Same WhatsApp thread, two messages: “online it says 40% state and 40% regional; I don’t see 60%”. Then: “it says there has to be something more than the panels. Windows, a heat pump, and so on.” That is not a confused customer. That is what happens when three different tax boxes get flattened into one sentence. This article is the reply we should be able to forward.
The three sentences, plainly:
- The state 60% is the box for energy renovation of the building. It is not a sales invention, and it is not unlocked by replacing windows.
- The 40% in the Valencian Community is a different (regional) deduction, with a maximum base of €8,800 on a primary residence. It does not replace the 60%: it can be added if the file is clean.
- You do not need a heat pump or new windows to enter the state 40% or 60%. The rule asks for the result on the energy performance certificate (CEE), not a shopping list.
As if you were eight: a deduction is not a discount on the invoice. The company still charges you. Next year the tax office lets you pay less tax… but only if you had tax to pay. If your Hacienda piggy bank is empty, 60% does not buy you a roof.
What you read online is not entirely false. It is a different box. The state 40% exists. So does the 60%. Mixing them —and then mixing both with the Valencian 40%— is where the mess starts.
There are three state rates, and they measure different things
The state deduction for energy-efficiency works (additional provision 50 of Spain’s IRPF income-tax act) is not “40% or 60% depending on the salesperson”. It is three doors, with three metrics:
| What the certificate must improve | How it is usually achieved | % and maximum base | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | Heating and cooling demand (at least 7%) | Windows, insulation, shading. Panels almost never qualify here. | Max. base €5,000 |
| 40% | Non-renewable primary energy use of the dwelling (at least 30%), or class A/B | Rooftop PV on that home. Sometimes a heat pump. | Max. base €7,500 |
| 60% | The same, but for the building: residential energy renovation (at least 30% non-renewable primary energy, or class A/B) | The same PV, if the certificate is of the building. A residents’ association — or a detached house that is the building. | Max. accumulated base €15,000 |
That is the windows mix-up. Anyone who says “for 60% you need more than panels” is, almost always, reading the 20% row —the heating-demand row— and applying it to the 60% row. They are different indicators. A new window cuts heating demand. A solar panel cuts non-renewable primary energy, because you stop drawing grid electricity with a fossil mix. The Spanish tax agency does not ask for both in the same box.
Why the 60% is called energy renovation (and why that is not “gut the whole block”)
The 60% is not a prize for suffering building works. It is the rate for energy renovation of predominantly residential buildings. The law does not list “windows + heat pump + panels”. It lists a result: the building’s energy performance certificate, before and after, must show at least 30% less non-renewable primary energy, or class A or B.
A detached house is a building. So is a block of flats. What changes is not “whether you have a residents’ association”, but whether the certificate you file is the building’s and whether that improvement holds. The internet FAQ that reserves 60% “only for neighbours’ communities” is half right: it is correct that 60% is not the box for a single flat with a dwelling certificate; it is wrong to turn “building” into “only if there are lots of you”.
In real cases:
- Roof of a detached house / solar pergola on your plot. The house is the building. If the building certificate meets 30% (or A/B), the coherent box is energy renovation: 60%. That is why at A Todo Sol we talk about 60% on a primary residence when the file is built that way — not because “the salesperson said it louder”.
- A flat in a block, panels only for your dwelling, dwelling certificate. Here the state 40% usually appears. Not because you lack a heat pump: because you are not renovating the building, you are improving a dwelling.
- Communal roof, block certificate. 60%. Each neighbour applies their share. We walk through it in how to recover 60% in your residents’ association. This rate is extended until 31 December 2027 (Royal Decree-law 16/2025).
The 60% is not “unlocked” by buying more things. It is evidenced with the building’s energy performance certificate. If the certificate falls short, neither a showroom heat pump nor catalogue windows will save a badly built spreadsheet. If the certificate gets there with the panels, you do not need to invent a renovation.
The real question: do you need a heat pump, windows or “other works”?
No. Spain’s income-tax law does not say “PV plus a heat pump” or “PV plus windows” as a condition of the 40% or the 60%. It says what the certificate has to say.
