Starting a Car and Scooter Rental Business in Spain as a Foreigner: Fleet, Taxes, Residence

A foreigner can open a car rental business in Spain without a separate transport licence. You need autónomo or company status, an office and parking under town hall rules, insurance on every car and a registration-tax exemption for the fleet. Our 20-car model needs about €291,000. The Canaries require 20 cars and 30 days’ notice; Ibiza caps rental cars.

Below: national and island rules, how to vet a rental business before you buy, fleet taxes, renting, the numbers, the legal form and the owner’s residence permit, plus scooters and e-scooters. Other niches are collected in our overview of starting a business in Spain as a foreigner.

The rules for self-drive rental

Spain’s national transport law allows any company to rent out vehicles without a driver, provided it meets its tax, employment and road-safety obligations. Since December 2025 the law also expressly covers app-based car sharing. The implementing regulation adds a few operating rules:

• the contract is signed at the rental company’s office or at its desk in a hotel, travel agency or resort; the car itself can be handed over elsewhere, such as an airport, if the contract was concluded in advance;
• prices are free, but companies renting passenger cars must display them to customers;
• you may rent out your cars through another rental company, but both are liable for any breach.

For tax purposes a rental business registers under activity heading 854.1 of the IAE, the business activity tax (long-term renting is 854.2). An autónomo never pays the IAE itself, and a company pays it only once turnover reaches €1 million a year. Under national law an office of up to 750 m² with this heading opens on a notice to the town hall, with no prior licence; the town may still handle parking and a car wash separately. Traffic fines during a short-term rental go to the hirer, so a contract recording the passport, driving licence and handover time protects you from other people’s fines.

Scooters, mopeds and e-scooters

On the coast many owners start with two-wheelers: the entry cost is lower and the tax position simpler. Mopeds and motorcycles up to 250 cc are exempt from registration tax. A customer with a category B licence may ride a moped, and a motorcycle up to 125 cc only if the licence is more than three years old, and only within Spain. Since 2 January 2026 liability insurance is compulsory for e-scooters as well. Street-based e-scooter sharing is a separate matter: the town hall regulates the use of public streets through its own bylaw (ordenanza).

The Balearics and the Canaries: their own registers and fleet caps

Canary Islands

You may start only after notifying the island council (Cabildo) at least 30 days in advance, and the conditions must be reconfirmed every four years. The regional regulation requires:

• at least 20 cars held lawfully — owned, leased or on renting; if the fleet falls below that, you have three months to restore it;
• cars no older than one year when you file, and afterwards no older than 7 years with an engine up to 1,500 cc or 9 years above that;
• garage space for 25% of the fleet on each island at 8 m² per car: for 20 cars, 5 spaces and 40 m²;
• for a non-EU national, a work authorisation sufficient for this activity.

The regulation covers vehicles with three or more wheels, so a two-wheeler rental opens under town hall rules. If the seller of a scooter rental promises “a licence they no longer issue”, find out before paying a deposit what document that is and whose name it is in.

Balearic Islands

On Ibiza, a 2024 law requires rental companies to report daily to the island council (Consell) the number plates of cars entering and leaving the island, and allows the council to cap their number. For the 2026 and 2027 seasons the Consell approved a ceiling of 14,000 rental cars a day; in 2026 it applies from 1 June to 30 September. On Formentera, entry for vehicles is closed on the same dates except for the exemptions in the law, which include rental cars admitted under the quota. On Mallorca, a bill restricting vehicle access, including rent-a-car, went to the regional parliament in June 2026 and targets the 2027 season. So on Ibiza and Formentera, before discussing price, find out how many summer permits the seller holds and whether they pass to you.

Buy a running rental business or build a fleet from scratch

An existing rental business is sold either as a company (an SL, the Spanish limited company) or a stake in one, or as a bundle of cars, office and customers. Asking prices on thinkSPAIN in October 2026:

• a scooter rental in Los Cristianos, Tenerife — €85,000: 13 scooters of 125 and 350 cc and 6 mobility scooters, premises with a garage at €900 a month;
• a 24-car rental in Alicante (SL) with a 10-space garage and a contract for 4 cars at the airport terminal — €250,000;
• 25% of a company with about 80 cars in Alicante — €375,000, which values the whole company at €1,500,000.

These are sellers’ prices, not completed deals. In the Canaries the deal structure matters a great deal: if you buy only the cars, you file your own notice, and at that point the cars must be no more than a year old — the seller’s used fleet will not qualify. Buying the company keeps its notice and its fleet.

