What this letter is
The IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) (property tax) is the yearly tax the town hall charges you for owning a home, a commercial premises, a parking space or a plot of land. The bill arrives every year, on paper or through the online portal. In many provinces it isn’t managed by the town hall directly but by a body of the provincial council: for example, SUMA Gestión Tributaria in Alicante. The IBI falls due on 1 January: whoever owned the property on that day pays for the whole year.
How to read it: the key parts
| What you see on the letter | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sujeto pasivo / titular (taxpayer / owner) | The person being charged. It should be the owner on 1 January |
| Referencia catastral (cadastral reference) | The 20-character code that identifies the property in the Catastro (land registry) |
| Valor catastral and base liquidable (cadastral value and taxable base) | The value the tax is calculated on |
| Tipo de gravamen (tax rate) | The percentage set by your town hall |
| Bonificaciones (discounts) | Discounts applied (large family, direct debit…), if any |
| Cuota / importe a pagar (amount to pay) | What you have to pay |
| Periodo voluntario de pago (voluntary payment period) | The dates to pay without a surcharge |
| Nº de recibo / referencia de cobro (bill number / payment reference) | A code to pay at the bank, online or by card |
What deadline you have
Each town hall sets its own calendario fiscal (tax calendar). If it doesn’t set one, the law sets a voluntary period from 1 September to 20 November, and any period it does set can’t be shorter than two months. Many towns let you pay in two or more instalments if you pay by direct debit.
If you want to dispute the bill, you have one month for a recurso de reposición (appeal for reconsideration), counted from the day after notification or after the end of the period when the tax roll is publicly displayed.
What you can do
| Option | When it makes sense | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Pay within the voluntary period | The bill is correct | Done, no surcharge |
| Set up direct debit | For future years | It is charged automatically; in some towns with a discount or in instalments |
| Ask to pay in instalments | You can’t pay it all at once | The body decides and sets the instalments |
| Recurso de reposición (appeal for reconsideration) | Wrong owner, discount or calculation | Decided by the town hall or body that issued the bill |
| Complain to the Catastro | The error is in the cadastral value or the description of the property | The data is corrected, and then the bill |
What happens if you do nothing
When the voluntary period ends, the enforcement period begins. If you pay before you are notified of the providencia de apremio (enforcement notice), the surcharge is 5 %. If you pay within the deadline that notice gives you, it is 10 %. Otherwise, 20 % plus late-payment interest. After that, they can seize your bank accounts, wages and, as a last resort, property. Also, the property itself remains liable for IBI debts even if you sell it, so the debt can end up affecting the buyer.
Common mistakes
- Thinking that if you sold in March, that year’s IBI is no longer yours. As far as the town hall is concerned, it is.
- Assuming the bill is on direct debit when you have changed banks.
- Disputing the valor catastral (cadastral value) with the town hall: that is challenged before the Catastro.
- Not checking whether you qualify for a bonificación (discount), for example for large families, which you have to apply for.
- Ignoring a bill because it never arrived at home: the IBI is published in the tax roll, and not getting a letter doesn’t prevent the surcharge.
How to respond, step by step
- Log in to your town hall’s or tax collection body’s online portal (for example, SUMA) with Cl@ve or a digital certificate.
- Find the bill by your NIF or by the referencia catastral (cadastral reference).
- Check the titular (owner), the referencia catastral and the bonificaciones (discounts).
- If everything is correct, pay online, at the bank, or set up direct debit.
- If there is an error, file a recurso de reposición through the electronic registry within one month. Sample text (write it in Spanish):
Expone: que en el recibo del IBI del ejercicio 2026, referencia catastral [], figura como titular [], cuando el inmueble fue transmitido a [] por escritura de fecha [], anterior al 1 de enero de 2026 (se adjunta copia). Solicita: que se anule el recibo emitido a mi nombre y se emita al titular correcto.
(In English: the 2026 IBI bill for cadastral reference [] names [] as owner, but the property was transferred to [] by deed dated [], before 1 January 2026 (copy attached). Request: cancel the bill issued in my name and issue it to the correct owner.)
Cartamiga tip: set up direct debit for the IBI and put the charge date in your calendar. It is the simplest way to never pay a surcharge just because you forgot.