IBI: Spain's municipal property tax
IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) is the yearly property tax each Spanish town hall charges the owner of a property on its cadastral value.
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How IBI works: tax base, rate and who pays
IBI is governed by the Local Finance Act (TRLRHL, articles 60 to 77). The owner or usufructuary of the property pays it (articles 61 and 63), and it falls due on 1 January: whoever holds title that day pays for the whole year (article 75). The tax base is the cadastral value, set by the Catastro, which by law cannot exceed market value (article 65; TRLCI article 23.2). Each town hall chooses its rate; for urban property the law sets a general range of 0.4% – 1.1% (article 72.1), with increases and reductions in specific cases. Each municipality's rate is in our IBI table by municipality.
The town hall assesses and collects the tax (article 77). Some reliefs are set by law and claimed from the town hall (article 73); others exist only if the local by-law adopts them (article 74). IBI is a fixed cost that lowers your return: include it in the rental yield calculator.
What matters most to a buyer is that IBI debt stays with the home: when ownership changes, the property itself answers for the tax, and the notary must request information and warn in the deed about any outstanding debt (article 64.1). If you are not resident in Spain, on top of IBI you declare each year the imputed income of a home you do not let out, 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value, under IRNR (TRLIRNR article 24.5 and LIRPF article 85). How it all fits together is in the owner's tax guide.
IBI step by step when you buy as a non-resident
- Before reserving, ask the seller for the latest IBI receipt: it shows the cadastral reference, the cadastral value and the yearly bill.
- Check on the Catastro website that the reference and floor area match the home and the nota simple.
- Ask for the paid receipts of recent years or a debt certificate from the town hall.
- Agree in the contract how the purchase year's IBI is split: the bill goes to whoever owned the home on 1 January.
- After the escritura, the notary reports the new owner to the Catastro when the cadastral reference is included (TRLCI article 14); check that next year's bill is in your name.
- Set up direct debit from a Spanish account and give the town hall a postal address: an unpaid bill moves into enforcement with surcharges (LGT article 28).
Common IBI mistakes when buying
- Comparing towns only by property price: IBI depends on the cadastral value and each town hall's rate, so similar flats pay different amounts in neighbouring towns.
- Looking only at this year's receipt: earlier unpaid years that have not lapsed also stay with the home, and the general limitation period is four years (LGT article 66).
- Not putting the purchase-year split in writing: towards the town hall, whoever owned the home on 1 January pays the whole year; the split with the buyer follows the contract and civil law (TRLRHL article 63.2).
IBI on new builds and resale homes
On a new build bought from the developer, IBI for the construction years is the developer's, as it owns the property each 1 January. Once the works are finished, the building and each home are registered with the Catastro by the owner's declaration or by a report from the notary or the town hall (TRLCI articles 13, 14 and 16.2.a), and the new cadastral value counts for IBI from the 1 January after it takes effect in the Catastro (TRLRHL article 75.3). That is why the first bill with your home's own value can take a while: ask whether the registration has been filed and set in the contract who bears IBI until handover. If you buy protected housing, claim the article 73.2 relief early: it lasts for the three years after final qualification and applies from the year after you apply.
With a resale home, the risk is the previous owner's debt; with a new build, still ask for proof of the last IBI paid by the developer. Compare developments and towns in the new-build catalogue.
- 0.4% – 1.1% — RDLeg 2/2004 TRLRHL, art. 72.1 · Checked:
- 2% — Ley 35/2006 IRPF, art. 85.1 (redacción en vigor desde 01.01.2015) · Checked:
- 1.1% — Ley 35/2006 IRPF, art. 85.1 · Checked:
Sources and legal basis
- RDLeg 2/2004 TRLRHL, arts. 61, 63.1, 63.2, 64.1, 65, 72.1, 73, 74, 75, 77 · checked on
- RDLeg 1/2004 TRLCI (Ley del Catastro Inmobiliario), arts. 13, 14.a, 16.2.a, 23.2 · checked on
- Ley 58/2003 General Tributaria, arts. 28, 66 · checked on
- RDLeg 5/2004 TRLIRNR, art. 24.5 · checked on
- Ley 35/2006 IRPF, art. 85.1 · checked on