Owning a property on the Costa Brava creates recurring tax obligations, in Spain and in France. Nothing complicated once the system is in place, as long as you know about it from the start.
IBI: the Spanish property tax
The Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles is collected every year by the town. The amount depends on the property's cadastral value and the locally set rate: allow from a few hundred euros for a flat to over a thousand for a villa. The simplest way is a direct debit from your Spanish account. When you buy, we check that the seller is up to date: recent IBI can follow the property.
IRNR: the tax non-residents discover too late
Even if you do not let your property, the Spanish tax authorities consider that a second home generates a deemed income, known as imputed income. This income is calculated as a percentage of the cadastral value (1.1% or 2% depending on the case), then taxed at the rate for EU non-residents, currently 19%. For a typical property, this often comes to a few hundred euros a year. The return (modelo 210) is filed every year on your own initiative: the authorities send no reminder, but claim it with interest if you forget.
If you let the property
Spanish-source rent is declared in Spain under IRNR, with expenses deductible for EU residents. On the French side, the property and its income come within your reporting obligations; the France-Spain tax treaty eliminates double taxation, notably through the tax credit mechanism.
Depending on your assets
For significant assets in Spain, Spanish wealth tax and the solidarity tax may apply to non-residents above certain thresholds. If this concerns you, get help from a French-Spanish tax adviser.
Good practice: hand the annual follow-up to a local gestoría or accountant for a modest fee, and never think about it again.
