IBI: Spain's annual property tax explained

What is taxed and who is the taxpayer

IBI is “un tributo directo de carácter real” levied on the value of immovable property (TRLRHL art. 60). The taxable event is holding one of four rights, in this order of priority: an administrative concession, a right of surface, a usufruct, or ownership (art. 61.1). Taxpayers are the holders of that right (art. 63.1). Where the owner is an entity without legal personality, such as a community of property, its members are jointly liable in proportion to their shares if they appear in the cadastre, and in equal parts if they do not (art. 64.2).

The base is the cadastral value (valor catastral) set by the cadastre (art. 65), not the purchase price or market value. You find it on the tax bill; see the cadastral reference.

The rates

The rate is fixed by each town hall within these limits (art. 72):

A town may add points to the urban rate if it is a provincial or regional capital (0.07), has public surface transport (0.07) or provides more services than the law requires (0.06). For a limited period of up to six years after a general revaluation of cadastral values, a town may use reduced rates, not lower than 0.1% for urban property (art. 72.5). Some towns exempt properties whose tax would be below a threshold they set (art. 62.4).

Calculation, not a quote. For a cadastral value of €80,000 and a town rate of 0.6%, the annual quota is €80,000 × 0.6% = €480. At the legal maximum of 1.10% it would be €880. Your town’s ordinance and your bill give the real rate.

When the tax falls due

The tax accrues on the first day of the period, and the period is the calendar year (art. 75.1-2). The owner on 1 January is therefore the taxpayer for that whole year, even if the property is sold in March. The seller can pass part of the cost on to the buyer: the law preserves the taxpayer’s right to charge the burden to another under general civil law (art. 63.2). The split between seller and buyer is a matter of the contract, and nothing in the law read sets a day-by-day proration. The parties can write a proration into the sale contract if they wish. Changes declared to the cadastre take effect at the next accrual date (art. 75.3).

What a buyer should know

When ownership changes “por cualquier causa”, the property is bound to payment of the whole quota on a subsidiary basis (art. 64.1). The tax agency or town hall can therefore pursue the property for unpaid amounts if the earlier owner does not pay. The notary must ask for information about unpaid IBI on the property and warn the parties about it. Ask the seller for the last receipts and a certificate from the town hall, and see the land registry extract for other charges.

Surcharge on empty homes

Under article 72, a town hall may add a surcharge (recargo) to the IBI of residential property that is permanently unoccupied. The rule introduced by Ley 12/2023 (in force since 26 May 2023) is:

• up to 50% of the quota for a home empty continuously and without justified cause for more than two years, owned by someone with four or more residential properties;
• up to 100% if the home has been empty for more than three years;
• up to 50 additional percentage points if the owner has two or more empty homes in the same town;
• the surcharge accrues on 31 December, and the town must hear the owner and show evidence of vacancy, which may include the population register and utility consumption.

The ordinance must set the requirements and procedure, so the surcharge exists only where the town has adopted it. Stressed areas are covered in stressed housing market areas.

Changes in force since 8 October 2026, subject to validation by Congress. Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (art. 8) rewrites article 72. Outside stressed areas the structure above stays. In a stressed area, a town may charge up to 50% on any residential home empty for more than two years, up to 100% for owners of four or more homes, with a further 50 points possible where the period exceeds three years. The text lists causes that count as justified, such as a temporary move for work or training, works or rehabilitation, a home offered for sale (for a maximum of one year) or for rent (six months), and second homes for up to four years. It also creates a surcharge of up to 50%, 100% or 150% on tourist lets in stressed areas. It applies to tax periods starting from 8 October 2026, so in practice from 2027, and needs a municipal ordinance. An earlier decree-law with the same change was repealed on 2 October 2026.

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with a Spanish bar association (colegio de abogados) can check for debts and draft the proration clause: property lawyer. The town hall’s tax office handles payment and appeals on the rate. Challenges to the cadastral value go through the cadastre.