What to check before paying a deposit

• Fleet. Number plates and first registration dates; which cars are owned and which are leased or on renting — the seller cannot sell cars that are not theirs.
• Registration tax. The exemption for each car: a sale within two years brings the tax back.
• Insurance and permits. The fleet’s three-year accident history; the Cabildo notice, the Ibiza and Formentera quota, contracts with the airport, hotels and booking platforms — and whether they pass to you.
• Debts and staff. The buyer of a business is liable for the seller’s tax debts and jointly liable for social security debts; the tax agency issues a debt certificate with the seller’s consent, within up to three months. Employees transfer to you, and seller and buyer are jointly liable for debts to them for three years.
• Premises. The remaining term of the office and parking lease: when the lease is assigned, the landlord may raise the rent by 20%.

Selling a running rental business as a whole — cars, office and contracts as a single going concern — is not subject to VAT (IVA). How such deals work is covered in our article on buying an existing business in Spain.

The fleet: registration tax, ITV and insurance

Registration tax

When a car is first registered in Spain, a special tax on means of transport is due. The rate depends on CO₂ emissions: up to 120 g/km — 0%, 120 to 160 — 4.75%, 160 to 200 — 9.75%, 200 g/km and above — 14.75% on the mainland and the Balearics; in the Canaries each band is one point lower, and regions may raise the rates. For a €25,000 crossover (excluding VAT) emitting 140 g/km, that is €1,187.50 per car, or €23,750 for a fleet of 20.

A rental business is exempt if the car is used only for rental, is not rented to the same customer for more than three months in any 12, is not given to related parties, and the tax agency recognised the exemption before registration. Sell the car or stop renting it out within two years and the tax is due as of the date of the change. That is why cars emitting more than 120 g/km stay in the fleet for at least two years.

ITV

Rental cars have no accelerated roadworthiness test (ITV) schedule like taxis or driving-school cars. A passenger car is exempt from the ITV for its first four years, is tested every two years up to ten years, and annually after that. Mopeds are exempt for the first three years, motorcycles for four, then tested every two years. A fleet renewed before the four-year mark hardly ever goes to the ITV.

Insurance and the town hall vehicle tax

Compulsory liability insurance is taken out for each car: the minimum cover is €70 million for personal injury and €15 million for property damage per incident. Rental companies usually insure the whole fleet under one policy and sell customers an excess waiver. The municipal tax on a passenger car of 8–11.99 fiscal horsepower is €34.08 a year under the national rate, and the town hall may double it to €68.16.

Buy, lease or renting

• Purchase. The car is yours; tax depreciation is up to 16% a year. We work out the real loss of value below, from the resale price.
• Leasing. A finance lease with a purchase option: the car belongs to the bank until the final payment, and the contract runs for at least two years.
• Renting. A fixed-term hire with insurance and maintenance included in the payment; the whole payment is an expense and the car goes back at the end. The registration-tax exemption depends on not renting to one customer for more than three months, so check who registers the cars and whether the tax is built into the payment.

A practical set-up for the season: your own core fleet all year round, plus cars for June–September on renting or from another rental company — the regulation allows this, while in the Canaries it is capped at 25% of the fleet. In practice, lenders are reluctant to offer leasing or renting to a new company with no accounts: two members of a tax discussion group reported being asked for a year of trading and at least one set of annual accounts. The first fleet is usually bought with your own money.

The season: where rental works all year

Rental on the islands and the coast lives off foreign tourists, and their flow varies hugely by region:

A Balearic rental earns its money in four or five months; a Canarian one works all year, but entry there is stricter. Seasonal staff are hired on a permanent intermittent contract (fijo-discontinuo), which the law provides precisely for seasonal work.

How much to invest and when the money comes back

Take a rental business with 20 B-segment cars on the Costa Blanca or Costa del Sol: office and parking leased, the owner working in the business, plus two employees. Amounts exclude VAT; apart from the deposit, these are our assumptions. For reference, the Dacia Sandero is listed on the manufacturer’s website from €13,502 (“desde” price, October 2026).

Revenue. From June to September (122 days) the cars are 85% booked at €42 a day; in April, May and October (92 days), 55% at €28; from November to March (151 days), 30% at €20. Including VAT the customer pays €50.82, €33.88 and €24.20. Each car brings in €6,678 a year, 20 cars €133,564. Extras (excess waiver, child seats, additional driver) add 15%: €153,599 in total.

