Buying property in Spain as a Brit: the 2026 tax guide for UK owners
Since Brexit, a British buyer counts as a non-EU buyer for Spanish tax: 24% instead of 19% on rent and deemed income, and no deduction of expenses. UK rules on capital gains and inheritance tax follow you home on top. This guide takes each tax in the order you meet it (buying, owning, letting, selling and passing on) with worked figures checked on 3 November 2026.
If you are UK tax resident and own a Spanish second home, you pay Spanish tax at 24% on rent (on the gross figure) and on deemed income if the home stays empty, and 19% on the gain when you sell, with 3% of the price held back by the buyer. Purchase taxes depend on the region: on a resale, 7% in Andalusia and 6% in Madrid. The UK taxes the same rent and gains but gives credit for Spanish tax paid. The risk to plan for is inheritance: 40% UK inheritance tax can reach a Spanish home if you have lived in the UK for 10 of the last 20 years.
Why a British buyer is taxed differently
Spain sorts taxpayers into residents and non-residents. You are a Spanish tax resident if you spend more than 183 days a year in Spain, if your main economic interests are there, or if your spouse and dependent children live there. A holiday home does not change that, so you are a non-resident owner. Since Brexit, a UK resident is treated as living outside the EU and EEA, which is why the rate on rent and deemed income is 24% and not 19%. Gains on a sale are the exception: 19% for everyone.
This guide assumes you are UK tax resident and own, or plan to buy, a Spanish home that is not your main residence. If you move to Spain for good you become a Spanish tax resident and the rules change: see our guide to retiring in Spain.
Buying: the taxes at completion
The tax depends on what you buy. A resale home pays transfer tax (ITP), set by each region and calculated on the higher of the price and the cadastral reference value. A new build pays 10% VAT plus stamp duty (AJD), also regional. Here is what they come to on a 400,000 euro purchase, with the rates in force on 3 November 2026.
| Region | Resale: transfer tax (ITP) | New build: 10% VAT + stamp duty (AJD) |
|---|---|---|
| Andalusia | 7%: 28,000 euros | 40,000 + 1.2% (4,800): 44,800 euros |
| Valencian Community | 9%: 36,000 euros | 40,000 + 1.4% (5,600): 45,600 euros |
| Madrid | 6%: 24,000 euros | 40,000 + 0.75% (3,000): 43,000 euros |
| Catalonia | 10% up to 600,000 euros: 40,000 euros | 40,000 + 1.5% (6,000): 46,000 euros |
Notary and land registry fees come on top. Registry fees usually run 100 to 400 euros for a home purchase, and notary fees follow an official scale that starts at 90.15 euros plus a percentage of the price. Tinsa puts the total cost of a purchase, taxes included, at roughly 10% of the price. Andalusia has a cut to 6.75% planned for 2027, and the rate that counts is the one on the day of the deed at the notary. Our guide to property taxes and buying costs keeps every region up to date.
Want to work out your exact budget? Our purchase costs simulator calculates transfer tax, notary fees and the rest by price and region.
Owning: the yearly bill, even if you never rent
Two taxes arrive every year. The first is the municipal property tax, IBI, which runs from 0.4% to 1.10% of the cadastral value depending on the town, and the owner on 1 January pays the full year (see our IBI guide). The second is non-resident income tax (IRNR), which applies even if you never let the home. You are taxed on a deemed income of 1.1% of the cadastral value if it was revised in the last 10 years, or 2% if it was not.
Take a cadastral value of 150,000 euros, revised recently. Deemed income is 1,650 euros. At 24% a UK resident pays 396 euros, where an EU or EEA resident would pay 313.50 euros at 19%. You file modelo 210 by 31 December of the following year, and residents outside the EU and EEA must appoint a fiscal representative. A missed return costs a fixed 200 euros (100 euros if you file late on your own initiative), and unpaid IRNR can block a later sale or inheritance. Our non-resident tax guide covers the filing step by step.
The deemed income formula may change. Decree-law 29/2026 would replace the flat 1.1% and 2% with a sliding scale from 1 January 2027. It must be validated by the Permanent Deputation of Congress, which votes on 12 November. See our election guide for the scale and the status.
