What your holiday homereally earns.
Updated 12 November 2026 · 2 minute read
The short answer
What your home earns is its rental income minus every cost of owning and running it, over a full year. Most owners know the first number well and the second one only roughly.
How do you work out the result?
- Add up everything guests paid in the year.
- Add up every cost: commission, cleaning, utilities, insurance, local taxes, community fees, repairs, mortgage interest.
- Subtract the costs from the income. That is the net result before tax.
- Subtract the tax you pay on it. That is what the home really earned.
An example
Income €28,450 and costs €9,870 give a net result of €18,580 before tax.
Why look at a full year?
Holiday homes earn in summer and cost money all year. One good month says little. A full year includes the empty months, the insurance renewal and the IBI bill.
Why is this not your taxable income?
Tax rules add and remove things. In Spain, costs for days you used the home yourself are not deductible, depreciation is deductible although you never paid it, and vacant days are taxed on a notional income. Your result and your taxable income are two different numbers, and you need both.
Which costs do owners forget?
- Costs in the months without guests
- Bank charges and currency costs
- Furniture and appliances replaced during the year
- The gestor and the tax itself
What is a useful way to compare years?
Look at three numbers side by side: income, costs as a share of income, and nights let. Together they show whether a better year came from more guests, higher prices or lower costs.
Questions
Should I include my mortgage repayment?
Include the interest as a cost. The repayment itself builds your ownership and is not a cost.
Should I count my own stays?
Not as income. Note the nights, because they affect tax and occupancy.
We own two homes. One result or two?
Two. Work out each home separately, then add them up.
Know what yourholiday home earns.
Casatax keeps your income, costs and bookings in one place. Free to start with one home.
Join waiting listThis is general information. Tax rules differ by country, so check your own situation with your adviser.