In short: Royal Decree-law 7/2026 creates a solar panels tax deduction in the 2026 IRPF and extends two others, the home energy efficiency one and the electric car one. All three come off the State part of the IRPF (the tax on the Renta return) and are claimed on the Renta; the 2026 return is filed in 2027. Solar panels give 10% of what you pay, or 20% for a home in a residential building where the installation was made, with a maximum base of €5,000 a year. You pay by card, transfer, named cheque or a deposit into an account, never in cash. Congress validated the decree on 26 March 2026.
Who can apply them? The text sets no nationality or legal-residence requirement: the deductions sit in the IRPF law and are for people who pay tax under it, that is, tax residents (tax residence and the 183 days). You must also meet the conditions of each one. Solar panels and charging points refer to a property "of your own", so if you rent, the solar panel deduction is not meant for you. The general rules of the return: tax return for foreign residents.
1. Solar panels: a new deduction (additional provision 62 of the IRPF law)
- What it covers: installing a renewable electricity self-consumption system, as defined in Royal Decree 244/2019, in a property you own. It can include storage batteries.
- How much: 10% of what you pay, or 20% if you own a home in a mainly residential building where the installation was made. The maximum base is €5,000 a year: up to €500 of deduction at 10% and up to €1,000 at 20% (our calculation).
- When: payments from 1 January to 31 December 2026 for an installation made in that period. The deduction goes in the year the installation is finished, which cannot be later than 2026: if it ends in 2026, in the 2026 return.
- How to pay: credit or debit card, transfer, named cheque or a deposit into an account. Never in cash. Subsidies you receive are subtracted from the base.
- What counts as cost: equipment and materials, installation costs and necessary works.
- Paperwork: the Electrical Installations Certificate (CIE) and the authorisations and permits the law requires.
- Limits: it does not apply if the system is tied to an economic activity, and if you tie it later you lose the deduction. One installation in one property does not give the 10% and the 20% at once, nor this deduction and the energy efficiency one.
- Part of the tax: it is subtracted from the State gross quota, the State's part and not your region's.
2. Home energy efficiency (additional provision 50, extended deadline, effective from 1 January 2025)
- 20%: works that cut the heating and cooling demand of your main home, or of another home of yours that you rent out or are about to rent out (rented before 31 December 2027), by at least 7%. Maximum base: €5,000 a year.
- 40%: works that cut non-renewable primary energy use by at least 30% or lift the home to energy class A or B. Maximum base: €7,500 a year.
- 60%: works in mainly residential buildings that improve the efficiency of the building, with the same 30% cut or class A or B. Maximum base: €5,000 a year and up to €15,000 accumulated.
- Deadlines: works count until 31 December 2026 (20% and 40%) or until 31 December 2027 (60%). The energy efficiency certificate issued after the works must be dated before 1 January 2027 or, for the 60%, before 1 January 2028. The deduction goes in the year that certificate is issued.
- Payment: as with solar panels, never in cash, and the installation or replacement of equipment that uses fossil fuels does not count.
3. Electric car and charging points (additional provision 58, effective from 1 January 2026)
- Car: 15% of the purchase value of a new "plug-in" electric or fuel cell vehicle. Maximum base: €20,000, that is, up to €3,000 of deduction (our calculation).
- Deadline: purchase until 31 December 2026, with the deduction in the year of registration. You can also pay the seller at least 25% of the value on account before that date and buy the vehicle before the end of the second tax year after the year of the payment on account.
- Vehicle requirements:
- Category: a car, a light or heavy quadricycle, or a motorcycle of certain categories (M1, L6e, L7e, L3e, L4e, L5e).
- A model eligible under the State electric mobility aid programme, and a sale price not above the maximum of that programme.
- Not tied to an economic activity.
- First registration in Spain in your name before 31 December 2026.
- Charging points: 15% of what you paid to install a charging system for electric vehicles in a property you own until 31 December 2026. Maximum base: €4,000 a year, that is, up to €600 (our calculation). Non-cash payment and no economic activity.
In the Comunitat Valenciana. The region has its own self-consumption deduction: 40% for the main home and 20% for a second residence, with a maximum base of €8,800 per home, according to the AEAT 2025 tax return manual (the Tax Agency). We have not found an official clarification on how it combines with the State one.
Documents
- Invoices for the installation, the works or the vehicle.
- Proof of non-cash payment: card, transfer, named cheque or a deposit into an account.
- Solar panels: Electrical Installations Certificate (CIE) and installation permits.
- Energy efficiency: energy efficiency certificate from before and after the works.
- Car: a document proving the first registration in Spain in your name.
- Proof of any subsidies received.
Indicative list: the rule does not give a closed list; check it on the AEAT website.
What you can do
- If you plan to install solar panels, do efficiency works or buy an electric car, the practical limit is 31 December 2026.
- Pay by card or transfer and keep invoices and payment proofs.
- Ask for the CIE (panels) or the energy efficiency certificates from before and after the works, and note the dates.
- If you have a subsidy, note how much it is: it is subtracted from the base.
- Wait for the 2026 Renta campaign, in 2027, to claim them; the AEAT will announce the dates.
Official source: Royal Decree-law 7/2026 (BOE-A-2026-6544), article 36, and the AEAT note on its tax novelties.
Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.
