Spain tax calculator for property buyers and owners

How this Spain tax calculator works

The Spain tax calculator above covers the three moments when a foreign owner meets Spanish tax: buying, owning and selling. Each section uses the rate tables in our published data file, which we check against the Ministerio de Hacienda's regional tax summary and the laws on the BOE. Below is the arithmetic behind each figure, so you can check it yourself or redo it for a case the tool doesn't cover.

Purchase tax: the property tax calculator for buyers

Resale homes: ITP

When you buy a home that has been lived in before, you pay Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP). Each region sets its own rate. Most use one flat rate; some use bands, like income tax, where each slice of the value is taxed at its own rate.

The calculator uses these general rates. Most regions also have lower rates for young buyers, large families, disabled buyers or cheaper main homes. Those rarely fit a foreign second-home buyer, so the tool leaves them out.

The tax base: price or valor de referencia

Since 2022, ITP is charged on the higher of the price in the deed and the Catastro's valor de referencia. That is an official value for each property, published by the Catastro. If you agree a bargain price below it, you still pay tax on the reference value. You can look it up with the referencia catastral. Enter whichever figure is higher.

New builds: IVA and AJD

A home bought from the developer pays IVA at 10% (4% for some protected housing). On top, the deed pays stamp duty (Actos Jurídicos Documentados, AJD) at the regional rate: 0.75% in Madrid and the Canaries, 1.2% in Andalucía, 1.4% in Valencia and 1.5% in most other regions. In the Canaries, IGIC replaces IVA: the general rate is 7%, with reduced rates for some homes. Ceuta and Melilla use their own IPSI tax. See IVA in Spain.

What the purchase figure leaves out

Notary, land registry, lawyer and bank fees add roughly 1% to 2% on top, as a typical range. Our cost of buying guide breaks them down.

Yearly tax: the spanish tax calculator for owners

A non-resident who owns a Spanish home and doesn't let it still pays income tax on it. Spain treats a percentage of the valor catastral as notional income:

• 1.1% if the town's cadastral values were revised in the last ten years;
• 2% otherwise.

That notional income is taxed at 19% for residents of the EU, Iceland and Norway, and 24% for everyone else, including the UK and the US. It is prorated for days owned and for each owner's share. It is filed on Modelo 210 by 31 December of the following year. The valor catastral is on your IBI bill. See non-resident tax in Spain.

If you let the property, the tax is on the rent instead, and different rules apply. EU/EEA residents can deduct expenses; others pay 24% on the gross rent. The calculator does not model rental income. The town hall's IBI is also separate.

Selling: capital gains and the 3% retention

A non-resident seller pays 19% on the gain. The gain is the sale price, less selling costs, minus the purchase price plus the purchase taxes and fees you paid, and the cost of improvements you can prove with invoices.

The buyer must hold back 3% of the price and pay it to the tax agency on Modelo 211. The seller then files Modelo 210 and either pays the balance or claims back any excess. If you are tax resident in Spain, the savings scale of 19% to 30% applies instead, and there is no retention. See capital gains tax in Spain.

Worked examples

1. Resale flat in Málaga, €300,000

Andalucía charges 7%. The valor de referencia is €270,000, below the price, so the base is €300,000. ITP = €300,000 × 7% = €21,000.

2. Resale villa in Castilla y León, €300,000

€250,000 × 8% = €20,000, plus €50,000 × 10% = €5,000. ITP = €25,000, an effective 8.33%.

3. New-build apartment on the Costa Blanca, €300,000

IVA: €300,000 × 10% = €30,000. AJD in Valencia: €300,000 × 1.4% = €4,200. Total tax = €34,200.

4. A UK owner's yearly tax

Valor catastral €150,000, revised in 2019, so 1.1% applies. Notional income = €1,650. Tax at 24% = €396 a year. An owner in Ireland would pay 19%: €313.50. A couple owning 50/50 each file for half.

5. Selling as a non-resident

Bought for €250,000 with €22,000 of taxes and fees; sold for €350,000 with €10,000 of costs. Gain = €340,000 − €272,000 = €68,000. Tax at 19% = €12,920. The buyer retained 3% of €350,000 = €10,500, so the seller pays the balance of €2,420.

Assumptions and limits

• General regional rates only. No reliefs for age, family, disability or main-home status.
• One buyer or one owner. For joint owners, split the notional income and gains by share.
• No plusvalía, IBI, rubbish fees, community fees or wealth tax. See property taxes in Spain.
• Capital gains for non-residents only, with no reinvestment or over-65 relief. Those reliefs apply to residents and, in some cases, EU/EEA residents.
• Rates as of our last check, shown on the page. We update the data when a region changes its law.

The tax is only half of the picture. Before you buy, it's worth checking that the Catastro and the land registry describe the same property. Enter the address or referencia catastral on our free property check and we'll get back to you by email.