Spain Rental Tax Changes 2026: A Guide for Holiday and Long-Term Landlords

Last updated: 4 June 2026

If you own — or are thinking of buying — a rental property in Spain, 2026 has been one of the most active years for regulation in a decade. The headlines have been confusing because much of what's been announced isn't yet law, while several quieter changes are already in force and affecting how landlords file, register, and price. This guide separates what's live from what's still pending, and explains how the two halves of the rental market are heading in very different directions.

The short version: holiday lets have become more regulated, more administratively heavy, and potentially more expensive. Long-term rentals have become more tax-favoured. Andalucía has moved faster than most regions on tourist-let restrictions, which makes the Costa del Sol particularly affected — and particularly worth understanding before you commit to either model.

At a glance

Long-term rentals now qualify for tiered IRPF reductions of 50%–90% depending on tenant, location, and rent level.
Andalucía holiday lets face stricter rules under Decreto 31/2024 — urban-planning declarations, community-of-owner vetoes, operating-period reporting.
The national NRA short-term rental registry was struck down by the Supreme Court on 19 May 2026. Regional VUT registration still applies.
A 21% VAT proposal on short-term rentals is on the table but not yet law.
The direction of travel is clear: holiday lets harder, long-term lets more favoured.

What Has Changed for Long-Term Rentals in Spain in 2026

The most important change for long-term landlords arrived with Ley 12/2023 (Law for the Right to Housing) and has been in effect since 26 May 2023. The traditional 60% IRPF deduction on net rental income was replaced by a tiered system:

50% — the new baseline for contracts signed after 26 May 2023
60% — if the property was rehabilitated in the previous two years
70% — if let to a tenant aged 18–35, or rented at an affordable or protected rate, in a zona tensionada (officially declared stressed housing zone)
90% — if a new contract is signed in a zona tensionada AND the rent is reduced by at least 5% versus the previous contract

Contracts signed before 26 May 2023 keep the original 60% reduction until renewal. All four tiers require that the property be the tenant's habitual residence — holiday lets and seasonal lets don't qualify.

The 70% and 90% tiers depend on whether your municipality has been declared a zona tensionada by the autonomous community. So far, no Andalucían municipality has been officially declared, which means most Costa del Sol landlords sit at 50% or 60%. Catalonia has been most aggressive in declaring zones; the Junta de Andalucía has explicitly resisted doing so. If you're considering buying to let long-term, our town-by-town guide to the best areas in the Axarquía walks through where the numbers actually work.

Andalucía AVRA Deposit Rules: What Landlords Need to Know in 2026

Andalucía-specific: the AVRA fianza repeal. From 24 January 2026, under Disposición Adicional 6ª of Ley 5/2025, residential landlords in Andalucía no longer need to lodge tenant deposits with the AVRA (the regional housing agency). The deposit is now held directly by the landlord for the duration of the tenancy. New contracts signed after that date should not include an AVRA-lodging clause — and existing rental templates need updating. If you let to expat tenants, our owner's guide to renting to expats in the Axarquía covers the practical contract changes.

100% IRPF for Rent-Freezers: The January 2026 Announcement (Pending)

On 12 January 2026, the Sánchez government announced a Real Decreto-Ley with three big-ticket measures targeting the rental market:

A 100% IRPF bonification for landlords who don't raise the rent when renewing a contract
Room-rental controls — capping the sum of room rents to what the full property would let for, and bringing room rentals into rent control regimes inside zonas tensionadas
A sanctioning regime for short-term rental non-compliance

These need Congressional validation before they take effect, and as of mid-2026 that validation is still pending. If they pass, the 100% bonification in particular would be a meaningful incentive for landlords willing to lock in rents — effectively making the long-term rental yield tax-free at the headline level.

Holiday Let Rules in Andalucía Under Decreto 31/2024 (VUT)

Andalucía has moved faster than most regions, and Decreto 31/2024 (in force from 22 February 2024) is now the central piece of regulation for any Costa del Sol property let to tourists.

The most consequential changes:

Rename: Viviendas con Fines Turísticos (VFT) are now Viviendas de Uso Turístico (VUT). Existing registrations were converted automatically.
Urban-planning compatibility declaration: before registering a VUT, the owner must obtain a declaration from the local town hall confirming that tourist-let activity is compatible with the property's land use and planning regime. This is the biggest practical hurdle and the one most likely to block new registrations.
Community of owners can prohibit: if the building's bylaws explicitly forbid tourist-rental activity, the property cannot be registered as a VUT. The Property Registry now issues certificates confirming this either way.
31-day maximum stay: any rental longer than 31 days falls under the LAU (long-term tenancy law) and loses tourist status. Owners running winter rentals on the Costa del Sol are already in LAU territory and unaffected by VUT rules.
Operating periods: owners must declare specific periods of operation. Renting outside the declared period is classed as clandestine activity and sanctioned accordingly.
Municipal caps: town halls can now limit the number of VUTs in specific neighbourhoods or zones — Málaga capital has already used this power aggressively in the historic centre.
Guest data reporting: mandatory communication of guest data via the Interior Ministry's SES.HOSPEDERÍA system within 24 hours of check-in.

Income Tax for Non-Resident Landlords in Spain (Modelo 210)

Holiday let income is filed via Modelo 100 (residents) or Modelo 210 (non-residents). Non-resident landlords pay 19% on net income if resident in the EU/EEA, or 24% on gross income if not. A September 2025 National Court ruling (SAN 3630/2025) found that denying deductions to non-EU residents is discriminatory, but the case is under Supreme Court review and the rule still applies in practice.

