From 1 December 2026, renting out a tourist flat in Spain carries VAT. The rate is 10%, not the 21% announced over the summer. It applies to stays of 30 nights or fewer in a home that is not your own main residence.
The rule comes from Royal Decree-law 29/2026, published in the BOE (Spain’s official gazette) on 7 October. Congress still has to vote on it, and it already threw out an earlier version. Get ready now, but do not charge VAT before December.
What changes in VAT for tourist flats
Until 30 November 2026 there are two cases:
- Tourist flat with no hotel-style services (no cleaning during the stay, no change of sheets, no restaurant): no VAT. It is exempt.
- Tourist flat with hotel-style services: 10% VAT, like a guesthouse.
From 1 December 2026, the length of the stay counts too. If the same guest stays 30 nights or fewer, the stay carries 10% VAT even with no hotel-style services. That covers almost every tourist flat.
| Your case | Until 30 Nov 2026 | From 1 Dec 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist flat, 30 nights or fewer, no services | No VAT | 10% |
| Tourist flat with hotel-style services | 10% | 10% |
| More than 30 nights, no hotel-style services | No VAT | No VAT |
| Rooms in the home you live in, no services | No VAT | No VAT |
Who it affects and who it does not
It affects you if you let a furnished home that is not your own, for 30 nights or fewer per guest. It makes no difference whether you take bookings through Airbnb, Booking.com or directly.
It does not affect you in these cases:
- You let part of the home you live in. The rule keeps that stay exempt, even a short one.
- The guest stays more than 30 nights and you offer no hotel-style services. Still no VAT.
- You already charge VAT because you offer hotel-style services. You stay at 10%.
An example. Marta owns a tourist flat in Málaga and does not live in it. She lets it for weekends and single weeks. Today she charges no VAT. From 1 December, each of those bookings carries 10%.
21% was the proposal, 10% is the rule
In June 2026, the Spanish Government announced that tourist flats would pay 21% VAT. On 28 July it pulled the decree from the Council of Ministers for lack of support.
The text that reached the BOE is different. VAT on tourist flats is set at 10%, the same reduced rate that hotels and guesthouses pay. If you read headlines about 21%, they no longer apply.
What happens in Congress
A Royal Decree-law applies from the day it is published, but Congress has 30 days to ratify it or repeal it. If Congress repeals it, the VAT change never takes effect.
This is not a theoretical risk. The Government first approved a decree with the same VAT rule, number 26/2026, published on 30 September. Congress repealed it on 2 October. Decree 29/2026 was published on 7 October and repeats the measure.
What to do before 1 December
- Look at your bookings from December onwards. Many are already paid or have a fixed price. Decide with your adviser how to invoice them.
- Review your prices. A €100 night plus VAT costs the guest €110. If you keep €100 with VAT included, you take €90.91 and pay €9.09 in VAT.
- Update your listings. Airbnb and Booking.com show prices with taxes. Check how to set VAT on each platform.
- Get the paperwork ready. If you start charging VAT, you will need to issue VAT invoices and file the quarterly VAT return (form 303). Your adviser will tell you what to change in your tax registration.
- Note what you can deduct. As a general rule, anyone who charges VAT can subtract the VAT they pay on the flat’s costs, such as cleaning or the platform’s commission.
- Follow the vote in Congress. If the decree falls, nothing changes.
If your flat is somewhere with a tourist tax, include it too. Spain’s tax office says the tourist tax is part of the VAT base. Rates for each place are in the tourist tax in Spain.
To redo your numbers calmly, follow how to calculate the profitability of your vacation rental.
Other measures in the decree that affect you
The same decree brings more changes for holiday lets:
- A 31-day cap per tourist stay. Longer stays need a different contract. We explain it in the holiday rental contract.
- A surcharge on IBI, the local property tax. In areas the law marks as “stressed” housing markets, your town hall can raise the IBI on a tourist flat by up to 50%. It can reach 100% if you own two or more, and 150% if you own four or more. It only applies if your town hall approves it.
What is already required, VAT or not
VAT is the new part, but not the only one. These obligations stay the same:
- Guest registration and reporting to SES.Hospedajes (Royal Decree 933/2021): every stay, with fines of up to €30,000.
- Your tourist licence or registration with your region.
- Keeping your guests’ records for three years.
If you are not fully compliant, start there: running an illegal holiday rental costs far more than any tax.
Frequently asked questions
What VAT does a tourist flat in Spain pay in 2026? Until 30 November 2026, none if you offer no hotel-style services, and 10% if you do. From 1 December, 10% on stays of 30 nights or fewer, if Congress ratifies the decree.
Was 21% VAT on tourist flats approved? No. 21% is what the Government announced in June 2026. The decree published in the BOE sets 10%.
From when do tourist flats charge VAT? From 1 December 2026, on stays of 30 nights or fewer. Before that date, a flat with no hotel-style services still carries no VAT.
What if I let a room in my own home? If you live in that home, the stay stays VAT-exempt, even for 30 nights or fewer. If you offer hotel-style services, 10% applies, as it does today.
What happens if Congress does not ratify the decree? The change does not apply and everything stays as it is today. That already happened to the previous decree, 26/2026, which Congress repealed on 2 October 2026.
Details and sources
The change to the VAT Act. Article 7 of Royal Decree-law 29/2026 of 6 October amends, with effect from 1 December 2026, article 20.Uno.23.º, letter e’), of Spain’s VAT Act (Ley 37/1992). It removes from the exemption the letting of furnished flats or homes when the landlord provides services typical of the hotel industry, or when “its duration for the same tenant does not exceed 30 nights, except where it takes place in the flat or home in which the landlord has their habitual residence, in which case it is exempt”. The same article places those lettings under the 10% reduced rate of article 91.Uno.2.2.º.
Entry into force and ratification. The decree was published in the BOE on 7 October 2026 and came into force on 8 October. The VAT change takes effect on 1 December. Article 86.2 of the Spanish Constitution gives Congress 30 days from enactment to ratify or repeal it.
The previous decree. Royal Decree-law 26/2026 of 29 September contained the same measure. Congress repealed it on 2 October 2026 (resolution published in the BOE the same day).
The IBI surcharge. Article 8 of Royal Decree-law 29/2026 adds section 4 ter to article 72 of the Local Finance Act (Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales). It lets town halls in stressed residential markets charge a surcharge of up to 50% of the net IBI on properties used as tourist accommodation, 100% for owners of two or more and 150% for owners of four or more.
The example calculation. €100 including 10% VAT is a €90.91 base and €9.09 of VAT (100 / 1.10).