Property Taxes and Buying Costs in Spain (2026 Guide for Foreign Buyers and Owners)

Spanish property taxes trip up a lot of foreign buyers, mostly because there isn’t one national rate. The tax you pay when you buy depends on the region, on whether the home is new or resale, and sometimes on the price. Then there are yearly taxes on the home itself, and another set of taxes when you sell.

This guide brings it all together for 2026: what you pay when you buy, what you pay every year as an owner (resident or not), and what you pay when you sell. Each part links to a detailed article, and you can get a personalised estimate with our Spain purchase taxes simulator.

In short: resale homes pay transfer tax (ITP), new builds pay 10% VAT plus stamp duty (AJD), owners pay IBI to the town hall every year, non-residents also pay non-resident income tax, and sellers pay tax on their capital gain plus the municipal plusvalía. Figures below were checked in October 2026.

Taxes when you buy a resale home: ITP

The Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP) applies to second-hand homes bought from a private seller. It’s a regional tax, so each autonomous community sets its own rate. It’s calculated on the higher of the price in the deed and the cadastre’s reference value (valor de referencia), which is worth knowing if you negotiate a price well below market.

Sources: Valencia, Ley 5/2025 of the Generalitat (DOGV, 31 May 2025), as summarised by Garrigues; Murcia, Ley 3/2025 of the Región de Murcia (BBVA note, September 2025); Catalonia, Decreto Ley 5/2025 (Osborne Clarke); Andalusia, Ley 5/2021, article 41; other rates as compiled by guiafiscal.es (August to October 2026). Reduced rates exist for young buyers, large families and people with disabilities, but they’re generally tied to buying a main residence and rarely apply to non-resident buyers.

In Catalonia the brackets are progressive: on an €800,000 home you pay 10% on the first €600,000 and 11% on the remaining €200,000. Our detailed guide to taxes when purchasing a property in Spain includes worked examples.

Taxes when you buy a new build: VAT and AJD

When you buy a new home from a developer, you don’t pay ITP. Instead you pay VAT (IVA) at 10% of the price (4% for certain officially protected homes), plus the stamp duty Actos Jurídicos Documentados (AJD), set by each region. General AJD rates in 2026 include 1.2% in Andalusia, 1.4% in the Valencia region (down from 1.5% on 1 June 2026), 1.5% in Catalonia, Murcia and the Balearics, and 0.75% in Madrid (guiafiscal.es, August to October 2026; Garrigues for Valencia).

In the Canary Islands, new builds pay IGIC instead of VAT. If you’re looking at off-plan homes, make sure the developer provides a bank guarantee or insurance for your stage payments.

Notary, Land Registry and other buying costs

Notary and Land Registry fees are regulated by official scales (Real Decreto 1426/1989 for notaries and Real Decreto 1427/1989 for the registry). Notary fees start from a base of €90.15 and add a decreasing percentage of the price, and the registry usually charges €100 to €400 for a home purchase (Tinsa, April 2026). Tinsa estimates total costs including taxes at roughly 10% of the price (April 2026).

Add legal checks, translations and, if you take a mortgage, a valuation. Since 2018, the bank pays the AJD on the mortgage deed. Our guide to the Spanish notary explains who chooses the notary and what they do.

Yearly taxes for owners

IBI, the local property tax

Every owner pays the Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles (IBI) to the town hall. It’s calculated on the cadastral value, at a rate set by each municipality between 0.4% and 1.10% for urban property (Ley de Haciendas Locales, article 72). Whoever owns the home on 1 January pays for the whole year. Cadastral values are usually below market value, so check the last IBI receipt before you buy. Read our IBI property tax guide for examples and how it’s shared at completion.

Non-resident income tax (IRNR)

If you’re not a Spanish tax resident, you pay Spanish income tax on your Spanish home even if you never rent it out. When it’s for your own use, the taxable income is a notional 2% of the cadastral value, or 1.1% if the cadastral value was revised in the last ten years. The tax rate is 19% for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, and 24% for everyone else, including US and UK residents (Agencia Tributaria, consulted October 2026). It’s declared on form 210.

