How to declare rental income in Spain on your French tax return
Every year, it's the same thing: tax time comes around again... and with it, total vagueness. You can't remember how you did it last year, and you're always unsure which boxes to fill in. If you receive rental income in Spain, here's a step-by-step guide to declaring it correctly on your French tax return, in compliance with the Franco-Spanish tax treaty.
1. Retrieve your Modelo 210
The first step is to go back to your Spanish tax return, the Modelo 210, which you had to fill in with your accountant in Spain. This document details :
- Gross rental income,
- Deductible expenses (management fees, property tax named IBI in Spain, loan interest, amortization of the property price, amortization of works, amortization of furnishings and decoration, etc.),
- And the tax base, i.e. the amount on which you have actually been taxed in Spain.
👉 It's this taxable base (not gross income) that you'll use for your French tax return. See the red box below.
Do you own several properties abroad? No problem: just add up the tax bases of your properties in the same country, and declare them together.
2. Completing the French declaration
a) Form 2047 - Foreign source income
When you declare foreign rental income, this triggers the automatic opening of form 2047, which is used to indicate foreign-source income.
On this form :
- Select country: Spain.
- You indicate the type of income: for example, LMNP if you are a non-professional, or simply "rental income".
- You transfer the amount of the taxable base indicated on your Modelo 210.
The boxes generally concerned are :
- 5EY or 5FY, depending on the person (you or your spouse).
b) Main form - Box 8TK
At the same time, this declaration automatically fills in box 8TK of your main tax return. This box corresponds to foreign-source income giving entitlement to a tax credit equal to the French tax, in accordance with the tax treaty between France and Spain.
3. Final checks
Check that the following three boxes are filled in correctly:
Boxes 5EY and 5FY
- 5EY and 5FY (depending on the person concerned in the couple): these boxes appear on the 2047 form and correspond to foreign-source income with a tax credit equal to the French tax.
- 👉 They may also appear in the "Revenus des locations meublées non professionnelles" section , under the heading "LMNP de source étrangère avec crédit d'impôt égal à l'impôt français". (See example below)
Foreign-source income with tax credit equal to French tax - boxes 5EY and 5FY
LMNP de source étrangère avec crédit d'impôt égal à l'impôt français" - boxes 5EY and 5FY - other visualization of the same thing
Case 8TK
- 8TK (main form): this box covers foreign income entitling the taxpayer to a tax credit equal to the French tax.
- 👉 Unlike boxes 5EY/5FY, 8TK is unique for both declarants. (See example below). If, for example, on your Modelo 210 returns in Spain you each had a taxable base of €10,000, then in 8TK you can declare the cumulative amount, i.e. €20,000.
Foreign income - tax credit - box 8TK
Foreign-source income giving entitlement to a tax credit equal to the French tax - box 8TK - other display of the same thing
And there you have it! This systemavoids double taxation: your income is taxed in Spain, but neutralized in France thanks to the tax credit mechanism equal to the French tax, provided for in the Franco-Spanish tax treaty.
4. And don't forget to declare your foreign bank accounts.
If you earn rental income abroad, it's highly likely that you also have foreign bank accounts. Don't forget to declare them too, so that your tax return is impeccable!
