Everything a private investor can subtract from rental income before paying Spanish IRPF: complete list, limits and how to evidence each expense.
Updated May 2026 according to LIRPF and the latest AEAT (Spanish tax agency) information note.
Renting out residential property in Spain generates what the tax agency calls "capital inmobiliario" (real-estate capital income). To compute the net income that you pay IRPF on, you can deduct every expense necessary to earn that rental income, as long as you can evidence it. Used well, these deductions can shave 30-50% off your taxable base.
This guide covers the most common case: an individual (private investor) renting a flat to a tenant as their primary residence, on a long-term lease. For short-let, room-by-room with services, or if you operate as a legal entity, the rules differ, we flag where in each section.
Each item is deducted from gross rental income BEFORE applying the 60% primary-residence reduction.
| Category | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Mortgage interest | Interest only, NOT the capital repayment. If the mortgage also covers a separately-rented storage unit or garage, prorate. |
| Conservation and repair | Painting, plumbing, boiler service, replacing old appliances. Improvements (next row) are NOT included. |
| 3% amortization | 3% per year of the greater of: cadastral construction value (excluding land) or acquisition cost of the construction. Furniture amortizes at 10%. |
| IBI and local taxes | Property tax (IBI), waste collection, vehicle access (vado), street lighting. Prorate by rented months if the flat wasn't rented all year. |
| Building fees | Regular monthly fees and extraordinary contributions for conservation work. Improvement contributions amortize at 3%, they don't deduct in one shot. |
| Insurance | Home multi-risk, rent default insurance (GLI), civil liability. If one policy covers multiple flats, prorate. |
| Utilities paid by owner | Water, electricity, gas, internet, but only if YOU pay them (typical in room-by-room rentals or when the contract says so). If the tenant pays, none of this applies. |
| Professional fees | Gestor, lawyer for drafting the contract or handling unpaid rent, real-estate agent who found the tenant, notary for rental-related deeds. |
| Doubtful debts | Unpaid rent that remains unpaid 6 months after the first formal demand. |
| Improvements and extensions | Replacing windows with double-glazing, full bathroom remodel, brand-new AC. NOT deductible in one shot. |
| Advertising and tenant sourcing | Listings on property portals, professional photos, home staging to market the flat. |
| Non-state taxes | Building technical inspection fee (ITE/IEE), mandatory municipal rental licences. |
Source: Articles 21 to 23 of Law 35/2006 IRPF, IRPF Regulation (RD 439/2007) and AEAT 2026 information note. Keep every supporting document for 4 years, the Spanish tax statute of limitations.
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Try the rental yield calculator arrow_forwardIf your tenant uses the flat as their primary residence under a long-term lease (minimum 5 years with an individual, 7 with a legal entity), you can apply a 60% reduction on POSITIVE net rental income. It's the single biggest tax break in Spanish residential rentals.
Important: the reduction applies to NET income (income minus deductible expenses), not gross. If you declare a loss, no reduction applies, losses offset other real-estate capital income over the next 4 years. The reduction also does NOT apply to short-let, room-rental with hotel-like services, or non-residents.
Worked example
Annual rent of 12,000 €, deductible expenses of 4,800 € (interest 1,800 € + IBI 350 € + building fees 720 € + insurance 280 € + amortization 1,650 €). Net income = 7,200 €. Apply 60% reduction: taxable base = 7,200 × 40% = 2,880 €. At a 37% IRPF marginal rate, tax due = 1,066 €. Without the reduction it would have been 2,664 €. Annual tax saving: 1,598 €.
The 3% amortization is probably the deductible MOST often missed by small investors. The Spanish tax agency lets you deduct 3% per year of the GREATER of two values: (a) the cadastral construction value (NOT the land, which is broken out on your IBI receipt) or (b) the acquisition cost of the construction (deed price minus the land portion, roughly proportional to the cadastral construction/total ratio).
It's a book expense, no euros leave your account, but it lowers your taxable base every year. It compounds across the life of the flat as long as it's rented. Furniture amortizes at 10% per year over 10 years. Amortization doesn't apply to the land, because per the tax agency, land doesn't depreciate.