Modelo 179 — the quarterly reporting obligation that platforms like Airbnb, Booking, and Vrbo have to file with Hacienda — has been in force since 2018 and shows no sign of going away. Every booking is reported.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Spain's National Rental Registry (NRA)

This is the change most owners have been confused about. In December 2024, the central government issued RD 1312/2024, creating the NRA (National Rental Registry) — a single nationwide registration number for any rental advertised on a digital platform, mandatory from 1 July 2025. The N2 Annual Activity Declaration was due by 2 March 2026, and failure to file meant losing your NRA.

On 19 May 2026, the Supreme Court (Decision 620/2026) struck down the NRA, ruling that the central state lacks the constitutional competence to create a national registry that overlaps with the regional tourist-housing registries already in place. So:

The NRA is no longer mandatory
The N2 Annual Activity Declaration is in limbo
Regional registration remains compulsory — for Costa del Sol owners, that means the Andalucía VUT registry, unchanged
However, EU Regulation 2024/1028 still requires Spain to operate an interoperable short-term rental registration system, so some replacement framework is coming

If you registered for the NRA, you don't need to actively cancel it. If you didn't, you don't need to chase it. Focus instead on keeping your VUT registration in order.

21% VAT on Holiday Lets in Spain? The 2025 Proposal Explained

In May 2025, the PSOE parliamentary group introduced a bill to scrap the VAT exemption on short-term tourist rentals in municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants — effectively applying 21% IVA to STRs under 30 nights in any meaningful tourist destination. The bill is not yet law and the timeline is unclear, but if passed it would double the headline tax cost of a holiday let versus a hotel, which pays 10%. Worth watching, but not yet to be priced in.

From Holiday Let to Long-Term Let: Where the Policy Is Heading

Step back from the detail and the policy direction is unmistakable: holiday lets are being made harder and more expensive; long-term lets are being made more attractive. The pressure is regulatory in Andalucía (Decreto 31/2024), administrative everywhere (Modelo 179, SES.HOSPEDERÍA), potentially fiscal (21% VAT proposal), and competitive (room-rental controls coming). Long-term lets get tiered IRPF reductions, a potential 100% bonification for non-raisers, and — in Andalucía — a simpler deposit regime.

What This Means for Costa del Sol Landlords

For a Costa del Sol landlord, the practical implications are clear:

If you're already running a VUT, get your urban-planning compatibility declaration, check your community bylaws, declare your operating period properly, and keep SES.HOSPEDERÍA filings current. The administrative penalty for falling out of compliance has become real.
If you're weighing the holiday-let vs. long-term-let math on a new purchase, the long-term column has improved. Modelling realistic net income with the current IRPF tiers — and considering the announced 100% bonification — narrows the gap considerably. Our cost of living in Nerja guide and the best areas to buy in Axarquía both feed into that modelling.
If you're a non-resident landlord, the Modelo 210 calculus hasn't changed yet, but the SAN 3630/2025 ruling means non-EU owners should be watching the Supreme Court decision closely — a favourable outcome could open the door to expense deductions retroactively.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the IRPF deduction for long-term rentals in Spain in 2026? For new contracts signed after 26 May 2023, the baseline deduction is 50% of net rental income, rising to 60% for recently rehabilitated properties, 70% for tenants aged 18–35 or affordable housing in declared stressed zones, and 90% when a new contract in a stressed zone reduces the previous rent by at least 5%. Contracts signed before 26 May 2023 keep the original 60% deduction until renewal.

Do I need to register my Andalucía holiday let in 2026? Yes. Andalucía's VUT (Vivienda de Uso Turístico) regional registration remains mandatory under Decreto 31/2024, including a declaration of urban-planning compatibility from your local town hall. The separate national NRA registration was struck down by the Supreme Court in May 2026, so only regional registration applies.

What happened to the Spanish national short-term rental registry (NRA)? The Supreme Court (Decision 620/2026, 19 May 2026) struck down the NRA created by RD 1312/2024, ruling that the central state lacks competence to overlap with regional registries. The NRA is no longer mandatory. Regional registration — like Andalucía's VUT registry — still applies, and a replacement framework is expected to comply with EU Regulation 2024/1028.

Will Spain apply 21% VAT to holiday lets? A bill introduced in May 2025 would impose 21% VAT on short-term rentals under 30 nights in municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants, but as of mid-2026 it has not been enacted. If passed, it would double the headline tax cost of a holiday let versus a hotel, which pays 10% VAT.

How much tax do non-resident landlords pay on Spanish rental income? Non-resident landlords file Modelo 210 quarterly. Residents of EU/EEA countries pay 19% on net rental income after deductible expenses; non-EU residents pay 24% on gross income with no deductions. A September 2025 National Court ruling found denying deductions to non-EU residents discriminatory, but the case is under Supreme Court review.

Onyx Estates manages long-term and seasonal rentals across the Costa del Sol — Axarquía and Marbella corridor — and works with international owners on the structure, registration, and compliance side of letting Spanish property. If you'd like to talk through which model fits your property or your portfolio in 2026, or if you're exploring a purchase with rental yield in mind, get in touch.

This article is informational and not tax or legal advice. Spanish rental tax depends on your residency, the property's location, the type of let, and contract specifics — consult a qualified gestor or asesor fiscal before making decisions based on it.