Panels on their own usually suffice for the indicator that matters in those two boxes —non-renewable primary energy— because you replace grid kWh with renewable kWh. That is certificate physics, not a sales trick.
So where does “there has to be something more” come from?
- From mixing the 20% rate (demand: windows, insulation) with the 40/60 rates (primary energy: panels).
- From mixing energy renovation for income-tax purposes (a certificate that improves) with renovation for VAT purposes (structure, façades, roofs thresholds: a different regime, article 91; we unpack it in 10% vs 21% VAT).
- From mixing the deduction with Next Generation grants, whose checklists sometimes ask for photos of heating plant. It is not the same procedure. In fact we stopped processing Next Generation precisely so as not to contaminate your income-tax file.
When a heat pump or windows do make sense
If the starting certificate is a wreck and the panels cannot deliver the 30% —it happens, especially when almost all your primary energy is heating oil or gas and electricity weighs little— then switching the boiler to a heat pump, or improving the envelope, may be what closes the certificate. That does not make a heat pump a legal toll. It makes it a tool, if the number does not come out. That is why the certificate is done before anyone sells you a bundle. Anyone who demands a heat pump “because that’s how 60% works”, either has not read the box, or is selling you another job.
The Valencian Community 40%: a different deduction, €8,800 base cap
Here is the second half of the WhatsApp. The 40% you see on Generalitat pages is not the state 40%. It is the regional deduction for self-consumption or renewable investment, standing in the Valencian Community:
- 40% of amounts invested in a primary residence.
- 20% on a second home.
- Maximum base: €8,800 per dwelling. 40% of 8,800 is €3,520. It is not “they give you €8,800 back”. It is not “40% of the whole installation” if the base exceeds 8,800: the legal cap cuts there.
- It requires an IVACE certificate.
- It is compatible with the state deduction if the file is clean (coherent invoices, bank payment, certificate when required).
Example with a typical €12,000 base installation, primary residence in the Valencian Community, state 60% track:
- State 60% × 12,000 = €7,200 (the accumulated state cap is €15,000; it does not bite here).
- Regional 40% × 8,800 = €3,520 (here it does bite: 40% is not applied to the full 12,000).
- Total deductions: €10,720. Indicative net cost of the base: €1,280, plus whatever VAT applies — on a finished home, almost always 21%.
40% + 40% is not what you saw online. It is 60% state (if the building certificate supports it) + 40% regional on a maximum of €8,800. Two rules, two caps, one roof.
“So a €10,000 system costs me nothing?”
No. Three playground sentences:
- You pay for the installation now (to the company, with VAT).
- The tax office does not send you a cheque. It lets you subtract a chunk of what you were going to pay on your return. That is a deduction: permission to empty your tax piggy bank, not A Todo Sol’s till.
- If you almost pay no income tax — unemployment, a small pension, losses, very low income — the piggy bank is almost empty. Permission for €9,520 is worthless if there are only €800 inside.
The €7,000, €10,000 and €15,000 in the tables are the price of the works (the base). VAT, almost always 21% on a finished home, is paid on top and does not vanish with the 60%. If your quote says “€10,000 including VAT”, the tax-office number will be a little lower. Same lesson.
Valencian Community — 60% state + 40% regional (cap: €8,800 of base)
The Valencian 40% is not applied to the whole installation if it exceeds €8,800. It cuts there: 40% × 8,800 = €3,520, not one euro more from the regional box.
| Price of the works | State tax office (60%) | Valencian tax office (40%, max. on €8,800) | Sum of permissions | What is left of the works (if you have enough tax) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €7,000 | €4,200 | €2,800 (40% of 7,000; the cap not hit yet) | €7,000 (100% of the base) | €0 of base + VAT |
| €10,000 | €6,000 | €3,520 (not €4,000: the €8,800 cap cuts) | €9,520 | €480 of base + VAT |
| €15,000 | €9,000 (60% of 15,000; state base cap) | €3,520 (the €8,800 cap again) | €12,520 | €2,480 of base + VAT |
Read the €10,000 row again: it does not come out at zero. €480 of works remain, plus about €2,100 of VAT if the base was €10,000 before tax. And that is only if your return had at least €9,520 of tax to eat the permission.