Non-residents also owe Spanish wealth tax on their Spanish assets only. The national scale runs from 0.2% to 3.5% above an allowance of 700,000 euros, and regions can change the rates or offer relief. The temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes applies only above 3 million euros of net Spanish assets.
Letting: 24% on gross rent
If you let the home, you file modelo 210 every quarter, online, by 20 April, 20 July, 20 October and 20 January. A UK resident pays 24% on the gross rent with no deductions. A resident of the EU or EEA deducts mortgage interest, insurance, community fees, repairs, IBI and management costs first, then pays 19%. Here is the gap on 10,000 euros of rent and 3,000 euros of expenses.
| UK resident | EU or EEA resident | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable base | 10,000 euros (no deductions) | 7,000 euros |
| Rate | 24% | 19% |
| Spanish tax due | 2,400 euros | 1,330 euros |
The rent is also taxable in the UK, where you declare it on your return. Under the UK-Spain double tax treaty you get credit for the Spanish tax paid, up to the UK tax due on the same income. The UK lets you deduct expenses that Spain refuses, so the UK profit is lower than the Spanish base and part of the Spanish tax can go unrelieved. Ask a UK tax adviser to run the numbers before you price your rent.
Watch out if you plan holiday lets. Local licensing rules are strict, and decree-law 29/2026 would add 10% VAT on some furnished lets from 1 December if it is validated. Our landlord guide covers long-term lets.
Selling: Spanish and UK tax
Spain taxes the gain at a flat 19%, whether you live in the EU or the UK. The buyer withholds 3% of the price and pays it with modelo 211 within one month, as an advance on your tax. About four months after the sale you file modelo 210 to pay the balance or to claim back the excess. Take a sale at 400,000 euros with a taxable gain of 80,000 euros once the purchase price, costs and improvements are deducted.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | 400,000 euros |
| Taxable gain | 80,000 euros |
| Spanish tax at 19% | 15,200 euros |
| Withheld by the buyer (3% of the price) | 12,000 euros |
| Balance to pay with modelo 210 | 3,200 euros |
Had the sale produced no gain, you could reclaim the full 12,000 euros. Separately, the town hall charges a local tax on the rise in land value (plusvalía municipal), normally paid by the seller. The coefficients may change from 1 December 2026, as explained in our plusvalía guide, and our capital gains guide goes deeper on the sale itself.
The UK taxes the same gain. A UK resident pays capital gains tax on worldwide property gains at 18% within the basic rate band (37,700 pounds in 2026 to 2027) and 24% above it, after an annual exempt amount of 3,000 pounds. The gain is worked out in sterling, so the exchange rate at purchase and at sale counts. In the simplified example above, a higher-rate taxpayer would owe 24% of 80,000, which is 19,200 euros, less the 15,200 euros paid to Spain: a UK top-up of about 4,000 euros, before the annual exempt amount and the exchange rate effect.
Inheritance: where Brits get caught out
The UK side. Since 6 April 2025, UK inheritance tax follows residence, not domicile. If you have been UK resident for 10 of the previous 20 tax years, you are a long-term UK resident, and your worldwide assets count, including a Spanish home you own outright. The rate is 40% above the 325,000 pound nil-rate band, which can reach 500,000 pounds if you leave your home to children or grandchildren. Leaving the UK does not switch this off at once: the status can last up to 10 tax years after you leave, and as little as 3 years if you lived in the UK for 10 to 13 of the last 20 years.
The Spanish side. Spanish inheritance tax is paid by the heirs, not by the estate, within six months of the death (an extension of six months exists if you ask within five). For a non-resident the state rules applied by default, which are heavier than most regional rules. A Supreme Court ruling of February 2018 held that this treatment of residents outside the EU and EEA breached the free movement of capital, and heirs in third countries, the UK included, can now claim the regional rules of the region where the property sits. Regions differ widely: Madrid and Andalusia apply a 99% reduction for the closest relatives, subject to conditions.
