Not final yet. The Spanish Congress still has to validate the decree, and on 2 October it threw out the previous one, which contained this same measure. We’ll update this guide as soon as the vote happens.

What has to happen

The change comes from Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (a royal decree-law) of 6 October, published in the BOE, Spain’s official gazette, on the 7th. A decree-law lapses if parliament doesn’t validate it within thirty days, and with the Cortes dissolved, the vote falls to the Standing Committee of the Congress. As of 19 October there is no date. Nor is the outcome certain: on 2 October the Congress threw out the previous decree, 26/2026, which contained this same measure. If this one falls too, holiday lets stay VAT-exempt. We’ll update this guide as soon as the vote happens.

In short

10%VAT on stays of up to 30 nights from 1 December 2026. Your own home is left out. VAT backYou deduct the VAT on management, cleaning, utilities, furniture and building work. 43%If your VAT-bearing costs exceed that share of what guests pay, you come out ahead without raising prices. New flatIf you bought it new in 2018 or later to rent it out, you may recover part of the VAT on the purchase. 3 casesWhether you live in Spain or abroad, or own through a company, the VAT is the same. Income tax and paperwork differ. PendingThe decree still has to be validated by the Spanish Congress.
In this guide
  1. What changes
  2. Who is affected
  3. Your case: resident, non-resident or company
  4. Registration and Modelo 303
  5. Deductible expenses
  6. Ahead or behind?
  7. Work out your case
  8. If you self-manage
  9. VAT on the purchase
  10. Bookings before 1 Dec
  11. The IBI surcharge
  12. Mid-term rentals?
  13. FAQ
  14. Sources

What changes for VAT on holiday lets

The decree changes a single letter of the Spanish VAT Act (Ley 37/1992): letter e’) of article 20.Uno.23.º, the one that lists which home rentals are not exempt. From 1 December it reads:

“e’) Rentals of furnished apartments or homes where any of the following circumstances apply:

– The landlord undertakes to provide any of the complementary services typical of the hotel industry, such as restaurant, cleaning, laundry or similar services.

– The stay by the same tenant does not exceed 30 nights, except where it takes place in the rented apartment or home in which the landlord has their habitual residence, in which case they will be exempt.”

Art. 7.Uno, Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, unofficial translation

Until now you only paid VAT if you provided hotel services. From December you also pay it when the stay is 30 nights or fewer, even if you provide no services at all. Either one is enough.

The rate is the reduced one, 10%. The decree spells it out in article 91, the one covering hospitality: rentals under article 20.Uno.23.º e’) are now included alongside hotel services.

The 30 nights are counted per guest stay. It doesn’t matter how many bookings the flat has in a year. It’s also the same limit the EU’s ViDA directive (Directive (EU) 2025/516) uses to define short-term accommodation.

Who is affected and who isn’t

The change affects holiday lets, which Spanish law calls viviendas de uso turístico (VUT), and in general any short-term rental of 30 nights or fewer, whether it’s booked through Airbnb, Booking or directly.

Your caseVAT from 1 Dec 2026
Stay of up to 30 nights in a flat that isn’t your own home10%
Stay of more than 30 nights, no hotel services (mid-term rental)Exempt
Any length, if you clean or change linen during the stay, or offer reception or meals10%
Up to 30 nights in your own home, whole or by the roomExempt
Long-term rental as the tenant’s homeExempt

The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla have no VAT (they have their own taxes), so nothing changes there.

Your case: you live in Spain, live abroad or own through a company

The VAT is the same for everyone: 10% on stays of up to 30 nights from 1 December. What changes depending on who you are is everything around it: which formalities you’ve already done, how your profit is taxed and where you can get money back.

If you live in Spain

You’re tax resident in Spain and the flat is in your name.

VAT
You register with Modelo 036 before the first stay that carries VAT and from then on file a 303 every quarter. You stay an individual: there’s no need to set up a company.
Income tax
You declare it in your IRPF return as you do now. Without hotel services or employees, it’s still rental income. Only the amounts change, because revenue and expenses are counted without VAT.
In your favour
The VAT on the flat’s expenses from December. And if you bought it new to rent out, part of the VAT on the purchase (explained below).
Watch out
The 303 is filed every quarter, even in one with no bookings where the result is zero (art. 71.1 of the VAT Regulation).

