Olivier buys a house in Marbella in his second year
Olivier Marchand is French, runs the sales side of a software company in Málaga and has been in the regime of article 93, commonly called the Beckham regime, since 2025. In 2026 he buys a house in Marbella for 750,000 € to live in with his partner. The valor catastral (the official cadastral value of the property) shown on the IBI bill, the local property tax, is 260,000 €. In the basement there is also a small self-contained studio that he plans to let to a student for 700 € a month. And in a few years, when his time in Spain comes to an end, he is thinking of selling.
He asked us three things: whether he has to declare anything for living in his own house, how the rent from the studio is taxed and what will happen when he sells. All three answers come from the same idea: inside the regime, your home is seen through the lens of IRNR, the Spanish non-resident income tax.
Why your home is not treated as it is under ordinary IRPF
Article 93.2 of the IRPF Law (Spanish personal income tax) provides that the tax of a taxpayer in the regime is worked out under the IRNR rules for income obtained without a permanent establishment. Among those rules, article 13.1.h of the IRNR Law includes as income obtained in Spain the income imputed to individuals who own urban property located here that is not used in a business activity, and article 24.5 refers its calculation to the article of the IRPF Law that governs imputed income from property, currently article 85.
Article 85 sets the imputed income at 2 % of the cadastral value, or 1.1 % if the municipality's values were revised and came into force in the tax period or in the previous ten, in proportion to the days of the year. And it expressly excludes the main home.
The question of the main home
This is the delicate point. Under ordinary IRPF, the main home does not generate imputed income. A non-resident, by definition, has no main home in Spain and pays imputed income on any house they keep here. The taxpayer in the regime is halfway between: they are resident and live in the house, but they calculate their tax under non-resident rules.
Whether the exclusion for the main home reaches the article 93 taxpayer is not something the rules settle expressly, and we do not want to take it for granted either way. So, before the first Modelo 151 (the regime's annual return) with the house bought, it is worth checking the current administrative criterion and documenting the decision taken.
Leaving out the imputed income because "it's my main home" may or may not be correct, depending on the criterion applied. If it is not correct, the difference is put right with interest and, where appropriate, a penalty. Document the use as a home, your empadronamiento (registration on the municipal register of residents) and the date you moved in, and decide with the criterion in view.
Calculating the imputed income, in case it applies
With Olivier's figures, and assuming he bought on 1 July 2026, giving 184 days of ownership in the year:
- If Marbella's cadastral values had been revised in the previous ten years: 260,000 × 1.1 % = 2,860 € a year. For 184 of 365 days: 2,860 × 184 / 365 = 1,441.75 €.
- If they had not been revised: 260,000 × 2 % = 5,200 € a year, and for 184 days, 2,621.37 €.
- That income goes into the regime's general base, at 24 %: 346.02 € in the first case and 629.13 € in the second.
If the cadastral value had not yet been notified, article 85 applies 1.1 % to 50 % of the higher of the value verified by the tax authorities and the purchase price. With a price of 750,000 €, the base would be 375,000 € and the annual imputed income 4,125 €: a late IBI bill can make the first year more expensive.
The let studio: no expenses
The rent from the studio is income from property located in Spain, so it goes into Modelo 151. Article 24.1 of the IRNR Law takes the gross amount as the base, without the reductions of ordinary IRPF. The rules that allow certain non-residents to deduct expenses, those in article 24.6, are designed for taxpayers resident in another state of the European Union or the European Economic Area, and Olivier, although French, is resident in Spain.
| Item | Ordinary IRPF | Article 93 regime |
|---|---|---|
| Annual income from the studio | 8,400 € | 8,400 € |
| Deductible expenses (IBI, community charges, depreciation) | Yes | No, under the general rule |
| Reduction for letting a home | As the law in force provides | No |
| Rate applied | Progressive scale | 24 % |
| Tax in the regime example | — | 8,400 × 24 % = 2,016 € |
The let part of the house does not generate imputed income either, because article 85 only imputes income to property that produces no income. In practice the cadastral value will have to be split between the part lived in and the part let, on a reasonable, documented basis.
The home deduction that does not apply
Many buyers ask about the old deduction for buying a main home. In the regime there are no deductions of that kind: article 114.2 of the IRPF Regulations only allows the deductions specific to IRNR and the double taxation deduction for employment income earned abroad to be subtracted from the tax. Nor are there regional deductions for housing, rent or energy efficiency. If what you are interested in is the ordinary treatment of the home, it is in the guide on how to prove your main home, but bear in mind that it does not apply in the regime.
When he sells: the buyer's withholding
Article 114.5 of the Regulations provides that article 25.2 of the IRNR Law applies to transfers of property located in Spain made by taxpayers in the regime. In other words, the buyer withholds 3 % of the agreed price and pays it in as a payment on account. If Olivier sells for 900,000 €, the buyer will withhold 27,000 €.
The gain is worked out afterwards: sale price less acquisition value, taking in the costs of buying and selling. If, while in the regime, he sells for 900,000 € a house that cost him 750,000 € plus 60,000 € of taxes and costs, the gain is 90,000 €. It is taxed on the savings scale in article 93.2.e.2.º:
- First 6,000 € at 19 %: 1,140 €.
- Next 44,000 € at 21 %: 9,240 €.
- Remaining 40,000 € at 23 %: 9,200 €.
- Tax: 19,580 €, from which the 27,000 € withheld is deducted. The difference would be refunded.
If the sale takes place once he is out of the regime, ordinary IRPF applies or, if Olivier has ceased to be resident, IRNR. If the proceeds are reinvested in another home, access to the reinvestment exemption from within the regime is a point that has to be studied in your specific case; do not take it for granted. We explain it when we deal with leaving Spain while in the regime.
Wealth tax and local taxes
The house is in Spain, so it counts for wealth tax on the territorial basis that article 93.1 imposes on anyone in the regime. In addition, the IBI and, when selling, the plusvalía municipal (the municipal tax on the increase in land value) are paid just as by any other owner.
If you are going to buy, or have already bought, a home while in the regime, you can give us the details on the Beckham form and we will review imputed income, rent and withholding before the next Modelo 151. The guide on imputed income for non-residents explains the calculation with more examples.
The treatment of property in the regime's annual return is part of the work described on the Salama Tax page on article 93.