Avoiding a double charge. The UK has no inheritance tax treaty with Spain (the gov.uk list names Ireland, South Africa, the USA, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, plus older treaties with France, Italy, India and Pakistan). HMRC grants a unilateral credit for the Spanish tax paid on the Spanish property, capped at the UK tax on that asset. A Spanish will for your Spanish assets makes probate easier, and under EU Regulation 650/2012 a UK will can govern them if it chooses UK law, so have both wills coordinated by a Spanish lawyer and a UK adviser.
Plan inheritance before you buy. How you hold the property (one name, joint names, a company) changes both the UK and the Spanish bill. Ask a cross-border tax adviser before signing at the notary, not after.
Spain and the UK side by side
| Situation | Spain (UK-resident owner) | UK (UK-resident owner) |
|---|---|---|
| Owning, home not let | IBI of 0.4% to 1.10% of cadastral value, plus deemed income taxed at 24% | No income, nothing to report |
| Letting | 24% on gross rent, no deductions, filed quarterly | Rent taxable at UK rates, with credit for Spanish tax |
| Selling | 19% on the gain, 3% held back by the buyer | Capital gains tax at 18% or 24%, 3,000 pounds exempt, with credit for Spanish tax |
| Inheritance | Paid by heirs within 6 months, regional rules can be claimed | 40% above 325,000 pounds for long-term UK residents, with credit for Spanish tax |
What the 29 November election could change
Spain votes on 29 November 2026, and the Permanent Deputation of Congress decides on decree-law 29/2026 on 12 November. For a British owner, two points are open: the deemed income scale from 2027 and the VAT on some holiday lets. Transfer tax, IBI, the 19% rate on gains and the inheritance rules above are set by other texts. A proposal to tax non-EU buyers at up to 100% was floated in January 2025 and never adopted. Our election guide tracks each measure and we update this page when the picture changes.
How we know: our advisers and legal team follow these texts because they apply directly to the files we handle through to completion at the notary. This guide was checked on 3 November 2026 against the Spanish tax agency, the gov.uk pages on capital gains tax rates and on inheritance tax for long-term UK residents, and our own guides on transfer taxes, non-resident tax and plusvalía. Rules change, and your case may differ: confirm it with a tax adviser before you act.
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FAQ: tax on a Spanish property for British owners
Do I pay Spanish tax if I never rent out my Spanish home?
Yes. A non-resident owner files a Spanish return (modelo 210) every year on a deemed income of 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value, taxed at 24% for a UK resident. On a cadastral value of 150,000 euros revised in the last 10 years, that is 396 euros. The return is due by 31 December of the following year, and a fiscal representative is required for residents outside the EU and EEA.
Am I taxed twice, in Spain and in the UK?
On rent and on gains, both countries can tax you, but the UK-Spain double tax treaty gives UK residents a credit for the Spanish tax paid. The credit is capped at the UK tax due on the same income or gain, so you can owe a top-up in the UK when the UK rate is higher. Inheritance has no treaty, but HMRC allows unilateral relief for the Spanish tax.
Did Brexit change the tax rate for British owners?
Yes, for rent and deemed income: 24% instead of 19%, and no deduction of expenses on rent. It did not change the tax on gains, which is 19% flat for every non-resident seller, EU or not.
What is the 3% withholding when I sell?
The buyer keeps 3% of the price and pays it to the Spanish tax office with modelo 211 within one month. It is an advance on your tax, calculated on the price and not on the gain. About four months after the sale you file modelo 210 to pay the balance or to claim back the excess. If there is no gain, you can reclaim all of it.
Can UK inheritance tax apply to my Spanish home?
Yes. If you have been UK resident for 10 of the previous 20 tax years you are a long-term UK resident, and your worldwide assets, including a Spanish home you own outright, count for UK inheritance tax. The rate is 40% above the 325,000 pound nil-rate band. HMRC gives a credit for Spanish inheritance tax paid on the Spanish property.
Should I wait for the Spanish election before buying?
Most costs in this guide do not depend on it. The election on 29 November 2026 and decree 29/2026 matter mainly for holiday lets and for the deemed income scale from 2027. A proposal to tax non-EU buyers at up to 100% was floated in January 2025 but never adopted. Our election guide has the dates and the details.