If you live outside Spain

You live in another country and own a flat in Spain in your own name.

VAT
The same as someone who lives here. For VAT, a flat you rent out is a permanent establishment in Spain; the law refers to “immovable property operated by way of rental or under any other title” (art. 69.Tres.2.º g). You register with your NIE and file a 303 every quarter.
Income tax
Your Modelo 210 for non-resident income tax (IRNR) stays the same, just without VAT. If you live in the EU or the European Economic Area, you pay 19% and deduct your expenses. If you live elsewhere, such as the UK, the US or Switzerland, you pay 24% on what you earn, with no deductions (arts. 24.6 and 25.1 of the Non-Resident Income Tax Act). In 2025 Spain’s National High Court recognised a US resident’s right to deduct expenses, and the Supreme Court is reviewing the case. Until it rules, the tax office applies the law as written.
In your favour
If you live outside the EU, this is the first time your expenses count for anything. You can’t deduct them on the 210, but you do recover the VAT on management, cleaning or furniture.
Watch out
You’ll have two calendars with the tax office: the quarterly 303 and your usual 210. Everything else is in our guide on renting out your home in Spain as a non-resident.

If a company owns the flat

The flat is owned by a company, for example a Spanish SL.

VAT
The company is already registered, but if all it did was holiday lets, all exempt, it most likely didn’t file the 303: the VAT Regulation excuses anyone whose transactions are all exempt (art. 71.1). From December it will have to file it, like any business that charges VAT.
Corporate tax
Until now, the VAT it paid on its expenses counted as one more expense for corporate tax. The VAT it recovers from December won’t, and the VAT it charges guests isn’t income.
In your favour
What it bought with VAT in recent years: new flats, improvement works and furniture or equipment costing €3,005.06 or more. It may be able to adjust part of that VAT (explained below).
Watch out
If it also rents out homes long-term or mid-term, which remain exempt, it only recovers the VAT on the holiday-let side, and shared costs such as the accountant are split using a pro-rata (arts. 102 to 106 of the VAT Act). That’s the first thing to look at with your adviser.

Tax registration, invoices and Modelo 303: what you’ll have to do

You don’t need to set up a company. For the Spanish tax office you’ve been a business since the day you started renting; the law says so in as many words: “landlords shall be considered as such” (art. 5.Uno.c). Nor do you need to register as self-employed (autónomo): you register with the tax office, not with Social Security. What changes is that your activity now pays VAT, and that brings admin (art. 164):

  1. Register With Modelo 036, the census form, under the relevant IAE business heading, or update your registration if you already have one. Do it before the first stay that carries VAT. If you’re paid through Airbnb or Booking, use the same form to join the Registro de Operadores Intracomunitarios (ROI, the EU VAT register). You’ll see why in a moment.
  2. Include VAT in the price Issue an invoice for each stay. Up to €400 including VAT, a simplified invoice will do; above that, a full one (art. 4 of the Spanish invoicing regulation). In practice, it’s simpler to make them all full invoices: one template, which also works if the guest turns out to be a company. Payments you take in advance also need an invoice, and if the booking is later cancelled with a refund or its price goes down, you issue a corrective invoice (art. 15).
  3. File Modelo 303 every quarter The VAT return is due from 1 to 20 April, July and October and from 1 to 30 January, plus Modelo 390, the annual summary. Owners whose only activity is renting out property can skip the 390 by filling in a few extra boxes on the last 303 of the year: your tax adviser will tell you whether that applies to you. Your first 303 is due in January 2027, for December’s VAT.
  4. Keep the books One for invoices issued and one for invoices received. And file Modelo 349 if companies in other EU countries invoice you, as the platforms do.

There’s no threshold. Spain has no small-business scheme that exempts low earners from VAT, so it applies from the very first night.

Which expenses you can now deduct VAT on

While your rental was exempt, the VAT on every expense for the flat was money lost. From December, you can deduct it: it’s subtracted from the VAT you charge guests on each quarter’s Modelo 303.

