Renting a parking space to a third party serves to complement a salary or pension. A widespread practice among Spaniards, but to avoid trouble, especially with the treasury, you have to follow some advice.
"There is a lot of ignorance regarding parking rentals and the main one is VAT," warns Carlos Muñoz, partner of the CIM Tax office.
Leasing a loose parking space is subject to the payment of VAT of 21% of the amounts. There is only one exception: if it is rented next to a home. In that case, the rental of the home is the main transaction and this tax is not applied to it. "If the rent is for the square alone, it does include VAT, as if it were a storage room," Muñoz reviews.
To declare this VAT, the owner must register through form 036 of the Tax Agency, as a landlord is a taxable person. It is not necessary to register as self-employed to do so, unless you have several places and renting them is an economic activity. VAT is presented quarterly.
The recommendation is that the potential user be given a fixed price that already includes VAT to avoid dizziness. "Normally the client will be an individual. He does not want to listen to stories, he wants to pay a final amount, not 100 plus VAT because he will not be able to deduct it...", explains Muñoz. Thus, if things are done well, the owner has to take into account that of the 100 that he charges, he actually receives a smaller part.
When submitting the declaration one can deduct expenses related to the rental that have VAT. But in the case of a parking lot, there are not many who enter, only the hiring of a possible manager to handle the procedures or the copy of the command that is given to the tenant.
In addition to VAT, as is the case with the rental of an apartment, the rental of a parking space must be declared and taxed in personal income tax as a return on real estate capital.
The declaration includes the income received, from which the expenses related to the square are subtracted - here the IBI also appears and factors such as the community fee, insurance, a manager if one wants to get rid of the quarterly statements. VAT, possible repairs and their amortization. On the benefit that results from subtracting the two items, taxes will be paid, higher or lower based on the rest of the income you have, when going to the general tax base.
In the case of personal income tax, if you rent to a self-employed person or a company, they will make withholdings for the tax that will later be reflected in the income tax return. "They will have to pay 19% less as payment on account of your personal income tax," he details.
Procedures, taxes, regulations... "Ignorance, the fact that they are small amounts and that it does not pay off leads us to many places being rented under the table," Muñoz acknowledges.
Avoiding the treasury is not the best idea. By not declaring the activity, an owner is exposed to Treasury sanctions. Apart from paying what has not been paid on the day for VAT and Personal Income Tax, there will be penalties of between 50% and 150% of the fee that had to be paid and has not been paid. The maximum occurs in cases of concealment or fraudulent means. All this with late payment interest. "The Treasury can review the last four years," recalls the expert.
Everything leads to the owner having to plan what is more profitable, whether renting together with the home or separately. With the first you save on paying VAT and your declaration, in addition to opting for reductions of up to 50% in your income tax return. "In the end the impediments are many for those who have a spare space, if it is rented with the home it is much more practical."
To cover yourself from other problems, the ideal is to sign a contract between the parties. "The verbal one is valid, but not recommended. If it ends in a judicial process, trying to invoke a verbal agreement is more difficult. A written one will give us much more legal security," warns Muñoz, who brings up the case of the tenant of a home that "disappeared" and left the car in the parking lot, forcing an eviction to begin.
"With the contract you regulate these types of things, such as how long in advance you have to notify that you are leaving, what day you pay and how often, the uses you can make..." When establishing a contract, a two-month deposit will also be required.
Doing things well is not the most widespread and can be "cumbersome, with many impediments than with the little parking available...". But major problems are avoided, especially on the tax side.
The business, in any case, can pay off. At the national level, according to data from Idealista at the end of 2023, the highest annual profitability when renting a parking lot is achieved in Murcia (10.8%), Ávila (8.3%), Guadalajara and Castellón (7.5%). The national average is 7.2%. To arrive at these figures, both the purchase price of the place and the subsequent annual rent are taken. The higher the figure implies that more of the initial investment is recovered in the year.
In large capitals such as Barcelona (6.3%), Madrid (5.1%), València (4.8%) or Seville (4.7%) the profitability is somewhat more moderate, but may be higher than what is expected. obtained with other real estate assets such as a home or premises.
All figures are gross returns, from which expenses such as taxation, insurance and other expenses mentioned above are subtracted to arrive at the net return.
