Note

Wealth tax for non-resident owners in Spain

§ 1What the tax is

Wealth tax is an annual tax on the net value of a person's assets. It is separate from the income tax and from the taxes on a sale, and it has its own return, model 714. The tax agency lists it as an item of its own, and the details sit in the procedure page for the form. The chapter on the whole subject is non-resident taxes step by step.

§ 2Why a non-resident can be reached

Residents are taxed on assets wherever they are. A non-resident is taxed only on assets located in Spain or that can be exercised there, which the agency calls the real obligation. A home in Spain falls in that category. The solidarity tax on large fortunes uses the same idea and refers to a minimum exempt amount in the real obligation. The practical effect is that a foreign owner of valuable Spanish property needs to ask whether a return is due.

§ 3What we could not verify

The thresholds, the exempt amounts, the scale and the regional reliefs are the heart of the tax, and they change. The agency pages we could read did not state them, and we do not print numbers from secondary sources. This page therefore explains the structure and tells you what to ask, and it leaves the figures to your adviser.

§ 4How the value is set

The value of a home for wealth tax follows rules in the law, and it is not the same as the price you paid or the cadastral value. Ask your adviser which value applies to your property and to any debt secured on it, because a mortgage may affect the net figure. Keep the deed, the cadastral certificate and the mortgage statement together.

§ 5What to ask an adviser

Ask whether you must file, what the exempt amount is for your situation, whether regional rules apply to the region of the property, what the filing period is, and what the cost of filing is compared with the tax. Ask also whether the solidarity tax could apply, which is covered on its own page.

§ 6What to do if you missed a year

Do not wait. Tell your adviser, who can explain how to correct the position and what a late filing costs. Late filings generally cost less when made on your own initiative than when the agency finds them first, and an adviser can tell you the rules for your case.

§ 7Summary

Treat wealth tax as a question to settle, not a fact to ignore. For a modest holding the answer may be that no return is due. For a larger one it may be yearly.

§ 8Related pages

How modelo 210 works explains how the form itself works, and how imputed income works explains how imputed income is calculated.

How tax on rental income works explains how let property is taxed, and the rules on the solidarity tax explains how the solidarity tax works.

The rules on tax return deadlines explains when each return falls due, and the rules on EU and EEA deductions explains which expenses an EU or EEA resident can deduct.

Tax note. Rates depend on the region, the type of property and the buyer, and they change. Figures here are dated and sourced; examples are illustrative and show their assumptions. Confirm yours with the regional tax agency or a tax adviser.