the reference number.

Many Puerto flats are let to other winter residents for several months, or occasionally to holidaymakers. For the days the flat is let, no imputed income arises; the imputation covers only the days it was available to you. The rent is declared on a separate Modelo 210 for rental income. EU and EEA residents deduct the proportionate expenses and pay 19%; non-EU residents pay 24% on the gross rent. Since 2024 the rental return is annual, and from the 2026 income year it is filed between 1 and 20 April of the following year.

A short-term holiday let in the Canary Islands is a vivienda vacacional under Decreto 113/2015: it must be registered with the Cabildo and the number displayed. The regional law on the sustainable tourist use of homes approved in 2025 allows municipalities to zone and cap tourist homes; homes already registered keep acquired rights under conditions. Check the current island rules before advertising, and remember that since 1 July 2025 every short-term advert needs the national rental register number.

• Winter residents: the Modelo 210 applies as long as you remain tax resident in your home country; keep evidence of where you spend the year.
• Inherited flats are common in Puerto. Each heir becomes an owner with their own NIE and their own Modelo 210 for their share, from the date of the inheritance deed.
• First year: the imputed income starts the day after the purchase, pro rata.
• Missed years: Spain can claim four years back. Filing voluntarily before any notice costs 1% plus 1% per full month of delay (15% plus interest after a year), reduced by 25% when paid within the deadline given.
• US owners pay 24% and may have FBAR or Form 8938 reporting for a Spanish bank account.
• Travel: Tenerife Norte (TFN) is the nearest airport, about half an hour away by motorway.