Non-residents: modelo 210 (IRNR) and reclaiming the 3% retention

The modelo 210 is the self-assessment return for the Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes (IRNR, Spain's non-resident income tax), for anyone who earns income in Spain without a permanent establishment. If you are not tax resident in Spain but own a property here, this is the form on which you declare what that property generates.

One and the same modelo 210 covers the three usual situations of a non-resident with a home in Spain: the rent you receive, the imputed income on a property you keep at your disposal without letting it, and the capital gain when you sell it. It can be filed by individuals and by non-resident entities alike.

To file it you need a NIE (the Spanish identification number for foreigners) and, depending on the case, to identify yourself with an electronic certificate or Cl@ve (the Spanish public administration's online identity system). Managora obtains or uses your NIE, calculates the amount and files the form for you. You can see the current price of the service on the modelo 210 service page.

If you let your property, you are taxed on the income obtained. Residents of the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein apply the general rate of 19% and may deduct the letting-related expenses provided for in the rules (for example interest, community fees, IBI (the annual local property tax), insurance or depreciation, in the proportional part). Other non-residents are taxed at 24% on gross income, with no deduction of expenses.

For income accruing from 2024 onwards, rental income may be grouped annually: in that case a single modelo 210 is filed each year for each property, between 1 and 20 January of the following year (until 15 January if you pay by direct debit). If you own several properties, you file one for each. As an alternative, quarterly filing remains available, between 1 and 20 April, July, October and January, for the previous quarter's income.

Managora keeps track of the calendar, applies the deductible expenses you are entitled to according to your country of residence and files the return on time so that you avoid surcharges.

If you have a property in Spain at your disposal and do not let it, the law treats it as generating an imputed income which must also be declared on the modelo 210. This is a very common situation with second homes owned by non-residents that are only used during the holidays.

The base is calculated by applying 1.1% of the cadastral value (if the cadastral value was revised within the most recent tax periods set by the rules) or 2% in all other cases, and is apportioned over the days of ownership. The rate applied to that base is 19% (residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) or 24% (all other taxpayers).

The imputed income accrues on 31 December and you have the whole of the following calendar year to file the modelo 210. Managora calculates the imputed amount from your cadastral value and files the annual return for you.

When you sell a property in Spain as a non-resident, you are taxed on the capital gain, which is the difference between the transfer value and the acquisition value (adjusted for the inherent expenses and taxes you paid on each transaction). The applicable rate is 19%.

On that sale the law obliges the buyer to withhold 3% of the agreed price and pay it to Hacienda (the Spanish tax authority, AEAT) using the modelo 211, within one month of the sale. The buyer must give you a copy of the modelo 211: that document evidences the retention and is essential for your return.

That 3% retention is a payment on account of your tax. You must then file your modelo 210 declaring the gain, within three months from the end of the one-month period the buyer has to pay the 211. In practice you have around four months from the date of the sale.

The 3% is calculated on the sale price, not on the gain, so it often exceeds the tax actually due. That happens whenever you sell at a loss or with a small gain. In that case, the difference between the 3% withheld and your tax due is an excess that Hacienda refunds to you.

The refund is claimed on the same modelo 210 on which you declare the gain, by deducting from the tax due the retention evidenced by the modelo 211 the buyer gave you. For the refund to succeed it is advisable to be up to date with the taxes on the property (for example the IBI). Once the return is filed, the authorities have a set period in which to make the refund and, if they are late for a reason attributable to them, the amount accrues late payment interest in your favour.

Managora gathers the deed, the modelo 211, the proof of acquisition and the deductible expenses, calculates the real gain and files the modelo 210 claiming the refund of the excess. You can see the details and the price of the service on the service page for the sale of a property by a non-resident.

For any of these procedures it is useful to have to hand your NIE, the purchase and sale deeds, the IBI receipts and the cadastral value, the rental contracts and receipts, and the proof of expenses. If you are selling, also the copy of the modelo 211 the buyer gave you.

If you live in a country with a treaty with Spain to avoid double taxation, that treaty may change the way you are taxed or allow you to offset in your country what you paid here. To apply it, a certificate of tax residence issued by your own tax administration is usually required. Managora reviews your country's treaty and applies it where appropriate.

Managora prepares and files the modelo 210 and the recovery of the 3% for you, from start to finish: you provide the documents and we do the calculations, file with the Agencia Tributaria (Spain's tax agency) and send you the receipt. The current prices for each service are on the service pages for the modelo 210 and for the sale of a property by a non-resident.