Selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain: tax

November 4, 2026

Selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain: the Spanish essentials

Spanish residence is decided per calendar year, with no split year, so a UK sale completed in the year you become resident can fall into your Spanish return [1][3].
A gain on a UK home sold while you are resident is taxed in Spain in the savings base, at combined rates from 19% to 30%, the same in every region [1][4].
UK Private Residence Relief does not stop Spain from taxing the gain, but the Spanish main home reinvestment exemption and the over-65 exemption can apply to a UK home [2][4][5].
Rent from a UK home is taxed in Spain in the general base, where the Valencian regional scale differs from Madrid, Catalonia and Andalusia, with a credit for UK tax paid [1][3][10][12][13][14].
A UK property counts for Modelo 720, Spanish Wealth Tax and, if kept empty, possibly imputed income [1][9][15].
Delaguía y Luzón advises on Spanish law only, so UK Capital Gains Tax, Private Residence Relief, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme and UK income tax must be confirmed with a UK adviser.

Sell, let or keep: the Spanish questions to answer first

Selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain is usually decided on UK grounds, but the Spanish tax result depends on dates and facts you can still control before you leave.

This guide is for British homeowners who are relocating to Spain, and for their UK advisers.

We are a Spanish law firm, so every UK point in this article is only a pointer, and your UK adviser must confirm UK Capital Gains Tax, Private Residence Relief, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme and UK income tax.

Why the date you become resident in Spain matters

You are resident in Spain for a whole calendar year if you spend more than 183 days in Spain in that year, or if your main economic interests are based here [1].

The tax period is the calendar year, so Spanish law has no split year like the UK one [1].

Spanish residence follows more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year, and the tax period is the whole calendar year [1].

If you complete the sale in a year in which you are not yet resident in Spain, the gain on a UK home is outside Spanish income tax, which only taxes residents on worldwide income [1].

If you complete it in the year you become resident, even before you arrive, Spain may treat the gain as part of that year, unless the treaty tie-breaker in Article 4 makes you resident in the United Kingdom for that period [3].

That tie-breaker looks at your permanent home, your centre of vital interests and where you habitually live, so the answer depends on your facts [3].

For selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain, the completion date is therefore the first thing to plan, and our guide to moving to Spain after 2 July explains how the arrival date changes the 183-day count.

Selling the UK home after you become resident in Spain

In binding ruling V0270-23, a British national sold his UK home in May 2022, moved to Spain and became resident for 2022 [4].

The Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) said Spain can tax the gain under Article 13 of the UK-Spain treaty, and that Spain must remove double taxation under Article 22 [3][4].

It added that Spain does not give a credit for UK tax that was never paid because of a UK relief, so UK Private Residence Relief does not reduce the Spanish bill [4][18].

The gain is the sale price minus the purchase price, purchase costs and improvements, with selling costs deducted from the sale price [1][4].

It goes into the savings base, which is taxed on a single combined scale set by the State for every region [1][6].

Savings income is taxed at combined rates of 19% up to €6,000, 21% up to €50,000, 23% up to €200,000, 27% up to €300,000 and 30% above that [1].

In this part of selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain, living in Valencia, Madrid, Catalonia or Andalusia makes no difference to the rate on the gain.

The pound and the euro

In ruling V1463-23, on a UK home bought and sold in pounds, the DGT said the gain is worked out in pounds and then converted into euros at the exchange rate on the date of sale [6].

If you keep the sale proceeds in pounds and convert them later, the currency difference is a separate gain or loss, taxed when the pounds are exchanged [6].

Exemptions that can still apply to a UK home

The main home reinvestment exemption covers the gain on the sale of your main home if the total amount obtained is reinvested in a new main home [1][2].

The reinvestment must be made within two years after the sale, or the proceeds may pay for a new main home bought in the two years before it [2].

A main home is one you lived in for at least three continuous years, and it still counts if it was your main home on any day in the two years before the sale [2].

Where the old home had a mortgage, the amount to reinvest is the sale price minus the loan outstanding at the sale [2].

In ruling V1346-23, a taxpayer who bought a home in Spain in December 2021 and sold his UK home in May 2022, while resident in Spain, was allowed the exemption [5].

The same ruling says the exemption only applies if the gain arises in a year in which you are a Spanish taxpayer [5].

Two further exemptions help older sellers: the gain on the sale of a main home by a person aged over 65 is exempt, and V0270-23 accepts that this can apply to a UK home [1][4].

Sellers over 65 can also exclude a gain on any asset if the proceeds are used within six months for a life annuity, up to €240,000 [1].