Annual costs. Rent — €18,000. Two employees — €29,778: the 2026 minimum wage of €17,094 plus 30.65% employer contributions gives €22,333 for a full year, and the seasonal employee works 4 months out of 12. Fleet insurance at €900 and maintenance at €700 per car — €32,000. Town hall vehicle tax — €1,363. Software, card acquiring, gestor and advertising — €9,000. Booking platform commissions (half of bookings at 20%) — €13,356. Total: €103,497.

Result. Before depreciation — €50,101 a year. If a car bought for €14,000 sells for €7,500 after three years, depreciation is €43,333 a year for the fleet, leaving a pre-tax profit of €6,768. The money does come back: over three years, €150,304 of cash flow plus €150,000 from selling the cars makes €300,304 against €291,000 invested. But the next cycle means buying a fleet again.

Where the leverage is. If occupancy in every season comes in 5% below plan, the business breaks even. The biggest levers are:

• occupancy 10 percentage points higher in each season — plus €22,512, for a profit of €29,280 a year;
• 10 extra cars on renting for June–September at €550 a month — plus €23,732 per season, if there is demand for them;
• the resale price: every €500 per car adds €3,333 of profit a year across 20 cars.

In the Canaries the tax also affects the result. At a customer price of €40 a day, the business keeps €34.78 on a petrol car (IGIC 15%), €37.38 on a hybrid emitting up to 110 g/km (7%) and the full €40 on an electric car (0%). With 20 cars at 70% occupancy all year — 5,110 rental days — the difference between petrol and electric comes to €26,661 a year. Part of the investment can sometimes be covered by regional subsidies — see our article on business development grants.

Autónomo or SL, VAT and taxes

21% VAT and IGIC in the Canaries

Car rental is charged VAT (IVA) at the standard 21% rate. Input VAT on the fleet is deductible with a caveat: for passenger cars, mopeds and motorcycles the law presumes 50% business use, and rental is not on the list where a 100% presumption applies. A full deduction is supported by a contract for every rental and a fleet log with no private trips. Returns are covered in our article on IVA in Spain. In the Canaries, IGIC replaces VAT, and the rate depends on the vehicle: renting electric cars and bicycles — 0%, hybrids emitting up to 110 g/km and mopeds — 7%, ordinary cars and motorcycles — 15%.

Autónomo

Self-employed status suits a small scooter or bicycle outlet that you run yourself. For the first 12 months the social security contribution is €80 a month, provided you were not autónomo in the previous two years; profit is taxed under progressive personal income tax (IRPF). There is no flat-rate module scheme for car rental in 2026, so tax is calculated on actual profit. More in our article on autónomo taxes and contributions in Spain.

SL

For car rental a company is almost always the better choice: a fleet worth hundreds of thousands of euros and accidents, while liability is limited to the capital contributed. In 2026 a company with turnover below €1 million pays 19% on the first €50,000 of profit and 21% above that; a new company pays 15% in its first profitable year and the year after. Money for the fleet can also go in as a shareholder loan — see our article on funding your own SL; if you run several businesses, consider a holding company.

If you own half the company or more and manage it, social security treats you as autónomo, so a salaried residence permit with your own SL usually does not work. You can set up the SL, tax registration and bank account through our business registration service; the accounts are usually kept by a gestor. A customer deposit is easiest to hold on the card as a pre-authorisation — see our article on card acquiring.

Residence permit for a foreign owner

A non-EU national who runs the rental business personally needs a residence permit allowing self-employment (cuenta propia). The first permit is issued for one year, for one region and one type of activity; you have to show that the business meets the requirements for opening and that the investment is sufficient for the project. For the Canaries this means the business plan already includes 20 cars, a garage and the Cabildo notice — and the islands’ regulation expressly requires a work authorisation from a foreigner.

If you already live in Spain on another basis, you switch through a modification at the immigration office (extranjería) with fee 790-052 — see our article on switching a Spanish residence permit to self-employment. A non-lucrative residence permit does not allow you to run a rental business, and a student visa does so only if the work is compatible with studies. The differences between the regimes are explained in our article on cuenta propia in Spain.

First choose the region and check whether the project will qualify for a residence permit, and only then pay a deposit. If you would like to go through your own case — island or coast, buying or starting, ownership structure — book a consultation.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licence to run a car rental business in Spain?

