Taxes in Spain

[Martin-Y-Emelyn0]

Hi all,

I have a flat in San Sebastian which I am renting out on airbnb. I was reporting the income I was making from the rentals on airbnb and deducting the expenses such as electricity, water, etc. My tax advisor informed me today, as he was filing the tax report for the first quarter of 2018, that these expenses are not deductible since I am not a Spanish resident and that I would have to pay tax on the gross income without deducting the expenses because it is a "tourist rental". Is this the case for other owners in Spain renting out their homes via airbnb? I would appreciate any feedback and/or advice you all could provide.

Thank you. 

Martin

[Mike340]

@Martin-Y-Emelyn0

I understood that as long as you are resident within the EU then you can claim expenses just the same as a resident. This was changed on Jan 1st 2015  EU-residents are now treated on par with Spanish residents on taxation matters relating to allowances and deductions. This translates into paying fewer taxes (as non-residents now qualify for deductions and tax allowances which were previously barred to them as these were earmarked for Spanish residents alone).

https://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/2017/01/08/renting-spain-landlords-taxation-guide/

[Mike340]

@Martin-Y-Emelyn0

i see from your profile that you may in fact be tax resident outside the European Union. In which case I believe you can only deduct I.B.I council tax, and community(building) charge and maybe insurances.

[Martin-and-Emelyn0]

@Mike340

@

Thank you so much for your helpful reply. We do have residency in Spain by virtue of their Golden Visa program though the terms of our residency do not require us to pay taxes in Spain unless we stay for longer than 183 days in a year. Apparently this also prevents us from claiming certain tax benefits such as a lower income tax rate on rental income and also deducting expenses associated with these rentals.  My tax advisor said that NO expenses can be deducted though he himself wasn't sure until he consulted the tax office. It seems that no one is quite sure what the rules are. I'll just pay the quarterly tax sans deductions for now while trying to sort this out. 

Thank you again. 

[Carlos-D0]

Hello, yes i am Spaniard, living in Canada, and we cannot deduce anything , only if You are from the EU.

carlos

[Marit-Anne0]

@Martin-Y-Emelyn0

As a general rule you are liable for income tax on all and any income to your country of residence.  If there is a tax agreement in place with your country of residence and Spain, you can deduct the amount paid in Spain so as to avoid double taxation.

[Martin-and-Emelyn0]

@Marit-Anne0

Thank you for your reply.

Yes I am aware that we have to pay the tax on the rental income. My issue is not being able to deduct expenses associated with the property such as electricity, community expenses, etc. According to the tax office NO expenses may be deducted which does not seem fair. 

[Elaine33]

I am a resident in UK and I file a tax return of my world wide income to UK

I rent rooms out in my spanish home on Air and declare any income to UK

I thought you can only be taxed in one country ??

Elaine