Modelo 210 and IRNR in 2026: The Non-Resident Tax You Owe Even If You Never Rent Your Spanish Home

Modelo 210 and IRNR: The Spanish Tax You Owe Even If Your Home Sits Empty

If you own a property in Spain but live abroad — in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, or anywhere else — you are subject to Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes (IRNR), the Non-Resident Income Tax. And here is the part that surprises most foreign owners: you owe it even if you never rent your Spanish home out. The Spanish tax authority (Agencia Tributaria, or "Hacienda") assumes that owning a second home in Spain produces a benefit, and it taxes that imaginary benefit through what is called imputed income (renta imputada).

The form you use to declare and pay it is Modelo 210.

This guide walks you through what Modelo 210 is, when it's due, how the imputed income is calculated, what changes if you actually rent the property, and the most common mistakes foreign owners make. Tax rules and rates change frequently — always confirm current figures with the Agencia Tributaria (sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es) or a licensed Spanish asesor fiscal before you file.

Who Has to File Modelo 210?

You must file Modelo 210 if all of the following apply:

• You are a non-tax-resident of Spain (you spend fewer than 183 days a year there and your economic center is elsewhere).
• You own Spanish real estate, either directly or through certain structures.
• The property is not your primary residence in Spain.

This applies whether the property sits empty, is used only by you and your family for holidays, is loaned to friends, or is rented out commercially. The form is the same — only the calculation and frequency change.

If the property is jointly owned (say, by spouses), each owner files their own Modelo 210 for their share. A married couple owning 50/50 will file two returns.

The Two Flavors of IRNR for Property Owners

1. Imputed Income (property not rented)

When your Spanish home is sitting empty or used personally, Hacienda taxes a deemed rental income based on the property's valor catastral (cadastral value, which appears on your IBI bill from the town hall).

The taxable base is calculated as a small percentage of the cadastral value — generally 2%, reduced to 1.1% if the cadastral value has been revised within a recent window set by law. That figure is then taxed at the IRNR rate, which depends on where you live:

• EU/EEA residents (including Norway and Iceland): a lower rate, historically 19%.
• Non-EU residents (US, Canada, UK post-Brexit, etc.): a higher rate, historically 24%.

Confirm the current percentages and thresholds on the Agencia Tributaria site — they have shifted in recent years and could change again.

2. Actual Rental Income (property rented)

If you rent the property — long-term, short-term, on Airbnb, or to a single tenant — you must declare the actual gross rental income received.

• EU/EEA residents can deduct expenses proportional to the rental period (mortgage interest, IBI, community fees, insurance, repairs, depreciation, agency fees) and pay tax on the net.
• Non-EU residents (including US and Canadian owners) historically cannot deduct expenses and pay IRNR on the gross rent. This is a meaningful difference — verify whether your country has any updated bilateral arrangement.

Filing Deadlines: Don't Get Them Confused

The deadlines for Modelo 210 depend on which type of income you're declaring:

• Imputed income (empty/personal use): filed annually, due by December 31 of the year following the tax year. So 2026 imputed income is filed during 2027.
• Rental income: historically filed quarterly (April, July, October, January) for each quarter in which rent was received. Spain has been moving toward simplified annual filing for some non-resident landlords — confirm the current rule for your situation.
• Capital gains on sale: filed within 4 months of the sale, after the buyer withholds 3% of the price and pays it to Hacienda on your behalf via Modelo 211.

Missing deadlines triggers automatic surcharges, interest, and potentially penalties. Hacienda is increasingly cross-referencing land registry data with tax filings, and unpaid IRNR is one of the most common findings on resale.

How to Actually File

You have three realistic options:

1. DIY through the Agencia Tributaria portal. You'll need a digital certificate (certificado digital) or Cl@ve PIN, both of which require an identity verification step that's hard to complete from abroad.
2. Use your NIE and a Spanish bank account to pay, with a representante fiscal (tax representative) handling the form.
3. Hire a *gestor* or *asesor fiscal*. Annual fees for a simple imputed-income filing typically run in the low hundreds of euros per property. For most foreign owners this is the path of least pain.

You will need:

• Your NIE (foreigner ID number).
• The property's cadastral reference (referencia catastral) — 20 characters, on your IBI receipt.
• The most recent cadastral value and the year it was last revised.
• Ownership percentage and acquisition date.
• A Spanish bank account for direct debit, or a method to pay from abroad (SEPA transfer is accepted from EU accounts).

Worked Example (Illustrative Only)

Imagine you're a Canadian resident who owns a holiday flat in Málaga with a cadastral value of €100,000, last revised more than a decade ago.

• Taxable base: 2% of €100,000 = €2,000
• IRNR rate (non-EU): 24%
• Tax due: roughly €480 per year

If your spouse co-owns 50/50, each of you files for €1,000 of imputed income and pays roughly €240. Numbers are illustrative — confirm the applicable percentage, the cadastral revision window, and current IRNR rates with Hacienda or a qualified adviser.

Common Pitfalls Foreign Owners Make

• "I don't rent it, so I don't owe anything." Wrong. Imputed income is the single most common missed filing among foreign owners.
• Assuming your home country tax treaty cancels IRNR. Tax treaties (Spain–US, Spain–Canada, Spain–UK, etc.) generally allow Spain to tax Spanish real estate first; you then claim a foreign tax credit at home. They do not exempt you from filing in Spain.
• Filing under the wrong residency category. EU vs non-EU status drives the rate and expense deductibility. Post-Brexit, UK owners are non-EU.
• Forgetting the buyer's 3% withholding at sale. When you sell, the buyer withholds 3% of the price as a prepayment against your capital gains tax. If your actual gain is smaller, you file Modelo 210 to claim a refund — but you must do it within the legal window.
• Ignoring the *plusvalía municipal*. This is a separate municipal tax on the increase in land value, paid to the town hall on sale. It's distinct from IRNR capital gains.
• No fiscal representative. Non-EU owners are sometimes required to appoint a representante fiscal resident in Spain. Check whether your situation requires one.

Short FAQ

Do I need to file if I bought mid-year? Yes — you prorate the imputed income for the days you owned the property in that tax year.

What if the property has no cadastral value yet (new build)? A reduced percentage (historically 1.1%) is applied to 50% of the acquisition value until a cadastral value is assigned. Confirm the current rule.

What if I rented it for two months and left it empty for ten? You declare actual rental income for the rented period and imputed income for the rest of the year. Both go on Modelo 210, with the right codes.

Does IRNR replace IBI? No. IBI is the local property tax paid to the town hall. IRNR/Modelo 210 is the national income tax paid to Hacienda. You owe both.

Can Hacienda find me if I don't file? Increasingly, yes. Land Registry, Catastro, utility records, and bank reports feed automated cross-checks. Unpaid IRNR also surfaces at resale, when the gestoría runs a tax-clearance check.

The Bottom Line

Modelo 210 is the routine, recurring cost of owning Spanish property as a non-resident — modest in most cases, but non-optional. Treat it like your annual condominium fee: budget for it, automate it through an asesor fiscal if you can, and keep proof of filing with your property records.

Spanish tax law, rates, and thresholds change regularly. Confirm current figures with the Agencia Tributaria or a licensed Spanish tax professional before filing or making decisions based on this guide.