There is no separate transport licence: national law leaves self-drive rental free. You need tax registration under heading 854.1, an office that meets town hall rules and insurance for every car. The Canaries add a notice to the Cabildo 30 days in advance and a minimum of 20 cars; Ibiza and Formentera add summer quotas.

Can I open a rental business in the Canaries with used cars?

Not as a new company: when the notice is filed with the Cabildo, the cars must be no more than one year old, and later up to 7 or 9 years depending on engine size. A used fleet works only if you buy an operating company together with its notice.

What is the difference between renting and leasing?

Leasing is a finance lease with a purchase option: the car belongs to the bank until the final payment, and the contract runs for at least two years. Renting is a fixed-term hire with insurance and maintenance in the payment; the car goes back at the end and the whole payment is an expense. For a rental business, renting suits the season and leasing the core fleet.

Can I rent a car to a tourist with a foreign driving licence?

Yes, if the licence follows the Geneva or Vienna Convention model and is in Spanish, comes with an official translation or is accompanied by an international driving permit. It is valid for up to six months from the tourist’s entry into Spain, and for a customer resident in Spain, for six months from obtaining residence.

Do rental e-scooters need insurance?

Yes, since 2 January 2026. Liability insurance is compulsory for every e-scooter that has a certificate, an entry in the DGT register and a numbered sticker. An e-scooter that does not meet these three conditions is not formally allowed on the road.

Do I need a licence to rent out scooters and mopeds?

The rental regulation covers vehicles with three or more wheels, so a two-wheeler rental opens under town hall rules. Mopeds and motorcycles up to 250 cc pay no registration tax. A customer with a category B licence may ride a moped, and a motorcycle up to 125 cc only if the licence is more than three years old and only within Spain.

Key points about starting a car rental business in Spain

• Self-drive rental needs no transport licence: you need heading 854.1, an office under town hall rules and insurance for every car.
• Canaries: a Cabildo notice 30 days in advance, at least 20 cars no older than one year when filing, garage space for 25% of the fleet; Ibiza: up to 14,000 rental cars a day in summer 2026.
• Rental fleets are exempt from registration tax if this is recognised before registration; selling a car within two years brings the tax back.
• VAT is 21%; in the Canaries IGIC on rental ranges from 0% for electric cars to 15% for ordinary cars; there is no module scheme.
• A 20-car rental in our model needs €291,000 of investment and leaves a thin profit after depreciation; occupancy, extras, seasonal renting and the resale price decide the outcome.
• A non-EU owner needs a self-employment residence permit.

Sources

Transport and road traffic: Ley 16/1987 (LOTT), arts. 133, 137 and 142.9; Ley 9/2025 de Movilidad Sostenible; RD 1211/1990 (ROTT), arts. 176–177; RDL 6/2015, arts. 7 and 82; RD 818/2009, arts. 4 and 21; RD 920/2017, art. 6.

Islands: Decreto 72/2012 (Canary Islands), arts. 114–123; Ley 5/2024 (Ibiza), art. 6; Consell d’Eivissa decision of 20.03.2026; Ley 7/2019 (Formentera); BOIB No. 27 of 28.02.2026; Mallorca bill, Hosteltur, 18.06.2026.

Taxes: Ley 38/1992, arts. 65, 66 and 70; Ley 37/1992 (IVA), arts. 7.1, 90 and 95; Ley 4/2012 (IGIC), arts. 51 and 59; RDL 1175/1990 (IAE rates), headings 854.1–854.2; RDL 2/2004, arts. 82 and 95; Orden HAC/1425/2025 (2026 modules); Ley 27/2014, arts. 12, 29.1, 106 and transitional provision 44; Ley 20/2007, art. 38 ter; Social Security guide for autónomos; LGSS, arts. 142.1, 168.2 and 305.2.b.

Insurance: RDL 8/2004, arts. 2 and 4; Ley 5/2025, additional provision 1 and final provision 9.

The deal, staff and premises: Ley 12/2012, art. 2 and annex; LAU, arts. 32 and 36; LGT, arts. 42.1.c and 175.2; Estatuto de los Trabajadores, arts. 16 and 44; Orden PJC/297/2026; RD 126/2026 (minimum wage).

Residence: RD 1155/2024, arts. 57, 61, 83 and 84.

Market: INE, FRONTUR — tourists by region and month; Dacia Sandero prices; listings of rental businesses for sale on thinkSPAIN, October 2026: 9819242, 9158271, 10091484, 10023208.