Almost everything you pay for the flat counts:

You recover the VAT on

  • Your manager’s fee, if you have one
  • Cleaning and laundry between guests
  • Electricity, gas, water and internet, with the bills in your name
  • The plumber who comes out on a Saturday and the air-con engineer
  • Furniture, appliances, bed linen and towels
  • Platform fees, your accountant, photos and the smart lock

No VAT on these

  • IBI (property tax)
  • Community fees
  • Insurance
  • Mortgage interest

Nothing to recover there.

Building work too. In a holiday let it’s charged at 21%, because the 10% rate for works is meant for your own home or long-term rentals, but now you recover that 21% in full. A €12,000 renovation plus VAT costs you €12,000, not €14,520.

To deduct it you need an invoice in your name, with your Spanish tax number and the VAT shown separately. A till receipt won’t do. The expense has to be for the flat, not for you: if you stay there a couple of weeks a year, you deduct less (art. 95). And it has to be from December onwards, except for capital goods, which work differently and are explained below.

The platforms have a quirk. Airbnb invoices from Ireland and Booking from the Netherlands. If you give them your EU VAT number, they don’t charge VAT on their fee: you declare it yourself on the 303, which adds it and subtracts it at the same time, so the net cost is zero. That’s what the ROI registration and Modelo 349 are for.

Do you win or lose with 10% VAT?

If you don’t touch your price, guests pay the same as before, but one euro in every eleven is VAT and goes to the tax office. In return, you recover 21% of what you spend with VAT. The two balance out at a fairly precise point.

If your expenses that carry VAT, before VAT, are more than 43% of what your guests pay, you gain from the change even without raising prices.

You lose unless you raise pricesYou gain even without raising themVAT-bearing costs as a share of what guests pay. Both flats are from the example below.

An example. According to our Barometer, a 3- to 4-guest flat in Barcelona brings in a median of about €4,200 a month, roughly €50,400 a year. We give it the costs of a managed flat: management at 20% (the most we charge, which is between 18% and 20% depending on the flat), €6,000 for cleaning and laundry, €2,400 for utilities and €1,500 for maintenance. All at 21% to keep the sums simple. The costs are an assumption; the revenue isn’t.

Per yearBefore (exempt)From 1 Dec, same price
What guests pay€50,400.00€50,400.00
VAT charged (10%)—−€4,581.82
Expenses before VAT−€19,980.00−€19,980.00
VAT on expenses (21%)−€4,195.80recovered
Left before income tax€26,224.20€25,838.18

At the same price, that flat makes €386 less a year, 0.8% of its revenue. A price rise of under 1% covers it. And if it passes on the full 10% and occupancy holds, it gains exactly the VAT it recovers: €4,195.80 more than before.

Now take the same flat without a manager and with only €8,000 of expenses that carry VAT. If it keeps its price, it loses about €2,900 a year, almost 6%. The fewer VAT-bearing costs you have, the more you feel the change.

Two more things. For income tax, revenue and expenses are counted without VAT, so that loss also lowers your income tax. And raising prices isn’t up to you alone: it depends on what other flats and hotels nearby charge, and from December they’re all on the same 10%.

Work out how much it changes for you

Enter what your guests pay in a year and what you spend on things that carry VAT. It’s the same calculation as above, with your numbers.

Management, cleaning, utilities, maintenance, furniture and works. Don’t have it to hand? Use the costs from our example, measured against what guests pay: 40% if you have a manager, their fee included, and 16% if you self-manage.

Shall we prepare the analysis with your real numbers?

Free, no commitment: how much it changes for you, what price to set from 1 December and whether you can recover VAT on the purchase or on works.

By sending this you accept our privacy policy.

If you currently manage it yourself

Of all the cases, this is the one that feels the change most. You have few VAT-bearing costs to deduct, because you do the work yourself, and your time doesn’t come with an invoice. With the numbers above, a flat without a manager that keeps its price loses almost 6% of its revenue.

What lands on you

  • An invoice for every booking, with VAT included
  • A corrective invoice whenever someone cancels with a refund or a booking changes price
  • Keeping the invoices from Airbnb, from Booking and for every expense
  • The 303 every quarter, even in a quarter with no bookings

What we do

For the owners we manage, the invoice for each booking is issued in their name from our system at no extra cost. When the quarter closes, their owner panel has what their accountant needs to file the 303.