Real-world example
Flat purchased for 200,000 €. The IBI receipt shows: total cadastral value 95,000 €, of which 70,000 € is construction (74%) and 25,000 € is land (26%). Option A (cadastral construction): 70,000 € Option B (acquisition construction): 200,000 × 74% = 148,000 € Take the GREATER: 148,000 €. Annual amortization = 148,000 × 3% = 4,440 €/year. Furniture (5,000 €) → additional 500 €/year over 10 years. Total amortization: 4,940 €/year. On a flat earning 1,000 €/month (12,000 € yearly), that single line item already wipes out almost 40% of the rent before any other expense.
Vacation lets pay tax as real-estate capital income just like a regular flat, but with NO 60% reduction. If you offer hotel-like services (daily cleaning, reception, meals), it becomes an economic activity and you must register as self-employed with VAT at 10%.
Each room contract is declared separately. You can apply the 60% reduction if the tenant uses the room as their primary residence. Shared expenses (electricity, internet) are prorated by the share of square metres rented out.
If several co-owners hold the flat, each declares income and expenses according to their ownership share. For married couples under community property (gananciales), it's split 50/50. This can be advantageous when one spouse sits in a lower IRPF bracket.
Deducting the full mortgage payment
Only INTEREST is deductible, not the capital repayment. Repaying capital is savings on your side (it grows your net worth), not an expense.
Forgetting to prorate when the flat wasn't rented all year
If the flat was rented 8 months, you can only deduct 8/12 of IBI, building fees, insurance, amortization. The other 4/12 must be declared as imputed real-estate income.
Deducting expenses without a supporting document
Every invoice must be in YOUR name (not the tenant's), with your NIF, and paid through a traceable bank channel. Large cash payments are a red flag for the tax agency.
Confusing improvement with repair
Painting the kitchen = repair, 100% deductible in the year of the expense. Replacing the whole kitchen with a new one = improvement, amortizable at 3% over years. The tax agency watches this line very closely.
4 years from the end of the voluntary filing period. If you filed IRPF 2026 in June 2027, keep receipts until June 2031 minimum. If the tax agency opens an audit, the clock pauses and restarts.
Only conservation and repair works (painting, boilers, plumbing), and only if the flat goes on the rental market immediately after. Structural improvements (new kitchen, double-glazing) are NOT deducted in one shot, they amortize at 3% per year.
Yes, from the first day the flat is rented. If you let it mid-year, prorate by days. Amortization compounds year on year for as long as the flat stays rented, with no maximum term.
Together. On the tax return, all rented properties are summed in the same "real-estate capital income" section. But each property needs its own sub-form with its cadastral reference, income and expenses.
You declare a negative net result (loss). Those losses offset positive real-estate capital income over the next 4 years. Important: if you declare a loss, you cannot apply the 60% reduction, that only works on positive net income.
Mortgage opening fees and related notary costs amortize alongside the mortgage itself (not deductible in one shot the first year). Account maintenance fees are deductible in the year they are paid.
Non-residents file Modelo 210 quarterly (or annually if no changes). They pay 19% on net income if they are EU/EEA residents (with expense deductions) or 24% on gross income if extra-EU (no expense deductions). NO 60% reduction in either case.
The tax agency requires you to declare a minimum income equal to market value (2% of cadastral value, or 1.1% if revised in the past 10 years). If you can prove the family member actually lives there, you can apply the 60% reduction, but you can't escape the minimum imputation.
Yes. Until 31/12/2026 there are specific tax-credit deductions (20-60% of the cost) for works that improve the flat's energy certification. These are CREDITS (they subtract directly from IRPF owed), not deductible expenses. They are compatible with 3% amortization.
Yes. imotrack detects the type of every expense you upload or that the AI engine extracts from your invoices, classifies them in the correct deductible categories, prorates by rented months, and generates the tax export with everything ready for your gestor. No spreadsheets, no double entry.
imotrack tracks every expense across every property, auto-classifies them, and produces a Modelo-100-ready export for your gestor.
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