IRPF tax deduction for energy-efficiency works at home in Spain: 20%, 40% and 60%

Which IRPF deduction exists for energy-efficiency works, how much is it and until when?

There are three IRPF deductions (additional provision fifty, disposición adicional quincuagésima, of Law 35/2006). Works on your home paid up to 31 December 2026: 20% (maximum annual base €5,000) or 40% (€7,500). Energy renovation of the whole building up to 31 December 2027: 60% (€5,000 a year, €15,000 in total).

What improvement must the works prove for each percentage?

The 20% deduction requires at least a 7% cut in the sum of the home's heating and cooling demand indicators. The 40% deduction requires at least a 30% cut in non-renewable primary energy consumption, or the home reaching energy class A or B. The 60% deduction asks for the same as the 40%, but measured on the whole building.

The law does not list specific works. New windows, insulation or an aerotermia heat pump count only if the before and after certificates show that improvement. The same works cannot qualify for both 20% and 40%. And if the improvement and the payments relate to building-wide works that qualify for 60%, the other two do not apply.

Which energy certificates are needed, and by what dates?

You need two energy efficiency certificates issued by a qualified técnico (técnico competente): one before the works start and one after. The earlier one is valid if it was issued no more than two years before the start. A certificate made after the works cannot prove the previous condition.

For 20% and 40%, the after-works certificate must be issued before 1 January 2027; for 60%, before 1 January 2028. These dates were set by Royal Decree-law 7/2026, which Congress validated on 26 March 2026. Both certificates must be entered in the regional register under Royal Decree 390/2021. In Catalonia that official register is run by the Institut Català d'Energia (ICAEN). Until the certificate is registered, the deduction cannot be applied.

Who can claim the deduction, and for which homes?

Only the owner of the home can, not the tenant. For 20% and 40%, the works must be on your main home or on another home you own that is let as a dwelling, or held for letting if it is let before 31 December 2027. The Tax Agency (AEAT) treats a residential let as one that covers the tenant's permanent need for housing (article 2 of the Urban Leases Act, Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos).

Excluded are second homes that are not let, the part of the home used for a business, and garages, storage rooms, gardens and pools. If several people own the home, each co-owner deducts according to their ownership share. IRPF is paid by Spanish tax residents; if you are not one, check with your tax adviser (asesor fiscal).

Which costs count towards the base, and how must they be paid?

The costs needed to carry out the works count: professional fees, drafting the technical project, site supervision, execution, equipment, materials and issuing the energy certificates. According to the AEAT manual, so do the VAT (IVA) paid and the municipal works licence. The cost of installing or replacing equipment that burns fossil fuels does not count.

Payment must be by credit or debit card, bank transfer, named cheque (cheque nominativo) or deposit into an account at a credit institution, made to whoever does the works or issues the certificates. Amounts paid in cash give no right to the deduction. For a married couple under community of property (gananciales), amounts paid from joint money are split 50% to each spouse.

Can the deduction be combined with renovation grants?

Yes, but the grant-funded part is not deductible. The base is reduced by the amount paid through a public grant programme, or that will be once a final award decision is issued. According to the AEAT, you do not subtract it until there is a final decision. If you have already claimed the deduction and the grant is awarded later, in the return for the year of the award you add back the excess deduction to the tax due.

If the grant goes to the owners' association (comunidad de propietarios), it is allocated to each owner by their participation share. Also, grants from certain energy renovation programmes are not included in the IRPF taxable base (additional provision five of the same law). Your tax adviser can confirm how your grant is treated.

How does the 60% work when the owners' association carries out the works?

The 60% deduction is for owners of homes in mainly residential buildings where an energy renovation of the building is carried out, for amounts paid from 6 October 2021 to 31 December 2027. If the owners' association contracts the works, each owner's base is what the association paid multiplied by that owner's participation share. Parking spaces and storage rooms acquired together with the home are treated as part of it.

The maximum base is €5,000 a year. Whatever cannot be deducted because it exceeds that limit carries over to the next four tax years, with the same limit and never more than €15,000 of accumulated base. It applies in tax years 2021 to 2027, provided the after-works certificate was issued before the end of the year in which you deduct.

In which tax return is it claimed, and what data does the Tax Agency ask for?

The 20% and 40% deductions are claimed in the return for the year in which the after-works certificate is issued, adding up what was paid from 6 October 2021 to 31 December of that year. The amount is subtracted from the state share of the gross tax due (cuota íntegra estatal).

In Annex A.3 of the return, for the 20% deduction the AEAT asks for details of the property, the NIF or NIE of whoever did the works, the dates of the before and after certificates, the heating and cooling demand shown in each, and the amounts paid. Keep invoices, bank receipts and both certificates with proof of their registration.