Maó plans 100% tax surcharge on long-empty homes
In Maó, on Menorca, owners with at least four homes face a proposed 50% property tax surcharge if one stays empty without good reason for more than two years. Maó Town Council plans to bring the proposal to its October meeting. The charge would target residential homes left permanently vacant.
The surcharge would rise to 100% of the property tax bill after more than three years of vacancy. An additional 150% charge could apply if the same owner has at least two such homes in Maó. The tax is known in Spain as IBI.
The council wants to bring more homes onto the sale and rental markets in a town where it says demand is high and supply is short. The proposal forms part of its agreement with Ara Maó on the 2026 municipal budget.
When an empty home would be exempt
The surcharge would not apply when occupants have moved away for work or study, entered a hospital or care home, or face dependency or a social emergency.
Second homes would also be exempt. So would properties undergoing building work or repairs, homes too unsafe to occupy, and those caught up in legal disputes or occupied illegally. Inherited homes would be exempt for three years.
Tax breaks alongside the surcharge
The proposal also offers property tax reductions of up to 95% for officially protected housing, homes let at limited rents and properties in public rental programmes.
The council is postponing a further one-point cut to property tax. It cites inflation, changes to the island allowance and duties outside its remit; its financial control office has issued an unfavourable report on those issues. The council says it still intends to make the cut once its budget is sufficiently balanced.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com