Spanish property tax is not complicated, it's just badly distributed. Six different authorities each issue their own deadlines across the calendar, with surcharges of 5–20% for missed dates. Most non-resident owners learn this when their lawyer surfaces three years of accumulated penalties at re-sale.
A non-resident owner of a single Marbella property files or pays into several separate tax events a year: IBI, basura, community fees, and non-resident income tax (IRNR / Modelo 210). This guide types no annual total: IBI depends on the cadastral value on the receipt, and community fees on the budget each community approves. The worked example on this site — a five-bedroom villa worth about €3 million, no resident staff — comes to about €55,000 a year, with a community fee of €450 a month in that example. That example is a full running budget, set out at museselection.es/cost-of-running-a-villa-marbella. Surcharges for missed deadlines run 5–20% of the unpaid amount under Spanish General Tax Law (Ley General Tributaria). Set up direct debits and a single gestoría to handle filings; the cost (€300–800/year) is trivial against the penalty exposure.
IBI is the cadastral value multiplied by the municipal rate, which the law allows between 0.4% and 1.10% for urban property (Article 72.1 of the Haciendas Locales law). The bill for a specific house is on its last receipt — ask the seller for it. The refuse charge (basura) is set by municipal ordinance and billed alongside. The town hall sets the payment period each year; a late payment carries a surcharge of 5–20% plus interest. Set up a direct debit.
Monthly or quarterly charges for shared maintenance (gardens, pool, security, lifts, façade). Community fees are set by each community's approved budget; no public source gives a range. Ask for the receipts of the last twelve months. Derramas (special assessments for non-routine works) are voted at the AGM. Obtain proxy rights from day one.
The Modelo 210 is the single biggest source of compliance failure for non-resident owners. Two distinct returns while you own, and a third when you sell:
Annual deemed-income return (properties not rented out). For 2026, a non-resident individual who does not let the property is taxed on a deemed income of 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value, depending on when that value was last revised; the rate is 19% for EU/EEA residents and 24% for others. It applies to individuals, not companies. Example at 2% and the 24% rate: €700,000 of cadastral value × 2% = €14,000 × 24% = €3,360 a year. Deemed income is declared once a year on Modelo 210: for 2025 and earlier, during the following calendar year; for 2026 onwards, between 1 April and 31 December of the following year. From 1 January 2027 a scale replaces the two percentages — 1.1% on the first €100,000 of cadastral value, 1.5% to €500,000, 2% to €1,000,000 and 3% above — under Real Decreto-ley 26/2026, provided Congress ratifies the decree.
Rental-income return (properties actually rented). Rent received by a non-resident is taxed at 19% on income net of expenses for EU/EEA residents and at 24% on gross income for everyone else (Articles 24 and 25.1.a of the IRNR law). The tax is IRNR, not IRPF. Rental income grouped annually is filed from 1 to 20 January of the following year for 2024 and 2025, and from 1 to 20 April of the following year from 2026. Rent declared separately instead keeps the quarterly windows — the first twenty days of April, July, October and January — only for income accrued up to September 2026; from October 2026 it too is filed from 1 to 20 April of the following year. No return is due for a period with no rent.
At sale. Plusvalía municipal is the seller's tax on a sale; the declaration is due within thirty working days of the deed (Article 110.2 of the Haciendas Locales law). If the seller is a non-resident individual, the buyer is liable to the town hall in the seller's place (Article 106.2), so the amount is retained from the price. The tax is charged on the increase in the value of the land during ownership — at sale, inheritance or gift. A non-resident seller also files Modelo 210: the gain on a sale is declared within three months after the one-month period following the sale — four months from the deed.