Run the numbers for my flat →

If you bought the flat new: the VAT on the purchase

This applies to fewer owners, but those it applies to stand to gain. If you bought the flat brand new, from the developer and paying VAT, in 2018 or later, and you bought it to rent out, you may be able to recover part of that VAT.

The VAT Act requires deductions on capital goods to be reviewed for years whenever their use changes. And it covers exactly this case, moving from an exempt activity to one that charges VAT:

What the law says: art. 107.Dos of the VAT Act

“The adjustment referred to in the previous paragraph shall also apply where, in the year in which the capital goods were acquired, the taxable persons carried out exclusively transactions giving the right to deduct or exclusively transactions not giving that right and, subsequently, during the following years indicated in that paragraph, that situation changed in the terms set out in the previous paragraph.”

Art. 107.Dos, Ley 37/1992 (VAT Act), unofficial translation

For property, the review covers the year of purchase and the nine that follow (art. 107.Tres), and each year you recover one tenth of the VAT (art. 109). In numbers:

  • In 2021 you bought a new flat for €250,000 and paid €25,000 in VAT. You’ve let it to tourists ever since.
  • The period ends in 2030.
  • In 2026 there’s almost certainly nothing: only December will carry VAT, and the law requires a difference of more than ten points.
  • From 2027 to 2030 you recover €2,500 a year, on the last 303 of each year. €10,000 in total.

Something similar happens with furniture and equipment costing €3,005.06 or more per item, over five years instead of ten, if you bought them in 2023 or later (art. 108). An improvement works project, as opposed to a repair, can also count as a capital good.

If the flat was second-hand, you paid transfer tax (ITP), not VAT, and there’s nothing to recover.

This is the law read to the letter, but the Spanish tax office hasn’t yet said anything about this change. You must have bought the flat to rent it out and hold the invoice in your name. And if you sell before the period ends, you pay back the part that’s left (art. 110). Go through it with your tax adviser, deeds in hand.

Bookings made before 1 December: do they carry VAT?

The decree says nothing about bookings made beforehand, so the usual rules on when VAT becomes due apply. For a rental, VAT is due when the price becomes payable (art. 75.Uno.7.º), and if you’re paid in advance, when you’re paid (art. 75.Dos). What counts is when you get paid, not when the guest arrives.

With Airbnb, “getting paid” happens earlier than it seems. The guest pays when they book, and Airbnb Payments collects that money as your agent. Its terms put it this way: that payment “shall be considered the same as a payment made directly to the Host”. For VAT, you’ve been paid on the booking date, even if the money reaches you after check-in. In practice, on Airbnb the booking date is what counts, and if the guest pays in two instalments, each one when it’s paid. On Booking it depends on who charges the guest and when.

In practice, anything you were paid before 1 December for a later stay became due while the rental was still exempt. Anything you’re paid from 1 December carries VAT, even if the booking was made in October. And if today you accept a January booking that the guest will pay in January, that price already needs to include VAT.

Keep a note of the date of every booking and every payment. The tax office hasn’t said anything about these bookings either, and an advance payment with no reason other than dodging the tax is the first thing an inspector would look at.

The IBI surcharge on holiday lets

The same decree lets town halls raise the IBI (property tax) on holiday lets (new article 72.4 ter of the Local Finance Act). They can only do so if the municipality is a stressed residential market area and they approve it in their tax bylaw. It falls due on 31 December and can’t start before the 2027 IBI.

Up to 50%of the IBI bill
Up to 100%if you own 2 or more
Up to 150%if you own 4 or more

Barcelona has been a stressed market area since March 2024, so its city council could apply it. Madrid isn’t: the Madrid regional government hasn’t asked for the designation and, until it does, the surcharge can’t be charged anywhere in the region.

What about switching to mid-term rentals?

Stays of more than 30 nights without hotel services remain VAT-free. But mid-term renting is a different business, with different rules and different prices, and switching just to avoid 10% rarely pays off if your flat does well with short stays. If you’re considering it, read first how seasonal holiday lets work in Catalonia and have a look at our mid-term rentals page.

