Chantal lives in Lyon. Her father, who lived in Málaga, died on 1 August 2025 and left her, together with her two brothers, the flat he lived in, a parking space in the same building and a storeroom, each with its own cadastral reference. Nobody has let any of them since; they are waiting to agree before selling. Chantal read on a forum that non-residents pay a tax for having an empty flat in Spain and asked us whether that applied to her, and whether it also applied to the parking space and the storeroom.
The answer is yes, for all three, from August 2025. And the calculation shows why it is worth asking the questions in this order.
The five questions that decide whether there is imputed income
- Are you non-resident in Spain for tax purposes? If you live abroad for more than 183 days a year and your centre of interests is abroad, yes. If you were resident, the imputed income would go in your Spanish income tax return, not on Modelo 210.
- Do you own the property, or hold a right of use over it? The imputed income is declared by the owner and, if there is a usufruct (a life interest), by the usufructuary, not by the bare owner.
- Is it an urban property? Homes, parking spaces, storerooms, commercial premises. Undeveloped land and properties under construction are excluded, as are those that cannot be used for planning reasons.
- Was it unlet on any day of the year? Only the days it was actually let are excluded from the imputation, because those days are taxed on their own 210 for rental income.
- Is it in your name and not in the name of a company? If the owner is a foreign entity, the imputation for individuals does not apply, and what has to be looked at is a different regime, the special levy on properties owned by non-resident entities, with its own exemptions.
If you answered yes to the first four and the property is in your name, you have imputed income.
How Chantal's flat, parking space and storeroom add up
All three properties have cadastral values (the official value the land registry gives each property) revised within the ten-year window, so 1.1 % applies. Chantal owns one third of each, and the heirs acquire them from the date of death, because acceptance of the inheritance takes effect back to that date. From 1 August to 31 December 2025 there are 153 days. As a resident of France, she is taxed at 19 %:
| Property | Cadastral value | Base (1.1 % × 1/3 × 153/365) | Tax at 19 % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | 120,000 € | 184.44 € | 35.04 € |
| Parking space | 9,000 € | 13.83 € | 2.63 € |
| Storeroom | 3,000 € | 4.61 € | 0.88 € |
| Chantal's total for 2025 | 38.55 € | ||
The figures are small, but the obligation is the same as if they were large: three Modelo 210 returns for 2025, one per property, and the same for each of her two brothers. The rules set no threshold below which nothing has to be declared. From 2026, with a full year, each amount is multiplied by roughly 2.4.
The calendar that applies to her
The 2025 imputed income is filed from 1 April to 31 December 2026. Chantal is within the period and has no recargo, the surcharge for filing late, to pay if she files before the year ends. For 2026, the period runs from 1 April to 31 December 2027, and up to 23 December if she pays by direct debit. If you are not sure which properties or which days affect you, describe them in the non-residents form and we will send you back the list of returns with their amounts.
Situations that change the answer
| Your case | Imputed income? |
|---|---|
| Flat empty or used by you all year | Yes, for all 365 days |
| Flat let for 120 days | Yes, for the remaining 245, and a rental 210 for the 120 |
| Flat let all year on a long-term contract | No; only the 210 for rental income |
| Parking space or storeroom with its own cadastral reference | Yes, each one separately |
| Undeveloped plot or home under construction | No |
| You are the bare owner and your mother has the usufruct | No; the usufructuary declares it |
| The property belongs to a foreign company | Not by this route; the special levy is looked at |
What papers Chantal needs in order to file
Imputed income requires no bookkeeping, but it does require a few exact details, and it is worth gathering them before opening the form:
- Each heir's NIE (the foreigner's tax identification number). Without a Spanish tax number the 210 cannot be filed. If either brother does not have one, that is the first thing to apply for, because it takes time.
- The cadastral reference and cadastral value of each property, which appear on the IBI bill (the municipal property tax) for the year being declared, not the year in which it is filed.
- The year of the last cadastral revision, to decide between 1.1 % and 2 %.
- The date of death and each heir's percentage, which follow from the will or the declaration of heirs.
- The certificate of tax residence in France, which is what justifies the 19 % rate instead of 24 %.
With those five items, the nine returns for the three siblings are prepared in a single session. Without them, what usually happens is that each one files separately with different figures, and the Administration later asks why three co-owners of the same flat declare different values.
It does not depend on the country you live in or on the treaty. Double tax treaties allow Spain to tax income from property located here, and the Spanish Administration treats imputed income as one of those kinds of income. In the country of residence it may be necessary to declare the property or its income, with whatever mechanism the treaty provides to avoid double taxation; that is decided by that country's rules and its local adviser, not by us.
The inheritance is not frozen for tax purposes while the siblings decide. Even if nobody has signed the acceptance and nothing has been registered, imputed income runs from the date of death, and inheritance tax and the plusvalía municipal (the municipal tax on the increase in land value) have their own, shorter deadlines. It is best to put everything in order at the same time, as we explain in international inheritances and gifts.
And the obligation ends on the day the property is sold or let, not the day it is put up for sale. A flat advertised for a year without a buyer is available for that whole year, and is imputed in full.
Finally, the split between siblings does not have to wait for the division of the estate. While the inheritance is undivided, each heir declares according to their share in it; if the flat is later allotted to just one of them, from that date he declares for the whole and the others stop doing so.
This whole page assumes you are non-resident. If you spend more time in Spain than you think, or if your family lives here, your tax residence may be Spanish, and then the property goes in your Spanish income tax return, under different rules. It is the first check, not the last.
If your question is how the year is split when the flat is let for only part of the time, the detailed calculation of the days is in days let and apportionment, and the calculation of imputed income itself, with all its exceptions, in the guide to imputed income.