Wealth tax and the solidarity tax for non-residents in 2026: what a Canary home really costs each year

Owning a home in Costa Adeje or Corralejo comes with a tax most buyers never priced in when they signed: Spain still taxes net wealth, every year, and since 2022 it does so twice — through the classic wealth tax and through a "solidarity" surcharge on large fortunes that was born temporary and is now permanent. For a non-resident owner the rules are narrower than for a Spanish resident, in some ways kinder, in one way harsher — and 2026 has brought the biggest change in years, because the courts have just opened to non-residents the cap that used to protect only residents.

This piece sits alongside our guide to the non-resident income tax on a Spanish home — that one is about the income the tax office imputes to your property; this one is about the value of what you own. Here is what a non-resident actually pays, how it is worked out, and where the 2026 news changes the arithmetic.

Two taxes on one net worth

The wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) dates from 1991. It is a state tax whose yield and much of whose design are handed to the regions, which is why a Madrid resident pays nothing and a Canary resident pays the standard scale. The solidarity tax on large fortunes (Impuesto Temporal de Solidaridad de las Grandes Fortunas) arrived at the end of 2022 precisely to neutralise those regional discounts: it applies the same top rates nationally to net wealth above three million euros, and lets you deduct the wealth tax you already paid. It was written for two years; a royal decree-law of December 2023 made it indefinite, and the Constitutional Court rejected the regions' challenges in November 2023.

For a non-resident both taxes work the same way: you are liable only on assets located in Spain — the technical name is obligación real — never on your worldwide estate. The villa, the Spanish bank account, the car registered here; not the house in Surrey or the pension in Munich.

What counts, and what it is worth

The list of Spanish assets is short for most owners, but two entries surprise people:

• Real estate is valued at the highest of three figures: the cadastral value, the value the tax office has "checked" for other taxes, or the price you paid. In practice, for a home bought since 2022, the official reference value used when you paid the transfer tax tends to set the floor — and it is usually far above the cadastral value.
• Shares in a property company count as property. A non-resident who holds a Spanish villa through a company — Spanish or foreign, unlisted — is taxed on those shares when at least half of the company's assets are real estate located in Spain. The old habit of "putting the house in a company" does not take it out of the wealth tax.

Against the assets you may deduct only the debts tied to them: the mortgage on the Spanish home, yes; a loan raised at home against your salary, no. And when the home is eventually sold, a different pair of taxes takes over — see selling as a non-resident.

Then comes the number that decides most cases: an exempt minimum of €700,000 per person, which the law extends expressly to non-residents. Below it there is no tax at all. Take a couple who own a Costa Adeje villa valued at €1.5 million with €400,000 of mortgage outstanding, half each: every spouse holds €750,000 of assets and €200,000 of debt, a net €550,000 — under the threshold, no wealth tax, nothing to file. Ownership between two people, and a mortgage that still counts, are the two quiet reasons most island owners never see this tax.

The Canary Islands: no discount, no surprise

Regional politics have made this tax a patchwork. Madrid, Andalusia and others bonify it entirely for their residents; the Canary Islands do not: they keep the €700,000 minimum and the standard state scale, with no general bonification. That scale starts at 0.2 % and climbs in eight steps to 3.5 % on the part of the taxable base above roughly €10.7 million.

Since July 2021 every non-resident — EU or not — may opt for the rules of the region where most of their Spanish assets sit. For an owner in Fuerteventura or Tenerife that option changes nothing, because the Canary rules are the state rules; it only matters if your Spanish wealth is mostly elsewhere.

A worked example, single owner, no debt: an apartment in Corralejo valued at €600,000 and a villa at €1.5 million — €2.1 million of Spanish assets. Minus the €700,000 minimum, the taxable base is €1.4 million; run through the state scale it comes to roughly €9,300 a year. Not ruinous, but not trivial either, and it must be declared: with assets above €2 million you file even in a year when the tax came to zero.

The solidarity tax above three million

The large-fortunes tax starts where net Spanish wealth — after the same €700,000 minimum, which a December 2023 reform extended to non-residents with effect back to 2022 — exceeds €3 million. Its scale: 1.7 % from three million to roughly €5.35 million, 2.1 % up to roughly €10.7 million, 3.5 % above. From the result you deduct the wealth tax actually paid for the same year.

That deduction is the whole point for a Canary owner. Because the islands do not discount the wealth tax, the wealth tax you pay on a large estate is normally larger than the solidarity calculation, and the surcharge comes to zero. Take €6 million of Spanish real estate, no debt: the wealth tax on the €5.3 million taxable base is about €70,500; the solidarity scale on the same base gives about €39,100; subtract the €70,500 already paid and nothing remains. A return is only due when the surcharge actually produces an amount to pay — so for most island owners the large-fortunes tax is a calculation to check, not a bill to expect. It bites where the wealth tax was bonified away — Madrid, Andalusia — which is exactly what it was designed for.