Frequently asked questions

From when does 10% VAT apply to holiday lets in Spain?

From 1 December 2026, to stays of 30 nights or fewer. Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 has been in force since 8 October, but VAT on holiday lets only applies from that date, and only if the Spanish Congress validates the decree.

Do I have to charge VAT if I let through Airbnb or Booking?

Yes. The channel doesn’t matter: what counts is a stay of 30 nights or fewer. The price you publish has to include VAT, and the invoice to the guest is issued by the owner, or whoever manages the flat on their behalf, not by the platform.

Does it affect flats with a tourist licence in Barcelona or Madrid?

Yes. Licences are regulated by each region; VAT is a national tax and doesn’t depend on them. It applies the same in Barcelona, Madrid and the rest of mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla have no VAT.

Do I need to set up a company or register as self-employed?

Neither. You can carry on as an individual, and you register with the tax office using Modelo 036. Registering with the tax office isn’t the same as becoming self-employed (autónomo): that’s Social Security, and if you don’t provide hotel services it usually isn’t needed. What changes is that you start filing VAT returns.

Does anything change in my income tax?

Not the way you’re taxed: without hotel services or employees, your income is still rental income. The amounts change, because revenue and expenses are now counted without VAT.

What if the guest is a company?

They’ll ask for an invoice with their tax number and address so they can deduct the VAT, even if the stay is under €400. When the customer is a business or self-employed, an invoice is always required (art. 2.2 of the invoicing regulation).

Can I deduct what I bought before 1 December?

Not the VAT on day-to-day expenses: back then your rental was exempt. Capital goods, such as the flat if you bought it new, or equipment and works above a certain value, can be adjusted over the years they have left. See above.

What happens in 2028 with the EU directive?

Directive (EU) 2025/516, known as ViDA, makes platforms liable for VAT on stays of up to 30 nights when the host doesn’t give them a VAT number. Each country may apply it from 1 July 2028 and must do so by 1 January 2030.

What if the decree isn’t validated?

It lapses, and holiday lets without hotel services stay VAT-exempt. If you’d already registered before finding out, you can deregister.

Sources

  1. Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, of 6 OctoberOfficial State Gazette (BOE) no. 249, 7 October 2026. Articles 7 (VAT) and 8 (IBI). In Spanish.
  2. Ley 37/1992, the Spanish VAT ActConsolidated text. Articles 5, 20, 69, 75, 91, 95, 102 to 110 and 164. In Spanish.
  3. Real Decreto 1624/1992, the VAT RegulationConsolidated text. Article 71.1 (who files the 303). In Spanish.
  4. Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004, the Non-Resident Income Tax ActConsolidated text. Articles 24.6 (expenses for EU and EEA residents) and 25.1 (19% and 24% rates). In Spanish.
  5. Real Decreto 1619/2012, invoicing regulationConsolidated text. Articles 2, 4 and 15. In Spanish.
  6. Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, Local Finance ActConsolidated text. Article 72 (IBI surcharge). In Spanish.
  7. Airbnb Payments Terms of ServiceSection 4: Airbnb Payments as the Host’s limited payment collection agent.
  8. National High Court ruling of 28 July 2025 and Supreme Court order of 15 July 2026ECLI:ES:AN:2025:3630 and ECLI:ES:TS:2026:7675A. Expenses for non-EU non-residents. Summary by Cuatrecasas, in Spanish.
  9. Resolution of 2 October 2026 of the Congress of DeputiesRepeal of Real Decreto-ley 26/2026. In Spanish.
  10. Resolution of 14 March 2024 of the Secretary of State for HousingStressed residential market areas, Barcelona among them. In Spanish.
  11. Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 of 11 March 2025 (ViDA)Official Journal of the European Union.
  12. Barcelona holiday-let Barometer 2025-26MyRentalHost. Median revenue of a 3- to 4-guest flat.

Please note. This guide is for information only. It’s based on Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 as published in the BOE and on the consolidated Spanish VAT Act as of 7 October 2026. The tax office hasn’t yet published guidance on the change. It isn’t tax advice: before deciding anything, go through your case with your tax adviser.