Credit for UK tax

If the United Kingdom taxes the gain, Spain deducts the lower of the UK tax actually paid and the Spanish average rate applied to that gain [1][3].

When you sell as a non-resident of the United Kingdom, HMRC expects a report within 60 days of completion, even where no tax is due, which your UK adviser must confirm [17].

The general treaty mechanics are covered in our guide to UK-Spain double taxation, and if you also own in Spain, the rules for selling property in Spain as a non-resident are different again.

Renting out the UK home as a Spanish resident

Under Article 6 of the treaty, the United Kingdom may tax rent from a UK property, and Spain, as your country of residence, taxes it too and gives a credit [3].

On the UK side, HMRC classes you as a non-resident landlord if you live abroad for six months or more a year, and your tenant or letting agent may have to deduct basic rate tax unless HMRC approves gross payment [16].

In Spain, the net rent is income from real estate in the general base [1].

You may deduct mortgage interest and repairs, up to the rent received, with the excess carried forward four years, plus non-state taxes on the property and fees paid to agents for their services [1].

You may also deduct depreciation of 3% a year on the cost of the building, excluding the land [1].

In ruling V0617-22, the DGT said the Spanish reduction for letting a home applies wherever the home is located, if the tenant uses it as a permanent home [7].

That ruling applied the former flat 60% reduction, and holiday or seasonal lets did not qualify [7].

The reduction now ranges from 50% to 100% under Law 12/2023 and Royal Decree-law 29/2026, in force since 7 October 2026 and still subject to validation by Congress [1][8].

Several of the new percentages depend on Spanish stressed housing zones and reference rent indices, so how they apply to a UK let has to be confirmed case by case [1][8].

Because rent is in the general base, your region matters for selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain in a way it does not for a sale.

Region	Lowest regional rate	Highest regional rate
Valencian Community (2026)	8.8% up to €12,000	29.35% above €200,000
Madrid	8.5% up to €13,362.22	20.5% above €57,320.40
Catalonia	9.5% up to €12,500	25.5% above €175,000
Andalusia	9.5% up to €13,000	22.5% above €60,000

Sources: [10][11][12][13][14]. The state scale in Article 63 of the income tax law is added to each regional rate [1].

Keeping the UK home empty

Keeping the house is the third option alongside selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain, and it still has Spanish tax effects.

Article 85 of the income tax law imputes notional income on urban property that is not let, and where the property has no Spanish cadastral value it applies 1.1% to 50% of the higher of the purchase price and any value checked by the authorities [1].

From 1 January 2027, Royal Decree-law 29/2026 replaces that percentage with a scale from 1.1% to 3%, subject to its validation by Congress [1][8].

Whether and how Article 85 reaches a home in the United Kingdom is a point we review case by case.

Spanish residents also pay Wealth Tax on their worldwide net assets, including a UK home, and only a main home benefits from the €300,000 exemption [9].

In the Valencian Community the tax-free allowance is €2,000,000 under Valencian Law 5/2026, against €700,000 where a region has not set its own [9][10][11].

A return is due anyway if your assets exceed €2,000,000, and our guide to Spanish wealth tax compares the regions [9].

For Modelo 720, a UK property is reported when your foreign real estate exceeds €50,000 at purchase value, and a property sold during the year is still reported, with the sale date and price [15].

The penalties and refiling rules are in our guide to Modelo 720 in Spain.

Newcomers taxed under the special regime for workers posted to Spain are taxed only on Spanish-source income, so UK rent and a UK gain stay outside Spanish income tax during the regime [1].

The conditions are set out in our guide to the Beckham Law regime.

Sell, rent or keep: Spanish tax compared

The table summarises selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain, and keeping it, from the Spanish side only.

Option	Spanish income tax	Spanish reporting	Main risk
Sell before your first resident year	None on the gain	None for the sold home	Misjudging the residence year
Sell while resident	Savings base, 19% to 30%, unless an exemption applies	Modelo 100; Modelo 720 for that year if over the threshold	No credit for UK tax relieved by PRR
Rent out	General base, regional scale, credit for UK tax	Modelo 100; Modelo 720; Wealth Tax if due	Claiming a letting reduction that does not apply
Keep empty	Possible imputed income	Modelo 720; Wealth Tax if due	Losing main home status after two years

Sources: [1][2][4][5][7][9][15].

Rent and other UK income then have to be fitted into your Spanish return, as our article on how to declare UK income in Spain explains, and the wider relocation steps are in our roadmap for moving to Spain from abroad.