The 60 % cap: opened to non-residents in 2026

Spanish residents have long enjoyed a cap: their income tax, wealth tax and solidarity tax together may not exceed 60 % of their income-tax base, and the wealth-related taxes are cut until they fit — by up to 80 % of the wealth tax. The statute reserved this cap for residents, and non-residents with a valuable home but modest Spanish income could pay a wealth tax out of all proportion to their income.

In October and November 2025 the Supreme Court ruled, in two judgments, that excluding non-residents from the cap is a restriction on the free movement of capital that EU law does not allow: residence alone cannot justify the difference. The tax authorities followed. In December 2025 the central economic-administrative tribunal applied the same reasoning to the solidarity tax, and in June 2026 the large-fortunes return itself was rewritten so that non-residents can claim the cap from the 2025 tax year onwards.

Two consequences for an island owner:

• Going forward, a non-resident with high-value property and low income can invoke the cap in both taxes. How a non-resident's income is measured for the calculation is being settled case by case — the principle is won, the arithmetic needs advice.
• Looking back, wealth tax paid in the last four open years without the cap can be the object of a refund claim, filed as a rectification of those returns. Years fall out of reach one by one as they prescribe, which is the argument for not waiting.

Calendar and treaties

• Wealth tax is declared on form 714 in the spring income-tax window, for the previous year — in 2026 that window ran from early April to 30 June, and the 2026 tax year will be declared next spring. You must file when tax is due or when your Spanish assets exceed €2 million.
• Solidarity tax is declared on form 718 in July, also for the previous year, and only when there is an amount to pay.
• Double-taxation treaties follow the international model: real estate may be taxed where it stands, so Spain keeps the right to tax your home, and your home country's treaty decides how it credits or exempts that tax. Some Spanish treaties cover only income and are silent on wealth; others — Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom among them — carry their own wording. The 2013 treaty with the United Kingdom does cover the Spanish wealth tax. Read yours before assuming relief.

An owner's checklist

• Value your Spanish assets the way the law does: highest of cadastral, checked and purchase value; reference value for post-2022 purchases.
• Count the people and the mortgage: the €700,000 minimum is per owner and only Spain-linked debts deduct — most couples with a mortgaged home fall below the line.
• Check the €2 million filing trigger even in a zero-tax year.
• Above €3 million, run the solidarity calculation — and expect the wealth tax deduction to absorb it in the Canaries.
• Low income, high value? Claim the cap, and review the last four returns for a refund.
• Property held through a company: the shares are taxable if half the company's assets are Spanish real estate.

Wealth tax on the islands is rarely the tax you feared — but it is always the tax you must have measured.

Our tax team works with non-resident owners across Tenerife and Fuerteventura — valuing what is really taxable, filing forms 714 and 718, claiming the cap and the refunds it now allows — in twelve working languages. Read how we work in tax law, or tell us about your assets at our Costa Adeje or Corralejo offices.

Common questions

Do non-residents pay wealth tax in Spain?

Yes, but only on assets located in Spain and only above an exempt minimum of €700,000 per person, after deducting debts tied to those assets. A jointly owned, mortgaged home very often stays below the threshold.

How much is the wealth tax in the Canary Islands?

The Canaries apply the state scale without regional discounts: from 0.2 % on the first slice of the taxable base to 3.5 % above roughly €10.7 million. A single non-resident with €2.1 million of property and no debt pays about €9,300 a year.

Will I pay the solidarity tax on large fortunes?

Only if your net Spanish wealth exceeds €3 million after the €700,000 minimum — and even then the wealth tax you already paid is deducted, which for Canary assets usually leaves nothing. A return is due only when an amount results.

What changed for non-residents in 2026?

The 60 % cap that limits wealth taxes to a share of income, previously reserved to residents, was opened to non-residents by two Supreme Court judgments of late 2025; the solidarity-tax return was rewritten in June 2026 to apply it from the 2025 tax year. Refunds of wealth tax paid without the cap can be claimed for the years not yet prescribed.

When and how do I declare?

The wealth tax goes on form 714 during the spring income-tax window for the previous year, whenever tax is due or your Spanish assets exceed €2 million. The solidarity tax goes on form 718 in July, only when there is an amount to pay.

This article is general information about Spanish taxes as they stand at the date of publication, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation. Scales, minimums and the practice on the cap for non-residents move — have your position calculated with current figures before you file or claim.