Every owner of a property in Spain (a house, garage, shed, plot of land,...) must pay the annual property tax, better known in Spanish as the Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles (IBI). Per separate cadastre number (this is the registration number of your property), a percentage of property tax will be levied annually. The IBI applies to anyone who owns a home or other type of property in Spain.
The amount of the IBI is set by the municipality of the place where the property is located and is calculated on the cadastral value (valor catastral) of the property. If you have a home in Madrid but also a country house on the coast, both properties will be subject to a property tax, which may differ in assessment rate. The amount of the tax is subject to change.
It is not unusual for sometimes significant increases in the valor catastral to occur as municipalities strive to bring the valor catastral closer to the real market value of the property. More and more municipalities are revising cadastral values.
Most municipalities usually send out this annual tax assessment between June and October , showing the amount payable and the cadastral value along with the property number. It is best to check with your own municipality when the payment is due. This assessment can be paid in person at the municipality (especially the first time) after which one can order that this can be automatically withdrawn from the bank account in the future. Those who have an automatic order drawn up will be notified annually in advance (nowadays by email) about the tax to be paid, from which account it will come and when it will be withdrawn.
It happens in many municipalities that at the same time as the IBI assessment they also send an assessment for paying the tax for garbage collection (recogida de basuras). In addition, owners of parking lots may receive a separate assessment for the cadastral value of that parking lot or you may receive a separate assessment for having plants in your yard.
So you no longer need an intermediary to pay this tax. Many law firms or gestors charge you extra to keep this in order for you annually while this can be paid automatically. Through the IBAN, your international account number for payments across borders, you can perfectly have these taxes paid automatically every year through your bank account in your country of residence.
