The health, cultural, and dietary benefits have all been explored ad infinitum; however, rarely are tax benefits, Spain, and Real Estate topics found together.
However, recently, a ruling was made by the Spanish National Court (3630/2025), which directly affects the taxation of non-resident persons in Spain and how they collect income from rental properties located within the country.
If your first thought is that this does not directly apply to your situation, keep reading. You may be someone who owns property, wants to purchase property someday, or is an international person living abroad, learning to navigate the intricacies of multiple tax systems correctly.
Regardless, this most recent ruling may directly impact your status or have implications for future jurisprudence, so it is worth paying attention to current changes in the law.
¿What did the Spanish National Court decide?
The 3630/2025 ruling recognizes that residents of their countries (i.e., outside of the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA)) who obtain income from real estate capital from properties located within Spain, CAN deduct expenses related to the rental of the property itself, under similar conditions to EU residents, provided that it is proven that they are directly related to the income obtained in Spain.
Essentially, non-residents now have equal tax status and can deduct maintenance expenses for the upkeep of rental properties. Previously, only residents of the EU and EEA could access this benefit.
Why this could also lead to significant tax savings in the future…
Because these deductible home expenses (described in detail in our article: 7 New TAX Deductions for Non-EU Investors to Start Making NOW on Your Spanish Rental Property) can ALSO help you pay less tax on your income tax return. For example, if you own one property and rent the other to a third party, you also have deductible expenses.
¿Why is this important?
The court considered that formerly denying the deduction to non-residents was discriminatory and violated the principle of free movement of capital (Article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), in addition to international treaties established to prevent double taxation.
This new law particularly affects Commonwealth and US citizens, who are not part of the EEC and who own rental properties in Spain.
¿What are the practical consequences of all of this?
Non-EU residents can deduct their expenses in their future IRPF (non-resident income tax) returns due by June 30th.
They can also request a self-assessment of previous returns and claim a refund of overpaid taxes, provided that they filed the returns, that these expenses have not been previously claimed, and the returns have not expired going back four years (For example, an assessor may help you request complimentary rectifications from the fiscal year 2021 to the fiscal year 2025 based on article 66 of the General Tributary Law.)
Expenses must be well-documented and directly related to the rented property.
¿What else should we know?
The ruling can still be appealed to the Spanish Supreme Court; however, it presents a fantastic opportunity to review tax returns in recent years for additional savings and prepare future returns in accordance with this new criterion.
Also, it will be interesting to see how it impacts future jurisprudence.
If you have any specific questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly. Whether you are an EU, EEA, or non-EU resident, I am happy to address your concerns.
If you want to know what specifically qualifies as a maintenance expense, check out our next article, 7 New TAX Deductions to Start Making NOW on Your Spanish Rental Property!
Ipso Facto Law 
Deja un comentario