IBI Bill in Spain: What the Property Tax Letter Means and How to Pay

The IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) is the yearly property tax of the town where a home or a plot is. Every owner pays it — resident or not, whether the property is lived in, let or empty. The person who owns the property on 1 January pays the whole year.

What the bill shows

• Referencia catastral — the property's number in the land register (Catastro).
• Valor catastral — the property's tax value; the tax is a percentage of it set by the town, roughly 0.4% to 1.1%.
• Periodo de pago — the dates to pay without a surcharge.
• Often other municipal charges on the same bill or a separate one — rubbish collection (basura), for example.

When and how to pay

Each town sets its payment period; by law it lasts at least two months, and where a town sets none it runs from 1 September to 20 November. Many towns split the bill into instalments. Owners who live abroad usually set up a direct debit (domiciliación) from a Spanish bank account, so the bill is paid even if the letter does not arrive; otherwise pay online with the bill's reference, or at a bank.

If it is not paid

After the period the debt goes to enforcement: a surcharge of 5%, 10% or 20% plus interest, a providencia de apremio and, in the end, a seizure of money in a Spanish bank account. A buyer should check that the IBI is paid before signing: the property answers for the unpaid tax.

IBI is not the only tax

A non-resident owner also files the yearly non-resident income tax for the property (Modelo 210) with the national tax office — a separate tax. The property tax calculator for non-residents works out both. A sale or an inheritance brings a different town-hall tax, the plusvalía municipal.

To contest the tax value or the bill, the appeal (recurso de reposición) is due within one month. A lawyer for property tax for foreign owners can handle it, or set everything up for you.