From 1 December 2026, letting a holiday home in Spain for 30 nights or fewer is subject to 10% VAT. And since 8 October, a seasonal let must last more than 31 days and state a genuine reason in writing. This comes from Royal Decree-law 29/2026. Here is who it affects and what you need to do, with worked examples in euros.
- It applies to resident and non-resident owners alike, with or without a tourist licence. It does not apply if the property is the owner’s own main home.
- Stays of more than 30 nights without hotel-type services (regular cleaning, bed linen, breakfast) remain exempt from VAT.
- You must register for VAT even if you provide no services at all. If you let for 30 nights or fewer, file form 036 before the first of those stays begins. If you already have such bookings for December, do it before 1 December.
- For a seasonal let, the reason must be written into the contract and the owner must be able to prove it. As a rule, it cannot last more than 12 months.
What has been approved and when it applies
Royal Decree-law 29/2026 of 6 October, a package of urgent housing measures, was published in the BOE on 7 October. It replaces Royal Decree-law 26/2026, which the Spanish Congress voted down on 2 October, and brings back the measures on VAT and seasonal lets.
The VAT change applies to holiday lets anywhere in Spain, whether the owner lives in Spain or abroad. These are the three dates you need to know:
The decree comes into force, and with it the new rules for seasonal lets.
The Standing Committee of the Spanish Congress ratifies the decree. Removing the VAT would now need a new law.
Stays of 30 nights or fewer start paying VAT. It is wise to have everything ready by that date.
10% VAT on holiday lets: who has to pay it
Will your holiday let pay VAT? It depends on how many nights each stay lasts. Until now, letting a furnished property to holidaymakers without hotel-type services was exempt from Spanish VAT. VAT only applied if the owner offered services such as regular cleaning, a change of bed linen or breakfast. We explain the full picture in our guide on how holiday home rentals are taxed in Spain.
The decree amends the Spanish VAT Act. From 1 December 2026, VAT is also due when two conditions are met: the stay is 30 nights or fewer with the same guest, and the property is not the owner’s own main home. The reduced rate of 10% applies.
This is what the decree changes.
Regular cleaning, bed linen, breakfast or similar services.
Still exempt, but the contract must follow the seasonal let rules.
It is the owner’s main home.
Worked example: a 21-night booking for €1,400
If you keep your price the same, the VAT comes out of what you receive:
If you want to keep receiving €1,400, the price for the guest has to go up to €1,540 (1,400 × 1.10).
The VAT rule counts nights (30) and the seasonal let rule counts days (more than 31). They are not the same. If you want a stay to be VAT-free and clearly a seasonal let, set a minimum of 32 nights.
What owners who let for 30 nights or fewer need to do
Do you let by the week or by the night? These are the four steps to take, in order.
Register for VAT in Spain
With form 036 at the Spanish tax agency. Non-resident owners have to register too. If you live outside the EU, you will generally need to appoint a tax representative in Spain for VAT; the tax agency names Norway as the exception. You have to do this even if you provide no hotel-type services: letting for 30 nights or fewer is enough. File it before the first of those stays begins; if you already have such bookings for December, before 1 December.
Charge 10% and issue an invoice
Every stay of 30 nights or fewer needs its own invoice showing 10% VAT.
File the quarterly VAT return 303 and the annual summary 390
Watch out for Booking and Airbnb fees: they invoice you without VAT from another EU country. You declare that VAT yourself on form 303 (the “reverse charge”), and the transaction also goes on form 349, which requires registration on Spain’s register of intra-EU operators (ROI).
Review your prices
On Booking, Airbnb and your own website. If you do not raise them, the 10% comes out of your margin.
The upside: once you charge VAT, you can recover the VAT on the invoices for your letting costs in those same quarterly returns, such as cleaning between guests, your management company, repairs or furniture. And this applies wherever you live, including outside the EU, for example in the UK or Switzerland.
- Only the VAT on letting costs can be recovered. Costs from the periods when you use the property yourself, or costs that serve both the letting and your personal use, cannot.
- If you mix stays with VAT (30 nights or fewer) and VAT-free stays of more than 30 nights, you can only recover part of it (the “pro rata” rule).
- Don’t confuse this with the Modelo 210: there, if you live outside the EU, you cannot deduct any expenses. They are two different taxes with different rules.
And Spain’s new invoicing software rules (VeriFactu) do not apply to non-resident owners without a permanent establishment in Spain.
Holiday let or seasonal let: it depends on the length of stay
The decree also amends Spain’s Urban Leases Act (LAU). Since 8 October 2026, the length of the stay decides which rules apply:
10% VAT from 1 December 2026.
Seasonal let: no VAT if there are no hotel-type services, with a written contract and a genuine reason that can be proved.
It can be treated as a long-term residential tenancy, with all the protection Spanish law gives the tenant.
The reason for a seasonal let
Calling a contract “seasonal” is no longer enough. The law requires a genuine reason that can be proved: the tenant is away from their main home for a specific purpose, such as work, study or a holiday. That reason must be written into the contract, and the owner must be able to prove it.
