Do I need to declare an empty property in Spain if I don't rent it out?
Short answer
Yes. If you live outside Spain and own a home there that is not let, Spain taxes a notional income on it every year. You declare it on Modelo 210, one return per owner, even if the property earned nothing and stayed shut all year.
Run the numbers →Why an empty home is still taxed
Many owners assume that no rent means no tax. Spanish law sees it differently. When a non-resident owns an urban property that is not rented out, the tax office assumes the owner enjoys a benefit simply by having it available. That benefit is called renta imputada, or imputed income, and it is taxed under the non-resident income tax (IRNR).
The tax does not depend on whether you visited, whether the shutters stayed down or whether the flat was up for sale. Being available to you is enough. There is no minimum threshold and no personal allowance, so even a small studio produces a return.
What the bill looks like
The base is a small percentage of the valor catastral, the official cadastral value printed on your IBI receipt. It is 2% in most towns, or 1.1% where the values were revised in a general valuation taking effect from 2012 onwards. You then apply the rate for your country of residence.
Take a flat with a cadastral value of €90,000 in a 2% town. The imputed income is €1,800. An owner living in Ireland pays 19%, so €342. An owner living in England pays 24%, so €432, because UK residents have been outside the EU/EEA rate since Brexit. You can run your own figures in the calculator.
Who has to file and how often
Every owner files separately, for their share, once a year. A couple owning half each therefore submits two returns. If you bought or sold during the year, only the days you actually owned the home count.
If the property was let for part of the year, the days it was rented are declared as rental income instead, and imputed income covers only the remaining days. See how a holiday-use home is treated.
If you have never filed
You are not alone, and it can be put right. Spain can go back four years, and filing before the tax office writes to you keeps surcharges low. Our page on what to do if you have never declared explains the steps, and the guide to imputed income on a home you don't let covers the detail.
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