10% VAT on holiday lets is now confirmed and applies from 1 December
Stays of up to 30 nights will no longer be VAT-exempt and will be taxed at 10% from 1 December. This affects almost every holiday let in Málaga: pricing, invoices and tax returns.
- Check your nightly rates from 1 December: if your prices already include taxes, the 10% VAT comes out of what you earn.
- Talk to your tax adviser now about registering for VAT and setting up invoices and quarterly returns.
- Keep track of bookings paid before 1 December for stays after that date: the tax authority has not yet said how they are treated.
What happened
The Standing Committee of the Spanish Congress, which sits because Parliament has been dissolved ahead of the general election on 29 November, approved Royal Decree-law 29/2026 on 12 November. The urgent housing measures were published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on 7 October. According to idealista, the decree passed by 35 votes to 34: PSOE, Sumar, PNV, ERC, Bildu and Podemos in favour, PP, Vox and Junts against. In the same session, Royal Decree-law 28/2026 on long-term residential lets was not approved and is therefore repealed.
Article 7 changes the VAT rules. From 1 December 2026, letting furnished homes for stays of up to 30 nights with the same tenant is no longer VAT-exempt and is taxed at the reduced rate of 10%, unless the property is the owner’s main home. Stays of more than 30 nights without hotel-type services remain exempt. The decree also allows councils in areas declared as stressed housing markets to add a surcharge to the IBI property tax on holiday lets by local bylaw: up to 50%, 100% if the owner has two or more and 150% with four or more. Listings must also show the registration number. The Spanish Tax Agency has added the VAT rule to its website, without any transitional rules or invoicing guidance.
What it means for your property in Málaga
If you let by the night, you will be charging VAT from 1 December. If your prices on Airbnb or Booking already include taxes and you leave them as they are, the 10% comes out of your margin: of every 110 euros the guest pays, 10 go to the tax authority. In return, you will be able to reclaim the VAT on costs linked to the let, such as the management fee, cleaning or repairs. You will need to register for VAT, issue invoices and file quarterly returns, so it is worth speaking to your tax adviser before December. If you let by the month, for more than 30 nights and without hotel services, nothing changes.
Some questions remain open: what happens to bookings paid before 1 December for later stays, to stays that start before that date and end after it, and how invoicing works when the platform takes the payment. Until the tax authority clarifies this, keep the details of every booking: payment date, check-in, check-out and amount. The IBI surcharge is not automatic: it only applies if your municipality is in a stressed housing area and approves it by bylaw. And make sure your registration number appears on all your listings.
How I handle it in the properties I manage Before 1 December I go through each owner’s rates in PriceLabs to decide whether the 10% is added to the price or absorbed. Owners receive the rental income directly, so they declare the VAT themselves, and my monthly invoice gives them the booking-by-booking detail their tax adviser will need.
Summary written with the help of AI and reviewed by Brian Donneys on 12 Nov 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.