What is the deadline to declare the sale of a Spanish property as a non-resident?

Three dates to keep in mind

A non-resident sale sets off a sequence of deadlines:

Who	What	When
Buyer	Modelo 211, paying the 3 % retention	within one month of the sale
Seller	Modelo 210 for the capital gain	within the three months after that month
Seller	Modelo 210 for imputed income up to the sale date	the following year, in the usual window

Add the plusvalía municipal, which the town hall expects within its own, fairly short deadline after the sale: check it locally.

An example timeline

You sign the sale at the notary on 15 March.

• The buyer must pay the retention by about 15 April.
• Your gain return can be filed from then until about 15 July.
• The imputed income for 1 January to 15 March is declared with the returns for that tax year, in the window that opens the following spring. Under Orden HAC/623/2026, from the 2026 income year that window runs from 1 April to 31 December of the following year.

Do not wait for the last week: gathering old invoices for purchase costs and improvements is what usually takes longest.

What if you file late

If the gain return is late and you owe tax beyond the 3 % retained, the normal Spanish surcharges apply on the unpaid part: 1 % plus 1 % per full month of delay, rising to 15 % plus interest after twelve months, with a 25 % reduction if you pay promptly after notification. See the cost of a late filing.

If you are owed a refund, lateness mainly delays your money and can complicate the claim. Either way, file as soon as you can.

Before signing, check that

• the buyer's lawyer will pay the Modelo 211 and give you a copy;
• you have a certificate of tax residence from your home country, if you want to support a refund;
• your past Modelo 210 years are up to date, because buyers' lawyers sometimes ask;
• you know who handles the plusvalía.

Estimate the balance with the capital gains simulator, and read how to recover the retention if it is too high.