Holiday home abroad: how the rent and your own month are taxed

In brief

If you let a holiday home about eleven months a year and stay one month yourself, two different things are taxed: the rent you collect and, in a few countries, the month you use it. As of 31 October 2026, the rent is taxed where the property is, usually at a flat or progressive rate that depends on the country and, in Spain, on whether you live in the EU or outside it (19% on net income against 24% on gross income). The month you use is mostly not income, but it reduces the costs you can deduct. This is general information, not tax advice.

Two kinds of income, not one

A holiday home with an owner month produces two tax questions that people often merge into one.

• The rent from the eleven months: income, taxed at the rate of the country where the property stands, and again in your home country unless a treaty or local law prevents double taxation.
• Your own month: you receive no money, but in some countries the tax authority treats free personal use as a taxable benefit or at least refuses to let you deduct the costs of those days.

Most buyers worry only about the first. In practice the second is smaller in money terms and larger in paperwork, because it changes how you split the annual costs between "rental" and "personal".

Where the rent is taxed first

Almost everywhere, rent from a property is taxed first in the country where the property is, whatever your passport or residence. That means you will usually file a return there as a non-resident, even if your only income in that country is a few weeks of bookings. A manager or platform does not replace the filing: some platforms report your income to the tax office (for example, Spain's Form 238 for digital platforms), but the return is yours.

Your home country then decides what to do with the same income. Under a double taxation treaty it normally either exempts the foreign rent or gives a credit for the tax already paid. The detail depends on the treaty and on your residence, so this article stays at the level of principle; the general mechanics are in the article on double taxation treaties for foreign property. Which country counts as your tax home is a separate question, covered in 183 days and tax residency.

Your own month: free use, but not free of consequences

Three situations exist, and the country decides which applies.

• Personal use is ignored as income and only affects deductions: you can deduct costs in proportion to the days the home was actually let, not the days you stayed. This is the usual principle behind most short-let regimes.
• Personal use creates deemed (imputed) income: the tax authority taxes a notional income on the days the home was not let, usually small because it is a percentage of the cadastral value.
• Personal use is irrelevant because the regime is a flat rate on gross rent with no deductions at all, so there is nothing to apportion.

I verified the imputed-income version only for Spain; for Italy, Portugal, Greece and France the apportionment rule below is the common principle and must be confirmed by a local accountant.

Spain: the clearest case, with numbers

Spain's rules are the best documented. Rent received by non-residents is taxed under the non-resident income tax and declared on Modelo 210. According to several guides, EU/EEA owners pay 19% on net income (rent minus allowable expenses), and owners from other countries pay 24% on gross income with no deductions. One law-firm page disagrees about the no-deductions point, so check your own category. For EU/EEA owners, costs tied to the rental can be deducted in proportion to the days the home was let.

For the days the home is not let, Spain taxes a notional income: 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value (the lower percentage applies when the cadastral value has been revised recently; sources give two different cut-offs, ten years or after 1 January 1994), multiplied by the share of the year and taxed at 19% or 24%.

An illustration with our own arithmetic, not a forecast: gross rent of EUR 24,000 for 335 nights, a manager taking 20% (EUR 4,800), and EUR 6,000 of shared yearly costs (property tax, community fees, insurance, utilities). For an EU/EEA owner, the shared costs are prorated to 335 of 365 days, so EUR 5,507 is deductible. Net income is 24,000 - 4,800 - 5,507 = EUR 13,693, and 19% of that is about EUR 2,602. For a non-EU owner the same year is taxed on the gross: 24% of 24,000 = EUR 5,760, a difference of about EUR 3,158.

Your own 30 nights would add a notional income. With a cadastral value of EUR 80,000, the base at 1.1% for 30 days is about EUR 72 and the tax at 19% about EUR 14; at 2% the base is about EUR 132 and the tax about EUR 25. The notional income is trivial. What matters is the category you fall into, not the owner month. Two cautions: sources do not say how partial years with rental are handled in this calculation, and a 2026 international tax guide mentions a pending legal question over this regime, which we could not confirm.

Italy: the flat tax and the two-property limit

For short-term lets in Italy the flat tax (cedolare secca) applies at 21% on one property of your choice and 26% on a second one, according to Italian guides for 2026. From 2026 the private regime covers up to two properties; renting three or more is treated as business activity. One December 2025 article described a different cap before the final budget law, so confirm the current limit. A platform or agent that collects the rent can withhold the 21% on your behalf. None of the results addressed non-residents specifically; Italian rental income is taxed in Italy whoever owns the property. Because this is a flat tax on rent, there are no deductions to apportion and your own month changes nothing in the calculation.