Region of Murcia — same installation, a different regional piggy bank
Murcia does not copy Valencia. The regional box is another one: a percentage that depends on what you earn (50% / 37.5% / 25%, and zero if your taxable base is high: from €60,000 on an individual return). The cap is not an €8,800 base: it is a maximum €7,000 deduction, the money they let you take off. The table below uses 50%, the rate for a middle-income household (individual return below €35,000 of base). If you earn more, it drops. If you earn a lot, Murcia puts in nothing.
| Price of the works | State tax office (60%) | Murcia tax office (50%, max. €7,000 deduction) | Sum of permissions | What is left of the works (if you have enough tax) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €7,000 | €4,200 | €3,500 | €7,700 | €0 of base + VAT (the regional permission can be wider than that slice of the bill; you still need a real regional tax bill) |
| €10,000 | €6,000 | €5,000 | €11,000 | €0 of base + VAT (again: only if there is tax in both piggy banks) |
| €15,000 | €9,000 | €7,000 (50% of 15,000 would be €7,500; the €7,000 cap cuts) | €16,000 | €0 of base + VAT, if both piggy banks can take it |
The example that kills “it costs me 100% nothing”
Ana puts up €10,000 of panels in Alicante. On the spreadsheet, €9,520 of permissions. On Ana’s return, the tax office only asks her for €2,000 of income tax that year. Ana does not get €9,520. She gets permission not to pay those €2,000. The other €7,520 stay on paper (sometimes they can be used the following year, if the rule allows and if there is tax then). That is why we say: only if the person has tax to deduct against. No tax, no magic. There is a paid invoice and a box at zero.
How it looks in practice, without a salesperson’s spreadsheet
| Your case | Usual state box | Regional box (Valencian Community) |
|---|---|---|
| Detached house, building certificate with ≥ 30% (or A/B) | 60% energy renovation | 40% on max. €8,800 if primary; 20% if second home |
| Flat, panels only yours, dwelling certificate | Usually state 40% (base €7,500) | Same: regional 40% / 20% with the €8,800 cap |
| Residents’ association, block certificate | 60%, each neighbour their share, until 2027 | Each owner, if they meet primary-residence / IVACE rules |
What can actually kill the deduction (and it is not missing windows)
- Paying cash. The base has to go by transfer, card, nominative cheque or paying-in.
- A dirty invoice — 10% VAT when 21% applied, made-up descriptions, a NIF that does not add up. The tax agency does not gift you 60% or 40% for the rooftop photo.
- No before-and-after energy performance certificate when the state box requires it.
- In the Valencian Community, skipping IVACE.
- Collecting a grant (Next Generation or other) and not subtracting it from the base: the subsidy cuts what you can deduct; it is not “added” to the 60%.
We prepare the certificate, the legalisation and the pack for your tax adviser. We are not tax advisers and this article does not compute your return: your gestoría has the last word on your filing. What we will not do is sell you a toll heat pump for a 60% that is evidenced by the certificate, or tell you the Valencian 40% is “up to €8,800 in your hand” when €8,800 is the base.
If you are comparing quotes this week
Ask for three things in writing, not by ear:
- Which state box they are selling you (20, 40 or 60) and with which certificate — dwelling or building — they intend to support it.
- The regional 40% broken down with the €8,800 base cap, not “40% of everything”.
- If they demand a heat pump or windows to “reach 60%”: they should show you the starting certificate. If there is no number, it is a commercial bundle, not a legal requirement.
If you want us to look at it with your bill and your roof, we will simulate it and tell you whether the 30% comes out with the panels or whether, in your specific case, something more is needed. No theatre.
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Framework, indicative: additional provision 50 of the IRPF Act (20%/40%/60% rates; bases €5,000 / €7,500 / €15,000 accumulated); Royal Decree-law 16/2025 (60% on residential buildings extended to 31/12/2027); Valencian Community regional deduction for self-consumption/renewables (40% primary residence, 20% second home, max. base €8,800, IVACE); Region of Murcia, art. 1.Cinco of Legislative Decree 1/2010 (rate depends on income, max. deduction €7,000; AEAT 2025 income-tax manual). General information as of May 2026. It does not replace your tax adviser’s view or an AEAT ruling on your case.