Tax Residency in Spain6 min readLast updated 22 July 2026

Modelo 210 in Spain: How Non-Resident Property Owners Are Taxed in 2026

Modelo 210 covers non-resident property tax in Spain: imputed income, rental returns, and capital gains, with new 2026 filing deadlines.

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By Gerard Martínez, Founder & Cross-Border Relocation Strategist

Business Development Manager - Employer of Record & Umbrella Company · Principles of International Bussiness Taxation by IBFD · Cross-border employment specialist

Modelo 210 is Spain's Non-Resident Income Tax self-assessment form, used by anyone who owns Spanish property without being a Spanish tax resident. It covers three distinct situations: imputed income on a property you don't rent out, taxed on 1.1% or 2% of its cadastral value; rental or sub-letting income, declared on the rent actually received; and a capital gain on sale, where the buyer withholds 3% of the price upfront under Modelo 211. Imputed and rental income are taxed at 19% for EU/EEA residents and 24% for everyone else, under Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004, Art. 25.1.a). Capital gains are taxed at a flat 19% regardless of residence. Orden HAC/623/2026 (BOE, 23 June 2026) changed the 2026 filing windows for imputed and rental income.

What Is Modelo 210, and Who Has to File It?

Modelo 210 is the self-assessment form for Spain's Non-Resident Income Tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes, IRNR). Anyone who owns property in Spain without meeting the country's tax residency test files it, regardless of whether the property is a holiday home, a rental investment, or an inherited estate.

Who counts as a non-resident property owner

You are a non-resident property owner for IRNR purposes if you do not meet Spain's 183-day tax residency test, or its other residency tests. If you are weighing up whether relocating changes your position, that guide walks through both tests in detail.

The three income types Modelo 210 covers, at a glance

Modelo 210 handles three separate income types, each with its own tax base, rate, and filing rhythm: imputed income on a property you keep for personal use, rental or sub-letting income, and a capital gain on a sale. Get the wrong one and you risk filing the wrong return, missing a deduction you are entitled to, or paying more than the law requires.

The Three Ways Modelo 210 Applies to Non-Resident Property Owners

Imputed income — property held for personal use

If you own a Spanish property and do not rent it out, Spain still taxes you on a notional benefit called renta imputada: the assumption that owning property confers a taxable advantage even without rental income. The tax base is a percentage of the property's cadastral value (valor catastral): 1.1% if the cadastral value was revised within the last ten years, or 2% otherwise. No expense deductions apply against this base, for any nationality.

Quick tip

Imputed income tax rate: 19% for EU/EEA, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein residents; 24% for everyone else. Applies to the 1.1%/2% cadastral-value base.

Source: Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004, Art. 25.1.a)

A German resident with a Málaga apartment whose cadastral value of €200,000 was revised within the last decade declares an imputed income base of €2,200 (1.1% of €200,000), taxed at 19% — a liability of €418 for the year.

Rental or sub-letting income

If the same property is rented out, you declare the actual rent received instead of an imputed figure. Rental income is taxed at the same 19%/24% split as imputed income, but the deduction rules differ sharply by residence, per Art. 24.6 of the IRNR Act.

Source: Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004, Art. 24.6 — Deductible expenses on rental income restricted to EU/EEA tax residents with effective exchange of tax information

Only residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein can deduct expenses directly related to the rental, such as mortgage interest, community fees, or agency commissions, against their taxable base. Non-EU/EEA landlords pay on the gross rent received, with no deductions. A double taxation treaty between Spain and your country of residence can still reduce the withholding rate that applies at source: see how Spain's double taxation treaties work for the mechanics.

Capital gain on sale

When a non-resident sells Spanish property, the buyer is legally required to withhold 3% of the agreed price and pay it to the AEAT via Modelo 211, under Art. 25.2 of the IRNR Act: a payment on account of the seller's eventual tax bill, not the final tax itself. Capital gains on Spanish property sales are taxed at a flat 19% for sellers of any nationality — the EU/EEA-versus-rest split that applies to imputed and rental income does not apply here.

If the 3% withheld exceeds the actual 19% liability, which is common when the sale price is close to the original purchase price or shows a loss, the seller reclaims the difference by filing Modelo 210. Modelo 211 itself is a filing obligation for the buyer, not the seller, and its mechanics are worth their own dedicated guide.

Modelo 210: the three scenarios compared
Income typeTax baseRateFiling frequencyRelevant Modelo
Imputed income (personal use)1.1% or 2% of cadastral value19% EU/EEA, 24% restAnnualModelo 210
Rental or sub-letting incomeRent received, less expenses for EU/EEA only19% EU/EEA, 24% restAnnual since 2024 accrualsModelo 210
Capital gain on saleSale price less acquisition cost19% flat, all sellersPer transactionModelo 211 withholding, Modelo 210 refund claim

How and When to File Modelo 210 in 2026

The new deadlines under Orden HAC/623/2026

Source: Orden HAC/623/2026, de 12 de junio (BOE-A-2026-13573, BOE 23 junio 2026) — New Modelo 210 filing deadlines for imputed and rental income earned by non-resident property owners

Orden HAC/623/2026 (BOE, 23 June 2026) pushed back the filing window for imputed income. Instead of opening on 1 January of the year after accrual, it now opens on 1 April and runs to 31 December of that same following year. The new window starts with 2026 accruals, meaning the earliest you can file 2026 imputed income is 1 April 2027.

Rental and sub-letting income keeps a tighter window: the first 20 calendar days of April of the year after accrual, whether you file each rental separately or group a full year's income into one return. Since 2024 accruals, the grouping period changed from quarterly to annual.

Transitional rules — which 2026 accruals are affected

Quick tip

Rental income for April-September 2026, filed separately rather than grouped, keeps the old deadline: 20 first days of July or October 2026. Only October-December 2026 unbundled rentals move to the new April 2027 window.

Source: AEAT nota — Modificaciones plazos modelo 210

Last verified: Jul 2026

Working out your correct 2026 filing window

  1. Identify the income type

    Imputed income, rental income, or a capital gain each follow a different rule under the reform.

  2. For imputed income

    2026 accruals file from 1 April 2027, regardless of when in 2026 you owned the property.

  3. For rental income filed as a group

    All 2026 rental income declared together files in the first 20 days of April 2027.

  4. For rental income filed separately

    April-September 2026 income keeps the pre-reform deadline (July or October 2026); October-December 2026 income moves to April 2027.

  5. For a capital gain

    The buyer withholds 3% at completion via Modelo 211; you file Modelo 210 to reclaim any excess, on a timeline tied to the transaction date rather than the calendar year.

Any refund from an over-withheld sale or rental deduction is paid by bank transfer, so having a correctly classified non-resident bank account set up in advance avoids delays.

How ApexTax Helps

ApexTax works as a Cross-Border Relocation Strategist and Single Point of Contact for non-resident property owners who need to understand which of the three Modelo 210 scenarios applies to their situation, and how the 2026 deadline changes affect their specific filing calendar.

We map your Spanish property income against the imputed, rental, or capital-gain scenario, flag which EU/EEA deduction rules or treaty provisions might apply, and coordinate with an independent Spanish tax advisor who calculates the exact liability and files the return.

ApexTax does not calculate your Modelo 210 liability, file Modelo 210 or Modelo 211, or represent you before the AEAT. Implementation of tax filings is delivered by independent qualified Spanish tax advisors selected and coordinated by ApexTax.

For a fully coordinated review of your Spain tax position, including Modelo 210, see our Private Client Relocation solution.

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