The yearly costs of owning a home in Spain as a non-resident

Most of these are the same for residents and non-residents. The one that catches non-residents out is income tax on a home that earns nothing: Spain taxes an imputed income on it every year.

IBI is the yearly municipal property tax. Its base is the cadastral value, an administrative value set by the Catastro that is usually well below market value. Each town hall sets its rate within a national band of 0.4% to 1.10% for urban property. The tax falls due on 1 January, and whoever owns the home on that date is liable for the whole year.

A newly completed home may not have its own cadastral value straight away. The purchase contract usually says how the IBI for the year of completion is dealt with; your lawyer should check it, and you should set up a direct debit once the first receipt is issued in your name.

The refuse tax is charged by the town hall or a regional body. Since Ley 7/2022 on waste, municipalities must charge a specific fee that covers the real cost of collection and treatment; the deadline was 10 April 2025. Many towns have raised or restructured the fee as a result, so look at the current ordinance rather than an old receipt.

In a development with shared areas you belong to the community of owners. Fees pay for cleaning, gardens, pools, lifts, security, insurance of the common parts and a reserve fund. They depend on the amenities and on your home's share in the building, so two flats of the same size in different developments can pay very different amounts. Ask for the approved budget, not an estimate.

Extraordinary works are paid through a Derrama, approved at a community meeting. In a new development these are uncommon in the first years, while the building is under its warranty periods.

Home insurance for the contents and your own home is not compulsory for an owner without a mortgage, but it is sensible, especially for a home that stands empty part of the year. A mortgage lender will require damage insurance on the property; you may choose another insurer with equivalent cover. See non-resident mortgages.

A non-resident who owns a home in Spain for their own use pays IRNR on an imputed income, declared on Modelo 210. The rules, as set out by the Agencia Tributaria:

• The base is a percentage of the cadastral value: 1.1% where the town's cadastral values were revised in a general valuation that took effect in the tax year or the previous ten years (for 2023 to 2025, from 1 January 2012), and 2% otherwise.
• If the home has no cadastral value yet, or it has not been notified, the base is 50% of the higher of the purchase price and the value checked by the tax authorities for other taxes, and the 1.1% applies.
• It is pro-rated by the days you owned the home in the year and by your share if you own it jointly. Days on which it is let are taxed as rental income instead.
• No expenses can be deducted from the imputed income.
• The rate is 19% for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, and 24% for everyone else.
• No imputed income is due on a home that is still under construction.

Deadlines. Under Orden HAC/623/2026, the imputed income for 2026 is declared between 1 April and 31 December 2027. Imputed income for 2025 keeps its old window, during calendar year 2026. Rental income has separate deadlines. How this tax is treated in your home country depends on your residence and the tax treaty; check with a tax advisor in your home country.

Electricity, water and internet carry standing charges whether or not you are there. A new build with aerothermal heating and a good energy rating uses much less energy than an older home; the energy cost calculator shows the difference.

Add every recurring cost, with the real figures for the home you are considering, in the calculator below. The full picture of purchase and ownership taxes is in costs and taxes of buying a new build.