The Spanish Tax Agency has begun to return the tax collected on heating fuel, known as the “healthcare cent” or the Tax on Retail Sale of Certain Hydrocarbons, to homeowners’ associations.

The “healthcare cent”, instituted in January 2002 around Spain except for the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla and passed on to the regional governments, is no longer in force as of 31 December 2012. This tax was divided into two parts, which meant paying two additional taxes: the national segment and the regional segment. On 27 February 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared this tax contrary to community law.

In April 2014, the Building Managers Official Association of Madrid (CAFMadrid) began to encourage affected homeowners’ associations to file for a refund of the taxes paid in 2010, 2011 and 2012 from the Spanish Tax Agency. The best way to do so, according to CAFMadrid, is to follow the standard online procedure established by the Tax Agency.