Annual Property Taxes in Spain: IBI, IRNR and the One Nobody Warns You About
IBI, IRNR and local charges: what a non-resident owner pays every year on the Costa Blanca, with real figures — and the tax half of foreign owners forget until the Spanish tax office claims it back with surcharges.
Owner’s guide · Taxes
Annual Property Taxes in Spain: IBI, IRNR and the One Nobody Warns You About
By Sunset Homes · 8 min read · Updated 2026
You’ve signed at the notary, paid your purchase costs and the keys are yours. From here, your yearly Spanish tax bill comes down to two or three items — small, predictable, and one of them forgotten by roughly half of all foreign owners until the tax office writes first.
At a glance
- IBI: the council tax — typically 300–800 €/year on the Costa Blanca.
- IRNR: due even if you never rent the property out. This is the one owners miss.
- Rubbish collection charge: 60–150 €/year depending on the town.
- Typical total: 500–1,200 €/year in taxes for an unrented holiday home.
IBI: the town hall bill
The Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles is calculated on the cadastral value, which on the Costa Blanca usually sits far below market value. An apartment in Pilar de la Horadada pays around 300–500 €; a villa with a plot, 600–900 €. Set up a direct debit from your Spanish account in year one. Town halls don’t chase late payers with reminders — they add surcharges and, eventually, embargo the account.
IRNR: the tax nobody sends you a bill for
Here’s the trap. If you’re not resident in Spain, the tax office imputes a notional income on your property even when it stands empty all year. The base is 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value (depending on when it was last revised), taxed at 19% for EU/EEA residents and 24% for everyone else — UK owners included since Brexit. Real numbers: a home with a cadastral value of 90,000 € produces a bill of about 188 € for a German owner and 238 € for a British one. Small money. The problem isn’t the amount — it’s that no bill ever arrives. You self-declare on form 210 to the Agencia Tributaria, and the tax office cross-checks Land Registry data. When it claims back-years, it does so with surcharges and interest.
What if I rent the property out?
Then IRNR switches base: you’re taxed on actual rental income. EU/EEA residents deduct expenses (community fees, IBI, repairs, depreciation); non-EU owners pay 24% on gross income with no deductions. That single difference shapes your rental yield more than the purchase price does.
Worth setting up in year one
- IBI and rubbish charge on direct debit from your Spanish account.
- A gestor or lawyer filing form 210 annually (60–150 € in fees — cheap insurance).
- Keep the cadastral value from your IBI receipt: nearly every Spanish tax calculation starts there.
Still at the buying stage? Get the full budget straight first with the purchase taxes and fees breakdown and the step-by-step buying guide.
Want the exact figures for a specific property?
Sunset Homes prepares the complete tax picture — purchase and every year after — before you make an offer.