If you rent the property out, you pay tax on the rental income instead, at the same 19% or 24%. EU and EEA residents can deduct expenses; others are taxed on the gross income. Our non-resident tax (IRNR) guide covers the calculation and deadlines.

Wealth tax and the solidarity tax

Spain also has a wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio). Non-residents are taxed only on assets located in Spain, with a tax-free allowance of €700,000, and the national scale runs from 0.2% to 3.5% (Agencia Tributaria). Regions can change the rates or offer relief.

On top of that sits the temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes (ITSGF), which applies to net wealth above €3 million. Non-residents are caught only if their net Spanish assets exceed that threshold. The tax is still being applied: form 718 for 2025 was filed in July 2026, and an order published in the BOE on 29 June 2026 (Orden HAC/652/2026) updated the form. For most buyers of a single holiday home, neither tax will apply, but it’s worth checking if you own several properties or large Spanish assets.

All of this is explained in more depth in real estate taxes in Spain.

Taxes when you sell

Capital gains tax

The gain is the difference between what you paid (plus purchase costs and improvements) and what you sell for (minus selling costs). Spanish residents pay the savings scale of 19% to 30%, with the top 30% rate applying above €300,000 of savings income since 1 January 2025 (Ley 7/2024). Non-residents pay a flat 19% (Agencia Tributaria).

When the seller is a non-resident, the buyer must withhold 3% of the price and pay it to the Tax Agency with form 211 within one month. The seller then files form 210, and the 3% is credited against the tax due, with any excess refunded. See our capital gains tax guide.

Plusvalía municipal

The municipal plusvalía (IIVTNU) taxes the increase in value of the land, not the building. Since Real Decreto-ley 26/2021, you can choose between an objective method based on the cadastral land value and coefficients, and the real gain, and you pay nothing if there was no gain. Each town sets its rate up to a maximum of 30% (Valencia applies 29.7%, guiafiscal.es, October 2026). The seller normally pays it and must declare it within 30 working days of the sale. Full details in plusvalía municipal explained.

Worked example: a €300,000 resale apartment

To see how much the region matters, here’s the transfer tax alone on a €300,000 resale apartment at the general 2026 rates:

That’s a €12,000 gap between the cheapest and the most expensive of these regions, before notary, registry and legal fees. Now the yearly side: say the same apartment has a cadastral value of €100,000, revised in the last ten years. As a non-resident who doesn’t rent it out, your notional income is 1.1% of €100,000, so €1,100. At 19% (EU resident) that’s €209 a year; at 24% (US or UK resident) it’s €264. IBI comes on top, at your town’s rate.

These are illustrations, not a quote. Our simulator does the maths for your region and price.

Residents vs non-residents: what changes

The taxes you pay when you buy are the same whether you live in Spain or not. The difference shows up afterwards. Spanish tax residents (broadly, people who spend more than 183 days a year in Spain or have their main centre of interests here) declare worldwide income and don’t pay the notional tax on their main home. Non-residents pay Spanish tax only on Spanish income, including the notional income on a home they keep for their own use, and they’re taxed at a flat 19% or 24%.

Whichever side you’re on, you’ll need an NIE to buy, pay taxes and file returns. If you’re financing the purchase, read Spanish mortgages for foreigners too: mortgage costs are part of your budget, even though the bank now pays the stamp duty on the loan.

Practical tips to keep your tax bill under control

• Check the region before you fall for the house. The same €400,000 resale home costs €24,000 in ITP in Madrid, €28,000 in Andalusia and €36,000 in the Valencia region.
• Keep every invoice. Purchase costs and documented improvements reduce your capital gain when you sell.
• Look at the cadastral value. It drives IBI and non-resident tax every year.
• Plan the rental side. Rental income must be declared, and tourist lets need a licence in most regions (see our guide to investing in Spanish property).
• Get advice for complex cases. Buying through a company, inheritance planning or double tax treaties are worth a proper consultation.

How SpainEasy can help

We’re a buyer’s agent: we search, visit, negotiate and accompany you until the notary, and our in-house legal team checks the property before you commit. We’ll give you a realistic budget including taxes from the very first call, and our fees are published, with the start-up fee refunded when you buy. For the full journey, start with our complete guide to buying property in Spain, or see how we work.