Spanish income tax (IRPF) on tourist rentals (2026): property income or business activity?

Updated: 10 November 2026

If you rent a flat or house to tourists in Spain, the tax office asks the same question every spring: is it a rental or a business? We read Spain's income tax law (Ley 35/2006), its regulation, the Agencia Tributaria pages on tourist apartments, two rulings of the Dirección General de Tributos and the non-resident income tax law (links at the end). Where we could not confirm something, we say so. This is not tax advice: check your case with your adviser.

Summary

General rule: what you earn from a tourist rental is property income (rendimiento del capital inmobiliario).
It is a business activity if you have at least one employee on an employment contract working full time (art. 27.2 of Ley 35/2006) or if you provide services typical of the hotel industry.
You only deduct expenses for the rented days, and you do not get the residential rental reduction.
For the days the property is not rented, there may be imputed income.
If you are not resident in Spain, you pay non-resident income tax: 19 % (EU and EEA) or 24 %.

Property income: the normal case

Ley 35/2006, arts. 22 and 27.2, and Agencia Tributaria (page updated 13-2-2026):

Renting out property is property income, even by the night or the week.
It only becomes a business activity when at least one person employed «con contrato laboral y a jornada completa» (on an employment contract, full time) is used to run it.
A part-time contract, an outside cleaning company or a manager paid by commission do not meet that requirement on their own.
The Dirección General de Tributos (ruling V1643-25) applies it this way to a room rented to tourists: without that requirement, property income.

Business activity: hotel-type services

According to the Agencia Tributaria, it is also a business activity if you provide services typical of the hotel industry:

Reception and permanent guest service in a space set aside for it.
Regular cleaning during the stay and regular change of bed and bath linen.
Other services such as laundry, luggage storage, newspapers or bookings and, sometimes, food service.
NOT hotel-type services: cleaning and linen change at check-in and check-out, cleaning of shared areas of the building, or maintenance and repairs.
With hotel-type services, VAT also changes (10 %) and you declare business income: more obligations. See our guide on VAT for hotel nights and holiday rentals.

Deductible expenses and day-based apportionment

Ley 35/2006, art. 23.1, and the IRPF regulation, arts. 13 and 14:

Interest on the loan to buy or improve the property, repairs and upkeep, IBI and other local taxes, insurance, utilities you pay, third-party services (cleaning, management), costs of formalising the rental, and depreciation.
Depreciation: up to 3 % a year of the higher of purchase cost or cadastral value, excluding the land.
Interest plus repairs and upkeep cannot exceed the income from that property; the excess can be deducted over the following four years.
If the property is only rented for part of the year, expenses (including depreciation) are deductible only for the rented days. If you rent part of it, only in proportion to that part (DGT V1643-25).
Keep the invoice for every expense.

No residential rental reduction

Ley 35/2006, art. 23.2:

The well-known reduction (formerly 60 %, then the Ley 12/2023 percentages, and the new ones in Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, from 15 % to 100 %) is only for the «arrendamiento de bienes inmuebles destinados a vivienda» (renting property used as a home).
The Agencia Tributaria sums it up for tourist rentals without hotel services: property income «sin ninguna reducción» (without any reduction).
The DGT (V1643-25) explains why: the reduction requires the rental to meet the tenant's «necesidad permanente de vivienda» (permanent housing need). On the same reasoning, seasonal rentals do not get it either.
The new percentages in Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 apply to contracts for a tenant's main home signed from 1 December 2026. We have not confirmed its ratification in an official source as of this guide.

Imputed income for empty days

Ley 35/2006, art. 85, and DGT V2227-20:

For the days the property is neither rented nor used in a business activity, you declare imputed income: a percentage of its cadastral value, in proportion to those days out of the whole year.
There is no imputed income for your main home or if the property is used in a business activity.
For 2026 the percentages in the current art. 85 apply (traditionally 2 %, or 1.1 % with a revised cadastral value); we could not read the wording in force, so check it.
From 1 January 2027, Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 replaces it with a scale from 1.1 % to 3 % based on total cadastral values, pending ratification.

Withholding

IRPF regulation, arts. 75 and 76:

Rent on urban property is subject to withholding only when paid by someone obliged to withhold: a company or other entity, or a person acting in their business.
A private guest does not withhold anything: you declare all of it in your tax return.
There is no withholding either when a company rents a home for its employees or when one tenant pays no more than 900 € a year.

If you are not resident in Spain

Non-resident income tax law (RDLeg 5/2004), arts. 13, 24, 25 and 28:

You pay non-resident income tax (IRNR), not IRPF: 24 % general rate, or 19 % if you live in another EU or EEA country with tax information exchange.
Only EU residents (and EEA residents with information exchange) can deduct expenses, if they show they relate directly to the rental.
You file form 210 (modelo 210). The original text set quarterly deadlines for rental income and the following year for imputed income; it has since been amended and we have not confirmed the current deadlines: check them on the Agencia Tributaria website.
Empty days also give rise to imputed income.
With hotel-type services, the Agencia Tributaria treats it as income through a permanent establishment: a different regime.

The tax office already knows your income

Platforms report every year what you earn, the cadastral reference and the rented days. See our guide on DAC7.

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Frequently asked questions

Is a tourist rental a business activity for Spanish income tax?

Only if you have at least one employee on an employment contract working full time (art. 27.2 of Ley 35/2006) or provide hotel-type services, such as cleaning and linen changes during the stay. Otherwise it is property income.

Can I apply the 60 % reduction to my tourist rental?

No. The reduction is for renting a tenant's permanent home; the Agencia Tributaria says tourist rentals are taxed «sin ninguna reducción» (without any reduction).

What about the days the property is empty?

You only deduct expenses for the rented days and, for the empty days, you declare imputed income in proportion to those days, unless it is your main home.

Sources

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