The Spanish government has approved a package of urgent housing measures, which will be divided into two royal decrees after a last-minute agreement between the PSOE and Sumar parties. The package includes measures to prevent evictions of vulnerable individuals, tighten regulations on short-term rentals, and introduce a range of tax benefits for tenants and landlords.
One of the main novelties for tenants is a new state deduction of 10% of the rent paid for their main residence. This deduction will only be applicable to taxpayers with an annual taxable income of less than €33,007.20. According to Aitor Fernández, a tax expert at TaxDown, “it’s good news that the state deduction for rent is back, but we have to be realistic about the timelines.” The deduction will come into effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette, but tenants will not see any immediate savings.
The first savings will arrive with the 2026 tax return, which will be filed in the spring of 2027. Fernández notes that “the tenant won’t notice anything in their monthly receipt. The savings will come when they file their tax return, several months from now. It helps, but it doesn’t solve the urgency of someone who can’t make ends meet with their rent today.”
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The deduction has several key aspects that tenants should be aware of. Firstly, the maximum deductible amount is €11,630 per year, but this only applies to taxpayers with an annual taxable income of up to €23,007.20. Above this threshold, the deductible amount decreases progressively. Fernández also clarifies that “the €11,630 euros is not what you get back, but the maximum amount of rent on which the 10% applies. Therefore, the maximum deduction will be around €1,163 per year, and only for incomes of up to €23,007.20 euros. After that, the limit decreases progressively”.
Rent Deduction Details Emerge
Secondly, the deduction only applies to properties located in areas declared as “tension zones” by the Ministry of Housing. Aitor Fernández emphasizes that “before doing any calculations, the first thing a tenant needs to check is if their property is in a declared tension zone. If it’s not, this deduction won’t affect them, no matter how much they earn.” This means that two tenants with the same income and rent could be treated differently depending on where they live.
Tenants who, themselves or a member of their family unit, are owners or usufructuaries of another property at a distance of less than 50 kilometers from the rented one, will not be able to apply for the deduction. Tenants should also be aware of existing regional deductions for rent, which can be combined with this new state deduction.
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Landlord Tax Changes Ahead
The package also introduces changes to the tax reductions that landlords can apply to their rental income. From October 1, 2026, new contracts will be subject to a new system, which rewards landlords for keeping rents low and penalizes them for increasing rents. The new system will only apply to new contracts, and existing contracts will maintain their current tax reductions.
Another significant change is the introduction of a progressive scale for the taxation of unrented second homes, which will come into effect on January 1, 2027. The scale ranges from 1.1% to 3% of the property’s cadastral value.
If a new contract has a higher rent than the previous one, the tax reduction will decrease. This means that landlords who raise rents will pay more income tax than they do now.
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