Is the premium refund income or not?

It is cash flow, not income. Its legal nature is a return of shareholder contributions (issue premium): untaxed on receipt, but your cost base falls by the same amount — on sale, the capital gain is correspondingly larger and the tax arrives then (the same family of mechanism as Vonovia's tax contribution account in Germany and the CUCA reimbursement in Mexico). Counting it in 'yield' treats returning principal as profit. This site's rule is uniform: yields count dividends only; refunds are listed separately with their nature stated.

Colonial is at a 46% discount and Merlin at 24% — why does Colonial yield more?

Because the two names' cash is composed differently: Colonial's cash is mostly true dividend (EUR 0.32 and rising), while Merlin's is mostly premium refund (a thin dividend slice). Discount depth measures the market's doubts about assets and governance; dividend yield measures current hard cash — two independent dimensions. That is exactly why this site splits name by name: reading either dimension alone misreads Spain.

Are the SOCIMI 0% tax and mandatory distributions reliable?

They are codified law (Law 11/2009) with conditions and penalties in full (a 15% charge on undistributed profits, loss of status for breaches) — the same family as US REITs and French SIICs: company-level exemption traded for mandatory distribution and public listing. The regime itself is not the risk; the risks are the assets (the office cycle) and the quoting basis — this site's two judgments sit in this entry's risk list and split table respectively.

Opportunity rank #85 (cash-flow board) · Spain

Spain's SOCIMI basket: split the dividend from the premium refund first — then talk about 3.6–6.1% and 24–46% NAV discounts

Our take: Do, with conditions

3.6–6.1% Spain SOCIMI basket: dividend yield and premium-refund split (CNMV basis) · Verified range · Data as of: 2026-11-06

Composite-board score: 6.2 · Where it is strong: Net cash flow, Stability & rule of law · methodology

Data updated: 2026-11-08

Spain's listed property sector (SOCIMIs) is this site's textbook for honest quoting: the sector's cash returns habitually split into a small taxed dividend and a large share-premium refund (prima de emisión) — the latter is a return of capital, untaxed on receipt but reducing your cost base. Adding the two and reporting the sum as 'yield' is Spanish property marketing's standard move; this site splits them name by name. Colonial (prime offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Paris): a 2026 dividend of EUR 0.32 per share (approved in June, paid in July) — 6.1% gross at the EUR 5.27 price, about 4.9% after the 19% non-resident withholding; a further EUR 0.06 premium refund was paid the same day and is not counted in the yield; the price sits at about a 46% discount to EPRA NTA (EUR 9.82), the payout is about 90% of annualised EPRA EPS (statutory floor: 80%), and the dividend record rises yearly (0.28, 0.30, 0.32). Merlin (more diversified: offices plus logistics plus data centres): about EUR 11.60 against EPRA NAV of EUR 15.17, a discount of about 24% — but of its EUR 0.42 of calendar-2025 cash, the bulk was premium refund (the May payment was about EUR 0.205 of refund plus about EUR 0.015 of dividend, with a EUR 0.20 interim dividend in December): its dividend-basis yield is about 3.6%, and the taxed dividend slice alone is thinner still. The regime skeleton is real: 0% corporate tax for qualifying SOCIMIs (Law 11/2009), with mandatory distribution of 80% of other profits, 50% of gains and 100% of qualifying dividends. Verdict: do, on conditions — the condition is in the title: recognise only dividend-basis yields, and book premium refunds as principal returning. The Spain–Singapore treaty's portfolio dividend cap was not verified to source by this site; in-hand figures use the statutory 19%, with no treaty relief pre-booked.

In short: four lines first

What it costs to get in

Listed shares, from any amount (BME access)

Roughly what it earns

3.6–6.1%（Spain SOCIMI basket: dividend yield and premium-refund split (CNMV basis)）

How much work for you

Very hands-off (listed route)

The biggest catch

The numbers that matter

Spain SOCIMI basket: dividend yield and premium-refund split (CNMV basis)

3.6–6.1%

Verified range As of: 2026-11-06 Source: Colonial H1 2026 results (CNMV, 23 Jul 2026): EPRA NTA of EUR 9.82 per share, GAV of EUR 12,082M, LTV 36.7%

Why we think it makes money

Its demonstration value for split discipline is the site's highest: once the dividend/refund method is learned, it applies to every SOCIMI document (and to the sibling problems of Korean depreciation distributions and Mexican capital reimbursements) — a cross-border piece of this site's methodology.

Colonial's dividend record is structural: rising yearly (0.28 to 0.30 to 0.32), paid near the regime's ceiling, at an LTV of only 36.7% — at a 46% discount, its 6.1% gross dividend yield is among the hardest-evidence figures in eurozone listed property.

The decade-long discount history carries its own question: this site prints the question — why has a discount this deep not closed in ten years? — rather than dressing it up as a "mispricing opportunity".

How to actually get in

Listed route: buy Merlin (MRL) and Colonial (COL) through a broker with BME access, with no non-resident restriction. Withholding applies only to the dividend part (19% at source); the premium-refund portion is untaxed, but your broker's cost-base records must be reduced accordingly — tax filings follow the split shown on broker statements.

