It is one of the most searched-for questions and one of the worst answered. The short answer is yes, and that in the Valencian Community the percentage is rather higher than people assume. The long answer has conditions, and they are worth reading before you count on the money.
Two warnings before we start. This was written on 23 September 2026 with the Spanish tax agency's manual open in front of us, and tax figures are revised every year. And we are a renovation company, not tax advisers: this is here so that you know what to ask, not to replace your accountant.
The regional deduction: 20% or 50%
The Valencian Community has a deduction in the regional part of personal income tax (IRPF) for works of conservation or improvement of quality, sustainability and accessibility in a main home. It is in article 4.Uno.w) of Law 13/1997. It works with two percentages:
- 20% of what was paid during the year for the works, in the general case.
- 50% where the works are aimed at improving accessibility for a person with a recognised degree of disability of 33% or more. And watch this detail, which is very often overlooked: that person can be the taxpayer or anyone living with them in the same home. If the one with the recognised degree is your mother and she lives with you, it counts.
And does swapping a bath for a shower qualify?
It does, and that is not a stretched reading. The deduction requires the work to be of a kind that could be subsidised under the state housing plans in force, and article 113 of Royal Decree 42/2022 expressly includes, among accessibility improvement measures, works “to improve accessibility conditions in bathrooms and kitchens”.
Put another way: taking out a bath and putting in a flush shower is literally the example the legislation gives.
The limits, which is where people come unstuck
- Maximum annual base: €5,500. That is the ceiling on the spending the calculation is based on, not what you get back. At 20%, the maximum comes to €1,100; at 50%, to €2,750.
- If the property has several owners, that €5,500 is split between them according to their share of the title. It is not €5,500 each.
- Income limit. The full deduction is only available to those whose general and savings taxable bases together come to under €27,000 on an individual return, or under €44,000 on a joint one. Between €27,000 and €30,000 (individual), or between €44,000 and €47,000 (joint), it applies at a reduced rate. Above that, there is no deduction.
- The company or person physically carrying out the works must be identified by their NIF (Spanish tax number). It is a requirement, not a recommendation.
The 20% applies to works carried out from 1 January 2017. The 50% for accessibility applies to works carried out from 1 January 2022.
The other thing you save, which hardly anyone mentions
Besides the deduction there is VAT. A bathroom renovation in a private home is taxed at 10% instead of 21% if three conditions are met, and in an ordinary flat all three are:
- That the person commissioning the work is an individual and uses the property privately. If it is let or used for a business, even partly, it does not qualify.
- That the construction or refurbishment of the property had been completed at least two years before the work started.
- That the materials supplied by whoever carries out the work do not exceed 40% of the taxable base. This is the point that is watched most closely: in a renovation where the material is most of the budget, the whole invoice goes to 21%.
On a €10,000 renovation, those eleven percentage points come to €1,100. It is not a deduction they give you back in June: it is money you do not pay on the invoice.
The paperwork, which is what really decides it
All of the above is lost for the same reason: not being able to prove it. Keep this from day one, not when the tax return comes round:
- An invoice with the NIF of whoever carries out the work and the breakdown by item. A quote is not an invoice. In ours the items are listed separately from the start.
- Proof of payment by transfer or card. Cash leaves no trail, and without a trail there is nothing to evidence.
- The disability certificate, if you are going for the 50%.
- Before and after photos and the receipt for the rubble removal.
Deduction and grant at the same time?
They are different things and they are applied for separately: the grant is help from the regional government, applied for before the work starts, and the deduction is applied afterwards, on the tax return. Combining them has rules of its own —what you are given in grant is not something you have paid, and that affects the base of the deduction— so that particular overlap is exactly the kind of thing to ask an accountant about.
Where to check it for yourself
In the Spanish tax agency's practical income tax manual, in the section on regional deductions for the Valencian Community. It is free, it is at sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es and it is the only source that counts. If what you read on a blog does not match the manual, it is the blog that is wrong.
