Taxes in Spain for individuals include income tax (for tax residents), non-resident income tax, property taxes, wealth tax and others. We have prepared separate articles on almost every one of these taxes, and you will find links to them in this article.
Spain: personal income tax
Individuals who are tax residents of Spain must pay income tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas – IRPF) on income from employment or business activity. Income includes wages, dividends, profits from economic activity (for example, as a sole trader), rent received from letting property, and interest on savings and deposits. You will find more information in our article Income tax in Spain.
Tax in Spain on the income of non-resident individuals
Tax in Spain on the income of individuals who are not residents of the country. Individuals who are not tax residents of Spain and own property there pay a special tax: non-resident income tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta de No Residentes – IRNR). This is a tax on the deemed income from real estate, and it makes no difference whether the property brings its owner any actual income. The mere fact of owning a residential or commercial property is the basis for the tax, and it is calculated from the property’s cadastral value.
To get a full picture of non-resident income tax in Spain, read our article Real estate taxes in Spain for Russians.
Taxes in Spain for individuals on movable and immovable property
Property taxes in Spain for individuals include the property tax (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles – IBI) and the vehicle tax (Impuesto sobre vehículos de tracción mecánica – IVTM). The first is calculated from the cadastral value of the property, the second from the characteristics of the vehicle. Both taxes are described in the article Property taxes in Spain for Russians.
Taxes in Spain for individuals: wealth tax
A special tax in Spain for individuals is the wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio – IP). This tax was in force in Spain for many years, was abolished in 2008 and then reintroduced in 2011. There is currently no talk of abolishing it, even though this year Spain turned out to be almost the only state in the EU to take the view that even the current crisis cannot be a reason to reduce the tax burden on the country’s citizens and residents. You will find the rules for calculating and paying it in the article Wealth tax in Spain.
Taxes in Spain for individuals: taxes on buying property
Finally, taxes in Spain for individuals include a number of taxes related to buying property. These are value added tax (Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido – IVA), property transfer tax (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales – ITP) and the tax on documented legal acts (Impuesto sobre los Actos Jurídicos Documentados – AJD), also known as stamp duty.
As a rule, VAT is paid when buying a new-build home and when buying commercial property. Resale transactions are subject to property transfer tax. Stamp duty is combined only with VAT.
The current rates of these three taxes are published in the article Tax on buying property in Spain for foreigners.
