Real estate tax advice
We handle the tax and accounting of those who let and manage property: residential, seasonal, room and holiday lets, with or without platforms.
Talk to an adviserMake letting worth your while
Renting out a property seems simple until you have to declare it. The same home is taxed one way under a year-long lease, another under a seasonal let and another when let by the room; and if you advertise it on a platform, the Spanish Tax Agency already knows what you earn before you report it.
We do not just keep your accounts: we look at how you let your properties, which expenses you are failing to claim and at what point managing properties stops being income and becomes a business activity, with everything that changes as a result.
Each type of letting is taxed differently
A home let on a one-year contract is not the same as a room, a seasonal let or a flat on Airbnb. Nor is letting your own property the same as managing someone else’s.
Letting a home as a main residence
The most common case and the one with the most conditions. We check that the contract qualifies for the reductions under the Spanish Housing Law, which expenses and depreciation you can genuinely deduct and how the deposit is lodged.
Seasonal rental
Neither a main residence nor a holiday let. How it is treated depends on what it is let for and for how long, and since 2025 it needs its Single Rental Register number to be advertised.
Room rentals
A single property with several contracts and several tenants. It changes how expenses are allocated, how each rental income is declared and what happens if a room is left empty.
Holiday lets and platforms
Airbnb and Booking report what you earn to the Spanish Tax Agency. What you declare has to match that; you need the licence from the regional government and the registration, and if you provide hotel-type services, VAT applies.
Rent-to-rent and managing third-party properties
Renting in order to sublet, or managing someone else’s property for a commission, is not collecting rent: it is a business, with its own invoicing, VAT and obligations.
Asset management and structure
When there are several properties, or several owners, the question is no longer how much tax is paid on each one but how best to hold them. If the size calls for it, we take it forward in Real Estate at ARRA Corporate.
How do I declare rental income in my tax return?
As income from real estate capital: the year’s income minus deductible expenses. If the result is positive and the property is a home, a reduction may apply.
For residential leases signed since 26 May 2023, that reduction ranges from 50% to 90% depending on the case; earlier leases keep the 60%.
Which expenses can I deduct?
Property tax (IBI), community fees, insurance, the waste collection charge, mortgage interest, repairs and upkeep, utilities you pay yourself, and depreciation of the property and its furniture.
Interest and repairs have a limit: they cannot exceed the income from that property, and any excess can be carried forward to the next four years.
Is a seasonal let taxed the same way?
It is declared in the same way, but without the housing reduction, which applies only when the property is the tenant’s permanent home.
And a holiday let?
It has no reduction either. And if you also provide hotel-type services, such as cleaning during the stay or changing linen, it becomes a business activity, subject to VAT.
If the flat is empty, do I have to declare it?
Yes. A property that is not your main home and is not let is taxed on deemed income, a percentage of its cadastral value.
Can you handle several properties and how they are held?
Yes: the tax return for all your rentals and, if your assets call for it, an analysis of whether holding them through a company pays off.
Do you know how each of your rentals is taxed?
The difference between one way of letting and another is not small, and it rarely shows until it is time to file. Tell us what you let and how, and we will tell you where you stand.
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