Non resident property owners should submit Spanish tax form 210

2009 taxes must be declared and paid before the end of 2010.  A rather irritating quirk of Spanish tax law means that non resident owners of property in Spain have to pay Spanish income tax even if they in fact have no Spanish earnings such as rental income.  Here we offer our services and offer some guidance for anyone trying to sort out their tax forms themselves.  Tax advice and services for residents are here.

ADVOCO will calculate, declare and pay your 2008 tax for 30€ **

** plus VAT.  10€ extra for each additional return on the same property. 5€ extra for us to settle the tax on your behalf (you can reimburse us in either Spain or the UK).

How does the service work?

1. Send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it asking us to do your tax or asking for more information

2. We will exchange emails with you to get the information we need to complete the forms

3. You pay our fee and we file the declaration on your behalf

Questions and Answers

How does the tax get paid?

Assuming you have a Spanish bank account with sufficient funds to pay the tax, we will include your bank details on the form so the authorities can deduct the payment automatically.

If you do not have a Spanish bank account you can pay us the money necessary to settle the tax when you pay our fee and we will pay the tax for you.  You can even pay us in sterling from your UK account to our UK account. We charge 5€ extra for this service.

What if I have unpaid taxes before 2009?

It is probably a good idea to catch up on your back taxes.  Supposedly the Spanish tax authorities are investigaing more property owners who have never filed a tax return.  Unpaid taxes will certainly be a big headache when you come to sell the property however and the longer you leave them the worse it will become.  For the tax years prior to 2008 a different form (214) was used and an additional wealth tax was payable.  We will sort out prior years but the fee rises to 50€.

Can I do it myself?

Probably.  The calculation of the tax is very simple (see below).  Payment is quite easy too as you can either set up a direct debit or take your completed form 210 into the bank and pay it there.  You can get the form off the Tax Office website here:

Spanish tax form 210 download

With a reasonable level of Spanish you will be able to work through it (there are instructions on the link).  If you do not understand sufficient Spanish you could still do it by using the experience of the many people who have shared their experience of completing the form on the Spain community forums.  Remember that once you have struggled through the form for the first year it will be much easier in subsequent years.

How much is the tax?

The tax is calculated as 24% of the “income” the Spanish authorities deem you could make renting out the property.  This is calculated as 2% of the rateable value (reduced to 1,1% if the rateable value was assessed after 1994).  If you only owned the house for part of the year the tax is pro-rated down to the period of ownership.  If there are more than one owners (e.g. husband and wife) they pay an equal share of the total tax but must each submit a return.  The rateable value is the “valor catastral” found on the IBI (rates) bill you get every autumn. 

When is it payable?

You must make your return for a given year by the end of the following year, so for the 2009 tax year, you should declare and pay before 31/12/2010.

My lawyer takes care of this.  Is that OK?

Yes, most law firms offering conveyancing services to foreign property buyers will then offer to become a “fiscal representative” taking care of all related tax affairs.  Advoco does this for 80€ but many firms charge double this or more and it can be needlessly expensive particularly for people with simple tax affairs.

What should I do?

If your situation is simple i.e. you own one property which you do not rent out and have no other complications, then you might want to consider doing the tax return yourself or using Advoco’s 30€ offer. Stick with your fiscal representative if you think they are worth the annual fee e.g. because they offer valuable advice as well as filing the return or because your affairs are more complicated than the standard holiday property owner.  An example of this might be if you rent out your property for part of the year which involves a lot more in the way of reporting (see below). 

Am I resident or non resident?

 A pretty easy question to answer for most of us: if you have a holiday home in Spain which you use periodically but actually live in your home country and pay taxes there you are non resident for this purpose.  If you live in Spain and only occasionally return to your home country where you have cut most ties then you are more than likely tax resident in Spain and should register as such.  Note that failing to register as tax resident does not stop you becoming liable for Spanish resident taxes!

Of course there may situations which are not so clear cut e.g. during a transitional year when you are settling in Spain.  The rule of thumb is that spending over half the year in one country makes you tax resident but there are a lot of subtleties and variations.  Where your family or business is based can be a factor.  If you require clarification contact Advoco. 

What if I do rent the house out?

The Advoco offer only applies to the simplest of returns where the only income is imputed rent, not actual rental income.  Non residents who rent out their property should declare the income filing a Form 210 and paying 24% tax without deductions within a month of receiving each payment or when a payment falls due, whichever is earlier.  In practice most non resident property owners take advantage of the quarterly reporting option using Form 215.  Advoco’s fiscal representative service covers this reporting.

And if I have more than one Spanish property?

This does change things because the law requires non residents with multiple properties to have an appointed fiscal representative.  You will thus almost certainly have one, probably the lawyer who did your conveyancing.  You can appoint Advoco as your fiscal representative from 80€ annually for those with relatively simple tax affairs.

If you have any further questions, require clarification on any point or you would like to discuss our services, please contact James Baker.  He is a UK chartered accountant now registered and working in Spain.  Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it