Spain's IAE business tax and census registration for hotels, hostels and tourist rentals in 2026

Updated: 10 November 2026

Before you charge for your first night in Spain you have to register with the tax agency, and everyone asks the same thing: which IAE heading (epígrafe), and which form? We read the tariffs of the Tax on Economic Activities (IAE, Royal Legislative Decree 1175/1990, in the BOE), article 82 of the Local Finance Act, Order HAC/1526/2024, which abolished form 037, and five binding rulings from the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT). We read the rulings in unofficial copies, because the DGT database would not open. Links are at the end. Where we could not confirm something, we say so. This is not tax advice: for your own case, ask your adviser.

The short answer

In November 2026, according to the IAE tariffs and DGT rulings:

Hotel or motel: group 681. Hostal or pensión: group 682. Fonda or casa de huéspedes: group 683. Aparthotel: group 684.
Tourist flat or holiday home that is not a hotel or hostal: group 685, «Alojamientos turísticos extrahoteleros» (non-hotel tourist accommodation).
Heading 861.1, «Alquiler de viviendas» (renting homes): for renting a home without services, not for hospitality.
Individuals are exempt from IAE, and so are companies with net turnover under 1,000,000 euros (art. 82(1)(c) of the Local Finance Act).
Exempt does not mean no paperwork: you must register in the census with form 036 and choose your heading. Form 840 is only for those who are not exempt.
Your region's tourism register (in Andalusia, the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía) is a separate step from the tax agency.

The hospitality headings, one by one

Royal Legislative Decree 1175/1990, section one, division 68 «Servicio de hospedaje» (accommodation services):

681: hotels and motels. The fee is per room, by star rating.
682: hostales and pensiones, per room by star rating.
683: fondas and casas de huéspedes (guesthouses), with a single fee per room.
684: aparthotels, per room by star rating.
685: non-hotel tourist accommodation, with the fee per unit by «keys» rating.
686: private apartments run through an agency or organised business, which covers agencies marketing other owners' flats on their own account and risk (ruling V3126-19).
In 681 to 685, if the property opens less than eight months a year, the fee is 70%.
Rule 4(2)(F) of the instruction: extra services (laundry, parking, etc.) offered only to the property's own guests carry no separate fee.
The category (stars, keys, hostal or pensión) comes from your region's tourism rules, not from the tax agency. The DGT says so in ruling V2318-22.

Tourist rental: 685 or 861.1?

What the DGT rulings we read say:

V2318-22 (November 2022): hospitality involves providing a set of services, while a lease only makes the property available. If it is hospitality, it is not 861.1 but division 68.
V3126-19 (2019) and V0309-25 (March 2025): a home let to tourists, with cleaning or a linen change at check-out, goes under group 685.
V1494-26 (June 2026): an individual letting a tourist home who only hands over and collects the keys also goes under 685. Heading 861.1 is for a plain lease with no services at all.
V0358-26 (February 2026): a company renting out homes (ordinary leases) goes under 861.1.
In practice, the DGT puts tourist homes under 685 even with few services. We have not confirmed where exactly the «no services» line for 861.1 lies; if in doubt, ask your adviser or file a ruling request with the DGT.
With several tourist homes, 685 counts per unit. If you market them as an agency for other owners, look at 686.

The IAE exemption

Local Finance Act (Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004), art. 82(1):

Letter (c): individuals are exempt, whether or not they live in Spain. If you are self-employed with a hostal or a tourist home, you pay no IAE.
Letter (c): so are companies, civil partnerships and entities under art. 35(4) of the General Tax Act with net turnover under 1,000,000 euros (wording of Law 11/2021). Non-residents only if they operate through a permanent establishment.
Letter (b): a new business is exempt for its first two tax periods. Taking over an activity someone else already ran (mergers, demergers, transfers of a line of business) does not count as starting.
A company running a hotel with turnover above 1,000,000 euros does pay IAE, under its group's fee and its town hall's bylaws.
A bill in the Spanish Congress (124/000032, published in June 2025) proposes raising the threshold to 2,000,000 euros. As of November 2026 it does not appear to have passed: unconfirmed.

Registering: form 036 and, only if not exempt, 840

Form 037 no longer exists. Order HAC/1526/2024 (BOE of 9 January 2025) abolished it and, since 3 February 2025, form 036 is the only census return.
If you are exempt from IAE for all your activities, form 036 doubles as your IAE registration: you state your heading there and do not file form 840 (art. 4 of Order EHA/1274/2007, cited in ruling V1494-26).
If you are not exempt, you also file form 840 to join the IAE register, within one month of starting (art. 5 of Royal Decree 243/1995, cited in ruling V0358-26).
Changes (another home, more rooms, a different heading) and closures must also be reported, with form 036 or, if not exempt, form 840.
The census registration tells the tax agency what activity you carry out, and other obligations (VAT, withholding) follow from it. Do it before you start.

IAE and VAT are not the same

Your IAE heading does not decide VAT. Being under 685 does not by itself mean you must charge VAT.
What changes VAT on a tourist home is whether you provide services typical of the hotel industry (VAT Act, art. 20(1)(23)(e')), and a change has been announced from 1 December 2026.
We do not repeat it here: see our guide /vat-hotel-night-holiday-rental-rates-2026.

Andalusia: the tourism register is separate

To offer a home for tourist use in Andalusia you must file a responsible declaration and register it in the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía (Decree 28/2016). Registration is free, according to the regional government's FAQ.
The decision gives you a code such as VFT/MA/00000, which must appear in all advertising, including your website and listings.
That register does not replace the tax registration, and form 036 does not replace the tourism register: they are two separate steps.
Hotels, hostales and tourist apartments have their own tourism procedure; ask your province's tourism office.

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Frequently asked questions

Which IAE heading does a tourist rental in Spain go under?

According to the DGT, group 685, «Alojamientos turísticos extrahoteleros», even with few services (rulings V0309-25 and V1494-26). Heading 861.1 is for renting a home without services.

Do I have to pay IAE for my hostal or tourist home?

Not if you are an individual, nor if you are a company with net turnover under 1,000,000 euros (Local Finance Act, art. 82(1)(c)). You still have to register in the census with form 036.

Does form 037 still exist?

No. Order HAC/1526/2024 abolished it and, since 3 February 2025, census registration is done with form 036. Form 840 is only for those not exempt from IAE.

Sources

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