Using the proceeds to buy a home in Valencia

Many clients sell in the United Kingdom to buy in the Valencian Community, and the reinvestment exemption rewards doing both within two years of each other [2][5].

In V1346-23 the DGT, following the Supreme Court, accepted that the new home may be financed with a mortgage, so the pounds from the sale need not be the same money used for the purchase [5].

Your new Valencian home must become your main home within twelve months and be lived in for three years for the exemption to hold [2].

The purchase steps are explained in our guide to buying a house in Valencia.

Timeline around your residence date

For selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain, these are the Spanish milestones.

When	Action
Before the move	Fix your expected first resident year and plan the completion date [1][3]
Before letting	Use a long-term tenancy if you want to claim a letting reduction; ask your UK adviser about the NRL Scheme [7][16]
Within 60 days of a UK completion as a UK non-resident	UK report, to be handled by your UK adviser [17]
Within two years of the sale	Reinvest in a new main home for the exemption [2]
1 January to 31 March after the first resident year	Modelo 720 if the real estate threshold is exceeded [15]
Spring after the first resident year	Modelo 100 with the gain or rent, the UK tax credit and any intention to reinvest [1][2]

Documents to gather before you leave

Completion statements for the purchase and the sale, with all costs.
Invoices for improvements to the home.
Mortgage statement at the date of sale.
Council tax bills or other proof that the home was your main home for three years.
Tenancy agreement and letting accounts, if you rent it out.
UK tax returns or calculations showing UK tax actually paid.

Common mistakes

These are the errors we see most often in selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain.

Assuming UK Private Residence Relief also exempts the gain in Spain.
Completing the sale in January of the year you move and treating it as a pre-arrival sale.
Converting the gain at today’s exchange rate instead of the rate on the date of sale.
Not stating the intention to reinvest in the Spanish return for the year of sale.
Forgetting that a UK home sold during the year can still appear in Modelo 720.
Claiming a letting reduction on a holiday let.

How Delaguía y Luzón can help

Our tax law and accounting team in Valencia has advised British families on Spanish law since 1960.

For selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain, we check your Spanish residence year, calculate the Spanish gain, apply the reinvestment or over-65 exemptions and prepare your Modelo 100, Modelo 720 and Wealth Tax returns.

We advise on Spanish law only, so UK Capital Gains Tax, Private Residence Relief, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme and UK income tax must be confirmed with your UK adviser, and we are happy to work alongside them.

Speak to our team about your UK home

Contact our legal team for personalised guidance on your case.

We work in English, French, Spanish and Russian from our office in Valencia.

Email: felix.delaguia@delaguialuzon.com
Phone: +34 963 74 16 57
Office: Avinguda Regne de València, 6, 1º-2º, 46005 Valencia

Frequently asked questions about selling or renting your UK home when moving to Spain

Is it better to sell before I become resident in Spain?

From the Spanish side, a sale completed in a year in which you are not yet resident is outside Spanish income tax.

The UK effects of the timing must be checked with your UK adviser.

Does UK Private Residence Relief protect me in Spain?

No, the DGT has said Spain taxes the gain and gives no credit for UK tax relieved under UK rules.

Spanish exemptions may still apply.

Can I use the Spanish reinvestment exemption for a UK home?

Yes, ruling V1346-23 allowed it for a UK main home sold by a Spanish resident who had bought a home in Spain.

The three-year and two-year conditions must be met.

I am over 65: is the gain exempt?

It can be, if the UK property was your main home under the Spanish definition.

Ruling V0270-23 accepts that the exemption can apply to a UK home.

Which exchange rate do I use for the gain?

The DGT calculates the gain in pounds and converts it at the rate on the date of sale.

A later conversion of the pounds is a separate gain or loss.

Does my region change the tax on the sale?

No, gains are taxed on the same combined savings scale in every region.

Regions only make a difference for rent and Wealth Tax.

Can I claim the Spanish letting reduction on UK rent?

The DGT accepted it for a home abroad let as the tenant’s permanent home.

The new percentages under Royal Decree-law 29/2026 must be checked for your tenancy.

What if I keep the house empty?

Spanish imputed income may arise, and the home counts for Modelo 720 and Wealth Tax.

After two years it also stops counting as your main home for the exemptions.

Does the Beckham regime change the answer?

Yes, under that regime only Spanish-source income is taxed in Spain.

A UK gain or UK rent therefore stays outside Spanish income tax during the regime.

Do I still report a UK home sold in my first resident year?

Yes, Modelo 720 covers property owned at any time in the year if the threshold is met.

The return shows the sale date and price.

References

Living in Spain, Tax Law