Portugal: 25% or 28%, and unclear deductions

Non-residents pay a flat rate on Portuguese rental income. One 2025 guide gives 25%, another 2026 reference gives 28% generally and 25% for residential leases. The sources also conflict on deductions: one says non-residents get none, others list maintenance, insurance, municipal property tax (IMI) and management as deductible, and mortgage interest as not deductible. We found no page from the Portuguese tax authority, so treat the rate as "25% to 28%" and ask. For local-accommodation lets, the licence rules are in the article on short-term rentals in Portugal.

Greece: progressive bands from 2026

For 2026 income, one source describes four bands for short-let income: 15% up to EUR 12,000, 25% to EUR 24,000, 35% to EUR 36,000 and 45% above, added by Law 5246/2025. Another guide places the last break at EUR 35,000, and older guides show only three bands, so verify the thresholds with the tax authority (AADE) before filing. Non-residents appear to use the same scale. Renting more than two properties moves the activity to business treatment, and a minimum declared amount based on presumptive income has been reported from 2026. Details on licences and the registry are in the article on short-term rentals in Greece.

France: allowances for furnished lets

Furnished tourist lets are usually taxed under the micro-BIC scheme when annual receipts are low. Advisory sites citing the Ministry of Economy give, for 2026 receipts, a 30% allowance up to EUR 15,000 for non-classified lets and a 50% allowance up to EUR 83,600 for classified ones. Non-residents must file in France for French rental income. Which year the changes apply to differs between sources, and we could not reliably confirm social charges for non-residents, so ask about both. More on the local rules: short-term rentals in France.

Tourist tax and VAT

Two charges sit on top of income tax.

• Tourist tax is paid per guest per night to the city or region. Platforms often collect it, but you remain responsible for it where they do not. Rates vary widely; one source puts Barcelona at about EUR 10 to 15 per night after an increase in April 2026, and others differ, so check the city.
• VAT on short stays is changing. A European directive of March 2025 is reported to require VAT on short-term stays up to 30 nights from mid-2028, with platforms collecting where the owner does not. Spain has also been reported to be considering 21% VAT on short lets. Both are reports, not enacted law, as far as we could confirm.

Treaties and your home country

The usual order is: tax in the country of the property first, then relief at home. If you live in an EU country and are taxed on world income, you report the foreign rent there and claim a credit or an exemption under the treaty. If you are tax resident in a country with no treaty, you may be taxed twice. Russian-speaking owners are spread across the EU, Georgia, Turkey, the UAE, Israel and other countries, so the answer depends on where you are tax resident, not on your passport. Establish your own tax residency first, then the treaty.

If you also become a resident

Spending one month a year does not make you a resident. But a longer stay in total, a family home there or a business can, and in many countries 183 days is the first threshold to check. If you become resident, the country taxes your world income and not only the local rent. Read the article on 183 days and tax residency before planning a longer stay.

Selling later

The rent is only part of the tax picture; the sale is the other. Rules on capital gains differ sharply: Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, France, Cyprus and Turkey each tax gains differently, sometimes with exemptions after a holding period. See Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, France, Cyprus and Turkey. The main-residence exemptions that exist in several countries usually do not apply to a home you use for one month a year.

What to ask the accountant

• Which tax category applies to me in the country of the property, and is it net or gross income?
• Are costs apportioned by days let, and does my own month change the deductible share?
• Is there a notional income on my own days, and how is it calculated?
• How is the rent taxed in my country of residence, and which treaty relief applies?
• Do the platform or the manager report my income, and what must I file myself?
• Who collects and pays the tourist tax and any VAT?
• What happens to the tax position if I stay longer or become resident?

Take the rent statements of the manager, the cadastral or property tax value and the invoices for the year to the meeting. See also the myth that rental income abroad is passive and the full cycle in the guide to buying where you holiday; the economics of choosing your month are in owner month versus rental income.

FAQ

Is my own month taxed as income? In most flat-rate regimes the month you use the home is not income, but in Spain a notional income on the days the home is not let applies to non-residents. The amount is small (about EUR 14 to EUR 25 in the example with a EUR 80,000 cadastral value), and the larger effect is on which costs you can deduct.

Can I deduct all the costs of the home if I stay a month? Not necessarily. Where deductions are allowed, costs are usually prorated to the days the home is let, so the days you stay reduce the deductible share. In regimes with a flat rate and no deductions, there is nothing to prorate.

Do I pay tax in two countries on the same rent? Normally you declare it in both, but the treaty or domestic law gives an exemption or a credit in the country where you live, so you should not pay the same tax twice. Whether that works in practice depends on your residence and the treaty.

Does the platform pay my tax for me? No. Platforms may report your income and sometimes collect tourist tax or withhold a tax, but the return and the payment remain your responsibility.

Do I need a local accountant for a single apartment? For a non-resident return, most owners use one, because the filing deadlines, the forms and the categories are local. The fee is a cost of the rental and is usually modest compared with a mistake in the category.