Rule changes in April 2025 mean that most towns and cities in Spain that don’t already have a waste collection tax will be forced to implement one or increase their rates.
Spain’s new rubbish tax law will come into force from April 8th 2025, meaning that many people around Spain will have an extra expense or increased bills. It will affect all municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
But, it’s worth noting that law establishes a three-year deadline for municipalities to set an amount based on their collection, transportation, treatment and landfill maintenance, needs, so you may not have to start paying just yet.
However, there’s still some uncertainty and confusion about who exactly should pay it and how much it will be. This is generally because it will vary drastically across the country. The specifics will depend on your local town hall and they will be in charge of setting prices as mentioned above.
Here’s what you need to know.
READ ALSO: What taxes do non-residents in Spain pay?
What is it?
Local councils across Spain will soon have to levy a rubbish tax that reflects the cost of collection in towns and cities and is essentially like a surcharge on waste collection.
Note that in some parts of Spain, there’s already a rubbish collection charge, but from next year it will be compulsory and town halls must implement it. Towns and cities that already do have it will be forced to increase it as part of the new rules.
The ultimate aim of the waste tax is to cover the real cost of waste management and to establish a circular economy model in line with EU guidelines. The law draws on European legislation and enforces the principle of ‘the polluter pays’, meaning that, in theory, local residents (and in some cases town halls, for waste that can’t be recycled) should pay according to their wastage.
The waste charge is designed to help meet EU targets of 55 percent reuse and recycling by 2025 and 65 percent by 2035.
According to the official government BOE: the law “for the first time… expressly includes the obligation for local authorities to have a fee or, as the case may be, a non-tax public economic benefit, differentiated and specific for the services they must provide in relation to the waste under their jurisdiction, fees that should tend towards payment per generation.”
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When does it come into force?
The tax, or la tasa de basuras as it’s known in Spanish, must be introduced by local governments by April 10th 2025 at the latest, but there will be three extra years for them to implement it.
In Madrid, the City Council has announced that the first garbage tax bills will be sent to homeowners starting in July 2025. In Getafe (Madrid), the mayor announced that this tax will be collected “around September each year”.
With regards to other places where it’s not yet in place, it will also depend. In Badajoz it’s expected to be this April, while in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria it will begin in 2026; and in Málaga, it is expected to be implemented by September 2025.
Is it charged everywhere?
No, the rubbish tax will only affect municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants.
READ ALSO: How Spain’s new tax on plastics will affect you
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How much will it be?
It depends. The fee could vary considerably from one municipality to another. In large cities the charge could vary depending on the size and cadastral value of the property or commercial premises, and it is estimated that, compared to the average price of the bills, the average fee for a normal property could be in the range of €50-€150 per year.
Some municipalities will have to create a tax separate from the Property Tax (IBI), while others will have to assess whether the current amounts cover the costs. If not, they will have to modify the rate to comply with this regulation.
Taking examples of the cities that already have some kind of rubbish collection tax in place rates vary greatly. In Barcelona, San Sebastián, Girona, Granada and Pamplona for example, they exceed €140 a year but in Soria and Alicante, they’re under €30.
But in Badajoz, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Málaga, there is currently no tax for waste collection in place, but Badajoz has announced it will charge €90 a year.
Many local councils are already starting to advertise that they will offer ‘discounts’ on other taxes, such as IBI, to counteract the increase or introduction in waste charges. Some councils have proposed discounts for vulnerable families or for those who recycle the most.
In Madrid, for example, the City Council has decided to establish the new tax based on two criteria – a fixed cost of 81 percent based on the cadastral value of each property, and the remaining 19 percent to be paid based on each neighbourhood and the waste it generates.
READ ALSO: What is Spain’s IBI tax and how do I pay it?
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Who pays it, landlord or tenant?
Again, it depends. The rules aren’t entirely clear yet on who pays in rented accommodation.
Generally speaking, this is a tax on residents because they use the waste collection service provided by the council. The ideological thrust of the tax is that ‘the polluter pays’ so it’s more targeted at tenants.
There’s conflicting information out there on this, but it seems like the tenant will probably the one obliged to pay this tax. Article 20 of Spain’s Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos stipulates that the general expenses, taxes and services of the rented property must be paid by the tenant.
The Local Tax Law also establishes that the taxpayer for the garbage tax is the person who benefits from the urban solid waste collection, treatment, and disposal service; in other words, the occupant of the home.
Obviously, if there’s something specific in your rental contract about extra taxes and charges, you’ll follow that. But not everybody does have those rules outlined in writing, so there could be some debate.
READ ALSO: What are the recycling rules in Spain?
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Having said that, there are some conditions in which the landlord could be liable to pay it. In towns and cities where the rubbish tax will be made part of the IBI, or used to discount it, the payment should in theory correspond to the owner of the property.
Now, there’s currently some controversy about that. Some municipalities are effectively implementing a flat tax and each person pays the same, while in others the amount varies according to the location of the property and its size and characteristics, and so on.
Therefore, in that case, it wouldn’t be individualised tenant expense, but of the property, and following this logic, it is the landlord who should be responsible for paying it.
As mentioned above, this is all still quite unclear and will be done on a town by town basis, so do check with your town hall for the local rules.
