Touristic Letting Modelo179

From July of this year(2018) all intermediaries involved in supplying vacation accommodation to tourists will have to submit an informative tax declaration (modelo 179) to the National Spanish tax authorities as part of IVA (VAT) tax requirements.

This will particulary affect  vacation rental housing platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway who have not previously had an obligation to divulge information to the authorities.

The return to be presented in July will cover quarters 1 and 2 of this year and then the returns will carry on quarterly after that. The initial delay is to allow firms and individuals time to put systems in place to record the required information which is;

a) Identification of the owner of the dwelling, or the owner of the rights to the dwelling, (if  different from the actual owner of the dwelling) and the identity of the various clients who stay in those properties

b) Property details including  the cadastral reference of same, if applicable.

c) Number of days each client/tourist spends in the property.

d) Amount received by the owner or owner of the rights (eg Life Interest or Uso Fructo) from each client

Submitting the declaration  every 3 months from July 2018 will be obligatory for all intermediary services, whether they be individuals, businesses or online websites.

Tourist use is defined for these purposes as the temporary provision of an entire furnished and equipped property for financial gain regardless of how it is marketed or promoted.

The Canarian Tax Authority will most likely follow suit, so clearly it is in owners interests to make sure they (or their agents) keep detailed records FROM NOW of paying visitors to ther property and that rental income is correctly declared for tax purposes.