Tax exemptions - Property tax (IBI)
The Texto Refundido de la Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales (Revised Text of the Regulatory Law of Local Revenue Agencies) establishes the following exemptions:
- All property, belonging to the state, autonomous communities or local bodies, which is directly related to community security, education or prison services and state property related to national defence.
- Communal property and neighbourhood community lands.
- Property belonging to the Catholic Church according to the terms of the agreement of 3 January 1979 between the Holy See and the Spanish state on economic affairs, and property belonging to non-Catholic denominations, legally recognised according to the terms of the corresponding cooperation agreements, in virtue of article 16 of the Spanish Constitution.
- Property of the Cruz Roja Española (Spanish Red Cross).
- Property exempt under current international agreements and covered by reciprocity, and property belonging to foreign governments for diplomatic or consular use and for their official bodies.
- Land planted with slow-growing, officially regulated tree species, exploited mainly for timber or cork, and planted at a density natural to the species in question.
- Land occupied by railway lines or buildings serving as stations, warehouses or any other service necessary for the exploitation of the railway. Not exempt are hotels and catering businesses, entertainment venues, shopping areas, leisure areas, housing for railway employees, management offices or industrial facilities.
Exemptions granted on application
- Property used for teaching activities in schools that fully or partially operate under state education agreements. Only the area used for activities under the agreement can be exempt, and only if the owner of the teaching facilities is the liable taxpayer.
Documentation:- Certified copy of the education agreement, accrediting current validity or date of finalisation.
- Certificate issued by the Gerencia Territorial del Catastro (Territorial Board of the Land Registration Agency) stating the surface area used for activities included in the education agreement.
- Plans of the premises, highlighting the surface area dedicated to activities under the education agreement.
- Property that has explicitly been declared, as established in article 9 of the Ley del Patrimonio Histórico Español (law on Spanish cultural heritage) 16/1985, 25 June, as a monument or historic garden of cultural interest, through a royal decree, and that is recorded in the general register referred to in article 12 as an element of Spain's historic heritage. Property included in the first, second and fifth additional stipulations of the 16/1985 law are also included.
This exemption does not apply to all kinds of developed land within the perimeter of archaeological sites and historic sites or groups that form a general unit, but only to those which comply with the following conditions:- In archaeological sites, developed land covered by special protection in urban planning as referred to in article 20 of the aforementioned Law.
- Developed land in historic areas or groups, which have been considered as such for at least fifty years and are included in the catalogue as stated in the Real Decreto (Royal Decree) 2159/1978, 23 June, which approves the planning regulations for development and application of the Ley sobre el Régimen del Suelo y Ordenación Urbana (Law on Land Use and Urban Management), as being fully protected in the terms as stated in article 21 of the 16/1985 law, 25 June.
- Land where there is replanting or regeneration of trees subject to organisation projects or technical plans approved by the forestry administration. This exemption is applicable for 15 years starting from the tax year following the year of application for exemption.
Documentation:- Certificate of the forestry administration accrediting replanting in line with the corresponding technical plan.
- Property belonging to non-profit making organisations, defined in the 49/2002 law, 23 December, on the tax regime of these organisations and the tax incentives for funding them, where the property is used for economic exploitation subject to corporation taxes. This relief is conditioned, according to the terms of the Real Decreto (Royal Decree) 1270/2003, 10 October, by compliance with the following:
- Communicating, to the local council or administration which manages tax collection, the exercise of the option regulated in article 14 of the 49/2002 law.
- Accrediting the former by the corresponding tax register declaration. The granting of tax relief will be subject to compliance with the conditions and requisites of article 3 of the 49/2002 law for each tax period.
Facultative exemptions
Local councils can choose to allow exemptions, including them in their tax byelaws, in the following cases:
- Property owned by public health centres, as long as this property is directly used for health-related activities.
Documentation:- Accreditation of property ownership.
- Accreditation of use for public health services.