The days the flat is empty are taxed too: imputed income explained
Yes: for every day not rented, the tax office imputes you an income of 1.1 % or 2 % of the cadastral value, prorated. It is little money, but it has to go on the tax return. With an example.
Reviewed on 22 September 2026 · By the team at Torremolinos Gestión Vacacional, more than ten years managing holiday rentals · Markdown version · Versión en español
Short answer: yes. A flat that is not your main home generates, for the days it is not rented, an imputed income: 1.1 % of the cadastral value if that value was revised in the last ten years, or 2 % if not, spread over the empty days. It is not a new tax: it is an amount added to your income tax base as if it were income. For a normal flat it means between €100 and €300 of tax a year.
How is it calculated?
- Look at the cadastral value on the IBI receipt (it is itemised) or at the Cadastre's e-office.
- Check whether the municipality has revised values in the last ten years. If so, the percentage is 1.1 %; if not, 2 %.
- Multiply the value by the percentage and by (empty days / 365).
Example: cadastral value €60,000, no recent revision (2 %), 145 empty days: 60,000 × 2 % × 145 / 365 = €477 of imputed income. At a marginal rate of 30 %, €143 of tax.
Which days count as "empty"?
All the days the flat is not rented: between bookings, the weak months and also the days you use it yourself (for the tax office, that own use is the same as having it empty). Only rented days are exempt, as they are already taxed on what you charge.
Can it be avoided?
Only by renting more days. Every rented day replaces a few cents of imputed income with real income. It is one of the reasons why a "summer only" flat is taxed proportionally more than it seems: nine months of imputed income plus three of income with hardly any expenses to prorate.
What if the flat is being renovated or cannot be used?
If it is objectively uninhabitable (major works, ruin) no income is imputed, but you have to be able to prove it. A furnished flat with the electricity connected is not uninhabitable just because nobody rents it.
Where does it go on the tax return?
In the property section, stating for each home the days at the owner's disposal (empty), the days rented and the income and expenses. The Renta Web program calculates the imputation on its own from the days. The pre-filled return usually includes the property; you have to enter the rented days yourself.
And non-residents?
Also: owners who live outside Spain declare the imputed income for the empty days on form 210, once a year. Explained in I live outside Spain: what changes?.
A practical tip
Keep a calendar of the year with the rented days, the empty ones and those of own use. You need it for the imputation, to prorate expenses and to justify it if the tax office asks. We managers provide it with the annual statement; if you do it yourself, a paper calendar hanging in the kitchen will do.