Deducting the Spotahome fee on a Spanish tax return
For properties in Spain, the fee you pay Spotahome is 100% deductible against your rental income in the IRPF, VAT included. How much you can deduct, where it goes, which tax year it belongs to and what invoice you need.
If you rent out a property in Spain through Spotahome, the fee you pay is not just a cost: it is an expense you can subtract from your rental income on your income tax return (IRPF). Many landlords skip it, or apply it badly, and end up paying tax on more than they should.
This article covers Spanish tax rules for landlords who file an IRPF return in Spain. If your property is elsewhere, the principle — intermediation fees are a rental expense — usually holds, but check your own country’s rules.
The basic rule
Income from renting out your home is declared in the IRPF as rendimientos del capital inmobiliario (income from real estate). The law lets you deduct the expenses needed to earn that income, and Spotahome’s intermediation fee is one of them.
That means the fee is 100% deductible. There is no cap and no percentage limit, and it does not depend on contract length: a three-month stay and a one-year stay are treated exactly the same.
Exactly how much you can deduct
You deduct the full amount you paid, VAT included. As a private landlord you cannot recover that VAT any other way, so it is part of the cost of the service and is deducted in full.
An example using the 8% Spotahome Plus rate that applies in Spain, on the total contract value:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly rent | €1,000 |
| Contract length | 3 months |
| Total contract value | €3,000 |
| Fee (8%) | €240 |
| VAT (21%) | €50.40 |
| Total deductible | €290.40 |
Close four bookings like this in a year and the deductible total is €1,161.60.
“Deductible” does not mean “free”
A deductible expense is not refunded by the tax office. It reduces the amount your tax is calculated on. What you actually save is your marginal IRPF rate applied to the expense.
With the €1,161.60 from the example above:
| Your IRPF bracket | What you save |
|---|---|
| 24% | €278.78 |
| 37% | €429.79 |
| 45% | €522.72 |
In other words: at 37%, that €1,161.60 in fees really costs you about €732. Still an expense, but one the tax office recognises.
What else you can deduct
The fee is not your only deductible rental expense. Review all of them — together they can cut your net rental income considerably:
- IBI (property tax) and municipal charges
- Community of owners fees
- Home insurance and rent-default insurance
- Mortgage interest
- Repairs and maintenance
- Utilities, if you pay them
- Depreciation of the building (usually 3% of the construction value)
- Contract formalisation and legal defence costs
Two details. If the property sat empty for part of the year, general expenses are prorated by the days actually rented. If you rent by the room, they are prorated by floor area.
What to do, step by step
1. Keep the invoice for every booking. Spotahome issues it when the booking completes and you will find it in your panel. For the expense to hold up in an audit it must be a complete invoice: number and date, Spotahome’s details (legal name, tax ID and address), your details as recipient (full name or company name, tax ID and fiscal address), a description of the service, and a breakdown of the taxable base, VAT rate and total.
2. Check whose name is on it. The invoice must be in the name of the owner who declares the income. If the property has several owners, each needs their own invoice for their share of ownership, and each deducts that share against their own income. One owner cannot deduct the whole amount.
3. Declare the rental income. Obvious, but it is the condition for everything above: expenses are only deducted against declared income.
4. Put the expense in the right section. Within income from real estate, the fee belongs under contract formalisation expenses (gastos de formalización del arrendamiento): Spotahome finds the tenant and formalises the contract. If your tax software does not offer that line, it still qualifies as a necessary expense for earning the income.
5. Declare each fee in the year the booking is signed. The expense belongs to the tax year in which it accrues — when the booking is formalised, not when the stay begins. Sign a booking in December for a January move-in and the fee goes on the return for the year of signing.
6. Keep everything for four years. That is how long the tax office can review your return. Booking confirmation, contract and invoice, all in one folder.
Several owners: if the property is in more than one name, tell Spotahome before the invoice is issued so one is produced per owner with their percentage. Reissuing invoices afterwards is slower.
In short
For a property in Spain, the Spotahome fee is 100% deductible on your income tax return, VAT included, regardless of contract length. It is declared as a contract formalisation expense, in the tax year the booking is signed. What you need is a complete invoice in the owner’s name and to declare the rental income.
The real saving depends on your IRPF bracket, so the deductible amount and the tax you avoid are not the same figure.
This article is general information, not tax advice. Tax rules change and their application depends on each landlord’s circumstances. Check with a tax adviser before filing your return.
Download your invoices
Every booking invoice is in your panel, ready for your tax return.