Non-residents in Spain are all those who pay for the income they have in their home country (for example Norway), and not in Spain. However, non-residents in Spain must pay for the income they have in Spain.
If you are a non-resident in Spain but own a property in Spain that you do not rent out, taxes must be paid in Spain as if you had income on it. The Treasury believes that any property that is not your full-time home allows you to receive rental income for it. If you do not rent it out, the Treasury does not have to lose the part that corresponds to the rental part that you could rent out. Therefore, one must pay tax to the Treasury for the fictitious rent.
The tax to be paid for this fictitious income is normally 1.1% or 2% of the tax value of the property. All properties in Spain are registered and for each of them, the tax authorities assign a value called valor catastral (cadastral value).
Residents outside Spain, but within the EU, including Norway, pay 19% of this fictitious income.
If you rent out your holiday home in Spain, you must also state the income you receive from the rental in Spain.
We have received the same question several times from clients who pay their rental income in Norway. Do we have to pay in Spain too? The correct answer is that you must declare in Spain the rental income you receive from your holiday home in Spain. Afterwards, you can deduct in Norway for the tax you have already paid in Spain, per the double taxation agreement between Norway and Spain.