IVA on Spanish tourist rentals: the 10% rule in RDL 29/2026

Where does IVA on tourist rentals stand as of 16 October 2026?

The road here has been bumpy. On 29 June 2026 the government announced it would raise IVA on tourist flats to the standard 21% rate. The text the Council of Ministers finally approved on 29 September — Real Decreto-ley 26/2026, published in the BOE on 30 September — opted instead for the reduced 10% rate and added a municipal IBI surcharge for tourist accommodation.

That decree lasted barely a few days: on 2 October the Congreso refused to ratify it and it was repealed, together with Real Decreto-ley 27/2026 on rental stability. On 5 October Parliament was dissolved and a general election called for 29 November 2026. The following day the government re-approved the same IVA and IBI measures as Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (BOE-A-2026-20823, BOE of 7 October), in force since 8 October.

With both chambers dissolved, ratification falls to the Congreso’s Diputación Permanente (standing committee), which must vote within 30 days of enactment (art. 86.2 of the Constitution) — in practice, early November 2026. As of 16 October no ratification agreement has been published.

Which IVA applies today, until 30 November 2026?

The current rule (art. 20.Uno.23º of Ley 37/1992) exempts residential rentals from IVA, tourist lets included, as long as the landlord does not provide services typical of the hotel industry. In that case the guest pays no IVA and the host neither charges nor deducts it.

The reduced 10% rate (art. 91.Uno.2.2º) only comes into play when hotel-type services are actually provided: permanent reception or guest service, periodic cleaning and linen changes during the stay, or similar. The Agencia Tributaria expressly clarifies that cleaning and linen changes at check-in and check-out, cleaning of communal areas and technical repair assistance do not count.

Alongside IVA — and independently of it — rental income is always taxed: under IRPF for residents, or under IRNR via Modelo 210 for non-residents.

What changes on 1 December 2026 if the decree is ratified?

Article 7 of Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 rewrites, with effect from 1 December 2026, letter e´) of art. 20.Uno.23º of Ley 37/1992 — the list of cases carved out of the exemption. From that date the exemption no longer covers lettings of furnished flats or homes where either of two conditions is met: the landlord undertakes to provide ancillary services typical of the hotel industry (as before), or the duration in favour of the same tenant does not exceed 30 nights — unless the property is the landlord’s own main residence.

The same article rewrites art. 91.Uno.2.2º so that these lettings fall expressly under the reduced 10% rate. That is the key difference from the June announcement and from bill 122/000196 of 2025: no 21%, and no 10,000-inhabitant threshold. The only test is duration per tenant, regardless of municipality, licence or the landlord’s status.

The decree contains no transitional rule for bookings already paid or for stays spanning 1 December. Their treatment will follow the general chargeability (devengo) rules of art. 75 LIVA — including those on advance payments — and any guidance from the Agencia Tributaria, which we had not found as of this review.

Who is affected — and who is not?

• Host with a tourist licence (VUT/VT/HUT/ETV): bookings of days or weeks move from 0% to 10% on 1 December, with or without hotel-type services. Hosts who already provide them stay at 10%.
• Short stays without a tourist licence (for example, two weeks for work): the test is duration, not the licence, so these would also be taxed at 10%.
• Hybrid host (tourist summers, temporada winters): a mixed regime — short bookings at 10%, contracts of more than 30 nights exempt, with the pro-rata rule for deductible input IVA.
• Temporada landlord (contracts of several months with the same tenant, no hotel-type services): remains exempt.
• LAU landlord of a main residence: no change, exempt.
• Anyone letting the home they live in for short stays, without hotel-type services: remains exempt under the decree’s express exception.
• Small municipalities: there is no population threshold; the rule applies all the same.
• Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla: outside the territorial scope of IVA. In the Canaries, vivienda vacacional remains subject to IGIC (7%), which the decree does not touch.

How is it calculated? A worked example

Scenario: a tourist flat in Torrevieja owned by a non-resident, with no hotel-type services and not the owner’s main home. A family books it from 10 to 17 December 2026 (7 nights) for €840. With the decree ratified, the stay is taxed at 10%.

Option A — charge IVA on top of the price: taxable base €840, IVA €84, total invoiced €924. Option B — keep €840 as the IVA-inclusive final price: base €763.64, IVA €76.36. That €76.36 is margin the host gives up by not passing the tax on.

The same flat let from January to March 2027 to a single tenant on a temporada contract (more than 30 nights, no hotel-type services) carries no IVA. Nor does a 5-night stay ending on 29 November 2026: it is supplied entirely under the current regime.

What paperwork does it bring?

This is not just a price change. A host who does not charge IVA today will have to register for the tax through the census return (Modelo 036), issue an invoice for every taxable stay with base and IVA shown separately, keep the IVA ledgers and file the quarterly return (Modelo 303) plus the annual summary (Modelo 390).

For non-residents, IVA comes on top of IRNR: Modelo 210 still settles the rental income (19% EU/EEA with deductible expenses, 24% for others without them) and Modelo 303 settles the IVA. They are parallel tracks, because IVA is levied where the property is, whatever the owner’s residence. Owners established outside the EU should check with their adviser whether they need to appoint a tax representative.

The rarely mentioned flip side: whoever charges IVA can also deduct the input IVA on business costs — utilities, renovations, management, platform commissions. Hosts mixing taxed short stays with exempt temporada lets will apply the pro-rata rule and deduct only part of it.

In the medium term, Directive (EU) 2025/516 (ViDA) completes the picture: from July 2028 (optional) and January 2030 (mandatory), platforms will act as "deemed suppliers" and collect IVA when the host does not provide a valid VAT number. The Directive also allows Member States to treat short-term accommodation (≤30 nights) like the hotel sector — the very line the decree uses.

What about the new IBI surcharge on tourist accommodation?

Article 8 of Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 adds a new paragraph 4 ter to art. 72 of the consolidated Local Finance Act (texto refundido de la Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales). It covers residential properties used as tourist accommodation, identified under each region’s rules, in municipalities declared stressed housing markets (zona de mercado residencial tensionado) under Ley 12/2023 on the right to housing.

The percentages are ceilings, applied to the net IBI liability (cuota líquida): up to 50% in general, up to 100% where the owner holds two or more residential properties used for tourism, and up to 150% with four or more. The surcharge accrues on 31 December and is assessed annually.

Nothing applies automatically: each town hall has to set it out in its tax bylaw. Because the measure applies to tax periods starting after the decree’s entry into force, the earliest possible year is IBI 2027. And, like the rest of the decree, it depends on ratification.

What should you watch until December?

• Ratification: if the Diputación Permanente approves it, 10% applies from 1 December 2026; if it rejects it, the decree lapses and the exemption continues.
• Precedents: Real Decreto-ley 26/2026, with the same tax content, failed ratification on 2 October 2026, and Real Decreto-ley 8/2026 fell at the same hurdle on 28 April. The outcome is not guaranteed.
• Election on 29 November: the new Parliament and whichever government emerges may later amend or repeal the measure.
• Stays spanning 1 December and advance payments: no express transitional rule; watch for notes or binding rulings (consultas vinculantes) from the Agencia Tributaria.
• IBI 2027: tax bylaws of municipalities declared stressed markets.
• Canary Islands: the decree does not touch IGIC; any change would need separate Canarian legislation.
• Europe: how ViDA is applied to platforms between 2028 and 2030.