If the contract runs for more than 12 months without justification, or more than two contracts in a row are signed with the same tenant for the same property, it is treated as a residential tenancy from the first contract. If there is a dispute with a tenant over the contract, a lawyer should handle it.
What about the tourist licence, Booking, Airbnb and IBI?
The tourist licence (VT number)
The Costa Blanca is in the Valencia region (Comunitat Valenciana), which has its own rules. There, a property counts as a tourist home when it is let for 10 days (nights) or fewer in a row to the same guest. The owner or the management company files the registration; we look after the taxes.
The decree does not change this, and VAT applies whether or not you have a VT number: a 20-night stay does not need a VT number, but from 1 December it does carry VAT.
Booking, Airbnb and the Spanish tax agency
The Spanish tax agency already receives data from the platforms on each owner and their income. It knows who lets and how much they earn, wherever the owner lives.
IBI surcharge (Spanish property tax)
In towns declared “stressed residential market areas”, the local council can approve a surcharge on the IBI of tourist homes: up to 50% of the tax, up to 100% if the owner has two or more, and up to 150% if they have four or more. It is not automatic: the council has to approve it in its bylaws.
A UK owner with a sea-front flat in Torrevieja
A very common case: a British owner who lives in the UK has a sea-front flat in Torrevieja. They do not want a long-term tenant, and they advertise on Booking, on Airbnb and on their own website. Their guests are Norwegians, Swedes and Germans who come for the winter. From 1 December, their bookings look like this:
10% VAT, because it is not more than 30 nights. No VT number needed, because it is more than 10 days.
At 30 nights it carries VAT. At 31 it does not, but it is unclear whether it exceeds the 31 days a seasonal let requires. To avoid doubts, make it 32 nights.
Seasonal let with no VAT. Here a foreign guest works in your favour: someone who lives in Oslo or Munich and comes on holiday does not make the flat their main home.
How to make a seasonal let watertight
- Write the reason into the contract, for example: holiday stay by a non-resident whose main home is in [country].
- Keep a copy of the guest’s passport, proof of their address abroad and their return ticket.
- Set fixed check-in and check-out dates, with no automatic renewal.
- Do not sign more than two contracts in a row with the same guest.
As a non-resident, this owner also has to declare the rental income in Spain on the Spanish non-resident tax return, form 210. We explain how in how to declare Airbnb income in Spain as a non-resident. Your country of residence may also tax this income, so ask your adviser there how the double tax treaty with Spain applies to you.
Common questions about VAT and seasonal lets in Spain
Yes. Royal Decree-law 29/2026 applies 10% VAT to stays of 30 nights or fewer with the same guest from 1 December 2026, unless the property is the owner’s own main home.
No, unless you provide hotel-type services such as regular cleaning or a change of bed linen. That was already the case before the decree.
Yes, if you let for 30 nights or fewer from 1 December 2026, even if you provide no services at all. You register with form 036 before the first of those stays begins; if you already have such bookings for December, before 1 December. If you live outside the EU, you will generally also need a tax representative in Spain.
No. In the Valencia region (Comunitat Valenciana), a tourist home is one let for 10 days (nights) or fewer in a row to the same guest. But that 20-night stay does carry 10% VAT from 1 December 2026.
The decree has no special rule for them. What counts is when the rent is charged: if the stay is 30 nights or fewer and you charge it from 1 December 2026, it carries VAT even if the booking was made earlier. If the price was already agreed and you cannot raise it, the VAT comes out of what you receive. Deposits taken before 1 December are the grey area: the Spanish tax agency has not yet published guidance, so ask us before you invoice them.
Yes. If you are registered for VAT because you let for 30 nights or fewer, you can recover the VAT on the invoices for your letting costs in your quarterly returns, wherever you live. Only letting costs count, not those from when you use the property yourself. This is different from the Modelo 210, where owners living outside the EU cannot deduct any expenses.
Yes, if your town is declared a stressed residential market area and the council approves the surcharge. It can reach 50% of the tax, 100% for owners of two or more tourist homes and 150% for owners of four or more.
Letting your property to holidaymakers in Spain?
We work with resident and non-resident owners and with companies that manage holiday lets. We handle your VAT registration, your 303 and 210 returns and the tax side of your seasonal contracts. See how we help with the non-resident tax return (form 210).
Official sources
- Royal Decree-law 29/2026 of 6 October (BOE no. 249, 7 October 2026), in SpanishChecked on 13 November 2026
- Spanish tax agency (AEAT): tax measures introduced by Royal Decree-law 29/2026Checked on 13 November 2026
- Resolution of 2 October 2026 of the Spanish Congress repealing Royal Decree-law 26/2026, in SpanishChecked on 13 November 2026
- AEAT: FAQs on VAT on property rentals (when VAT becomes due), in SpanishChecked on 13 November 2026
- AEAT: VAT registration and tax representative for businesses not established in Spain, in SpanishChecked on 13 November 2026
- AEAT: who must use VeriFactu invoicing software, in SpanishChecked on 13 November 2026
- Valencia regional government: FAQs on tourist homes (17 March 2026), in SpanishChecked on 13 November 2026
General information updated on 13 November 2026; every case can be different.