What it costs, what it earns

Entry amount: Listed shares, from any amount (BME access)
How much work for you: Very hands-off (listed route)

Costs & taxes, item by item:

Euro exposure plus the opportunity cost of a persistent discount: if the discount lies there another decade, the period's total return is the distributions themselves — price on distributions, not on discount repair.
Withholding-refund friction: if the Spain–Singapore treaty cap is below 19%, the excess is reclaimed via Modelo 210 (4-year window) — the time cost counts.

Basis: this site uses full-cost net returns only — income minus vacancy, management, maintenance, taxes and insurance, then financing interest, with entry costs in the denominator. See the methodology。

Identity & tax

Status (residency / citizenship)

无（买房通道已废止）

This asset does not count toward the channel No status channel

Threshold: —

买 SOCIMI 股份、买房都不给身份。西班牙的购房黄金签证已于 2025 年 4 月废止（新申请关闭）；现行与西班牙有关的身份通道在本站身份枢纽：远程工作签证 DNV（远程赛道 7.4 分居首）。本条目纯按现金流评估。

Source: 西班牙政府公报（黄金签证废止）；本站身份枢纽

Tax (investor level)

非居民（无常设机构）SOCIMI 股息预扣 19%（IRNR），协定可降、超额可经 Modelo 210 在 4 年内申请退还。

SOCIMI 制度（Law 11/2009）：满足条件者公司税 0%——上市、资本 ≥€500 万、资产 ≥80% 为城市租赁地产、收入 ≥80% 来自租金/合格股息、资产持有/出租 ≥3 年。
强制分派：合格实体股息的 100%、资本利得的 50%（余须 3 年内再投资）、其他利润的 80%；未分派利润另征 15%（2021 年起）。针对 ≥5% 且自身免税/低税股东的 19% 特别征费是机构条款，不适用于普通组合投资者。
现金回报的构成警告：SOCIMI 惯常把现金拆成小额应税股息 + 大额溢价返还（prima de emisión，资本返还）——溢价返还到账不税、但削减成本基础；把两者相加报「收益率」是全板块营销的通病，本站逐名拆印。

Double-tax treaties: 星西协定的组合股息上限本站本轮未核到 IRAS 原文——到手数按法定 19% 计，协定减免待逐案确认。

Source: CMS SOCIMI 指南；Legal500 西班牙税务指南

This section is general information only — not immigration or tax advice. Program rules change frequently; before acting, rely on the official texts and a licensed adviser.

Risks: what could go wrong

The discount may be a permanent feature: Spanish listed property has traded below NAV for about a decade (rates, the office cycle, sector sentiment) — this site prices on a no-repair baseline and treats any closing as an option. If these happen, our take changes: If both names' discounts narrow systemically inside 15% (EPRA basis), this entry's pricing baseline is revised.

Office concentration: Colonial is a pure prime-office exposure (Madrid/Barcelona/Paris) and Merlin, though more diversified, is office-anchored — the European office rent and valuation cycle is the basket's common variable. If these happen, our take changes: Checked each period against both names' occupancy and EPRA EPS.

Quote pollution's spillover: sector marketing's blended basis (dividend plus refund) will keep manufacturing '8–9% yield' second-hand material — the reader's defence is this site's split table, rechecked yearly against payment notices. If these happen, our take changes: None (information discipline).

What we have not verified yet

The following key figures have not yet been verified; the reason is noted for each item.

The Spain–Singapore treaty's portfolio dividend cap was not verified against the IRAS text: in-hand figures use the statutory 19% withholding, with treaty relief to be confirmed case by case.
Colonial's EUR 0.06 special payment is treated as premium refund on aggregator classification: follow the CNMV payment notice when citing. Merlin's annual split follows its payment notices and CNMV filings.

FAQ

Is the premium refund income or not?: It is cash flow, not income. Its legal nature is a return of shareholder contributions (issue premium): untaxed on receipt, but your cost base falls by the same amount — on sale, the capital gain is correspondingly larger and the tax arrives then (the same family of mechanism as Vonovia's tax contribution account in Germany and the CUCA reimbursement in Mexico). Counting it in 'yield' treats returning principal as profit. This site's rule is uniform: yields count dividends only; refunds are listed separately with their nature stated.
Colonial is at a 46% discount and Merlin at 24% — why does Colonial yield more?: Because the two names' cash is composed differently: Colonial's cash is mostly true dividend (EUR 0.32 and rising), while Merlin's is mostly premium refund (a thin dividend slice). Discount depth measures the market's doubts about assets and governance; dividend yield measures current hard cash — two independent dimensions. That is exactly why this site splits name by name: reading either dimension alone misreads Spain.
Are the SOCIMI 0% tax and mandatory distributions reliable?: They are codified law (Law 11/2009) with conditions and penalties in full (a 15% charge on undistributed profits, loss of status for breaches) — the same family as US REITs and French SIICs: company-level exemption traded for mandatory distribution and public listing. The regime itself is not the risk; the risks are the assets (the office cycle) and the quoting basis — this site's two judgments sit in this entry's risk list and split table respectively.

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Data dates are marked per metric; page updated 2026-11-08. This site publishes information and is not investment advice; the corrections channel is in the Disclaimer。