Robert Hughes lives in Leeds. In September 2024 he sold his house in Torrox for 260,000 €. The buyer withheld 7,800 € and gave him a piece of paper that Robert put away without reading. Nobody told him he had to file anything else, and it was not until this September, 2026, when an acquaintance mentioned that he had recovered money from a similar sale, that he found out Modelo 210 existed. That is the non-resident's tax return. Now he wants to know whether he is still in time, how much it will cost him and where to start.
Where Robert stands in the calendar
The deed is dated 16 September 2024. Under the deadlines in article 14 of the IRNR Regulations (the rules on Spanish non-resident income tax), the buyer had until 16 October to pay in Modelo 211, the form a buyer uses to pay in the 3 %, and Robert three months more: until 16 January 2025 to file his Modelo 210.
Article 66 of the Ley General Tributaria, Spain's General Tax Law, sets the limitation period at four years, and article 67 counts that period, for the authorities' right to assess, from the day after the end of the filing deadline. In Robert's case, Hacienda's right to assess the sale (Hacienda being the usual name for the Spanish tax office) becomes time-barred, unless interrupted, in January 2029. The same goes for his right to claim a refund if one is due. He is in time for both.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Sale | 16 September 2024 |
| End of the buyer's deadline for Modelo 211 | 16 October 2024 |
| End of Robert's deadline for Modelo 210 | 16 January 2025 |
| Twelve months late | 16 January 2026 |
| Limitation, unless interrupted | January 2029 |
The guide on the four-year limitation period explains how it is counted and what interrupts it.
First scenario: he is due a refund
If Robert's gain were small, or if he had sold at a loss, the Modelo 210 would show a refund and the position would be favourable. Filing late generates no surcharge, because the surcharge in article 27 is calculated on the amount payable, and here there is none. The minor penalty in article 198 of the General Tax Law for filing late without financial harm may be imposed, which is 200 € and is halved when the return is filed without a prior request. It is not always imposed, but you have to allow for it.
Second scenario: he has tax to pay
Robert bought the house in 2011 for 150,000 € and paid 10,000 € in taxes and costs. On the sale he paid 10,000 € between the estate agent and the plusvalía municipal (the municipal tax on the increase in land value). His gain is high:
- Transfer value: 260,000 − 10,000 = 250,000 €.
- Acquisition value: 150,000 + 10,000 = 160,000 €.
- Gain: 90,000 €.
- Tax at 19 %: 17,100 €.
- Withholding paid in by the buyer: 7,800 €.
- Balance of tax to pay: 9,300 €.
As he files more than twelve months late, article 27.2 of the General Tax Law applies a 15 % surcharge, which rules out penalties, and charges him late-payment interest from the day after the end of those twelve months until the filing.
- 15 % surcharge on 9,300 €: 1,395 €.
- If he pays the debt on filing and the surcharge within the period in its assessment, article 27.5 reduces it by 25 %: 1,046.25 €.
- Late-payment interest from 17 January 2026 until filing, at the rate set by the Budget Act for each period.
The detailed calculation is in the guide on the article 27 surcharge.
The surcharge replaces the penalty only when the position is put right without a prior request. If Robert first receives a communication from the Agencia Tributaria, the Spanish tax agency, about that sale, the scenario changes: there is no longer a surcharge, but an assessment with interest and possible penalty proceedings, with penalties that start from a percentage of the unpaid tax. The authorities know about these sales from the deed and from the buyer's Modelo 211, so time is working against him.
The right order for putting it right
- Read the buyer's piece of paper. It is the copy of Modelo 211. It proves that the buyer paid in the 7,800 €. If he did not have it, or the payment did not appear, the situation would be different, the one we explain in the buyer did not pay in the 3 %.
- Gather the paperwork for the purchase and the sale. Deeds, purchase taxes, invoices for improvements and selling costs. What adds and what does not is in which costs can I add to the purchase value.
- Check whether the property was let. If it was, the minimum depreciation has to be subtracted and, in addition, you need to check whether the rent was declared.
- Calculate the result. Only then do you know whether Robert is in the favourable scenario or the expensive one.
- File the Modelo 210 identifying the period and pay at the same time. Article 27.4 requires a late self-assessment to identify expressly the period it relates to. Paying on filing is what allows the surcharge to be reduced.
- Review whatever else has been left around it. See the next section.
If you are in Robert's situation, you can send us what you have through the property sale form; we first calculate the result so that you know which scenario you face before anything is filed.
What is usually outstanding besides the sale
A non-resident who did not file the Modelo 210 for the sale often did not file other returns for the same property either. There are two worth reviewing:
- The imputed income for the years the house was not let. Non-residents who have a home in Spain at their disposal are taxed on a deemed income, under article 24.5 of the IRNR Law, which refers to the rules of IRPF (Spanish personal income tax). That includes the part of the year of sale up to the date of the deed. For 2024, the deadline ended on 31 December 2025.
- The rent, if there was any. Each year of letting has its own return.
Putting the sale right and leaving these years untouched makes little sense. The order in which to file everything is in the order for putting several years right.
The plusvalía municipal on that sale
As Robert is a non-resident individual, the buyer should have acted as substitute for the plusvalía municipal and paid it, deducting it from the price. It is worth checking that he did: if not, the town hall may claim it from the buyer, who will in turn go after Robert. We explain this in who pays the municipal capital gains tax.
What happens in the United Kingdom
Robert may also have obligations in the United Kingdom arising from this sale, and the tax paid in Spain may have effects there. We do not give opinions on British law: it must be confirmed by his adviser in the United Kingdom, with whom we coordinate the Spanish figures if needed.
What not to do
The most common temptation is to wait for time to pass. It is a bad bet: the limitation period is interrupted by any action of the authorities aimed at regularising the debt, and these sales are easy to detect because they appear in the deed and in the buyer's Modelo 211. Nor is it a good idea to file a Modelo 210 with approximate figures to "comply" and correct it later: a supplementary return or a later rectification carries its own consequences. And if the result is tax to pay, filing without paying or requesting a deferral loses the reduction of the surcharge. It is worth doing it once and doing it properly.
Regularising undeclared sales, with the scenario calculated, the surcharges and the returns that are usually left outstanding, is part of the Salama Tax service for non-residents selling a property.