Buying property in Spain as a foreigner

General rates for 2026 as listed by the Ministry of Finance survey (common regime communities):

• Cataluna 10% to 13% (scale)
• Galicia 8%
• Andalucia 7%
• Asturias 8% to 10%
• Cantabria 9%
• La Rioja 7%
• Murcia 7.75%
• Comunitat Valenciana 9% (11% when the value is above EUR 1 million) with effect from 1 June 2026
• Aragon 8% to 10%
• Castilla La Mancha 9%
• Canarias 6.5%
• Extremadura 8% to 11%
• Illes Balears 8% to 13%
• Madrid 6%
• Castilla y Leon 8% on the part of value up to a set amount and 10% on the rest

Reduced rates exist in every community for groups such as young buyers, large families and protected housing. Navarra and the Basque Country apply their own foral rules and are not in this survey.

None: the survey lists rates by community and by buyer group, not by nationality or residency.

General rate on notarial documents by community, 2026:

• Canarias and Madrid 0.75%
• La Rioja 1%
• Andalucia and Asturias 1.2%
• Comunitat Valenciana 1.4% with effect from 1 June 2026
• Cataluna, Galicia, Cantabria, Murcia, Aragon, Castilla La Mancha, Extremadura, Illes Balears and Castilla y Leon 1.5%

The Valencian Government tax news page gives the 1.4% general rate for hechos imponibles accrued from 1 June 2026.

Reduced rate of 10% on deliveries of buildings destined to housing, with the usual garage limits, under article 91 of Ley 37/1992 (consolidated text last modified 7 October 2026). New build is charged VAT plus AJD instead of ITP.

Each council sets the rate within a legal range: 0.4% to 1.10% of cadastral value for urban property and 0.3% to 0.90% for rustic property, with councils allowed to add percentage points in some municipalities and to apply surcharges for empty housing.

None: it is charged on the owner of the property.

• Imputed income of 1.1% of cadastral value where values were revised recently (revision in force from 1 January 2012 for 2023 to 2025), otherwise 2%; if no cadastral value exists, 50% of the higher of price or tax agency value at 1.1%.
• Taxed at 19% for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein (from 11 July 2021) and 24% for other taxpayers.
• No expenses are deductible.

The charge applies to non resident owners; the rate depends on the state of residence, not on nationality.

• Non residents are taxed on assets and rights located in Spain only, with an exempt amount of EUR 700,000.
• Residents of other EU and EEA states can choose to apply the regional rules of the community where the main assets are.
• Several communities apply a 100% allowance on the tax (Madrid since 2009; Andalucia, Extremadura, Cantabria and La Rioja later), and Galicia a 50% allowance, subject to adjustments while the temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes is in force.

Real obligation only (Spanish situs assets); residence in the EU or EEA opens the regional rules option.

Rate set by each council with a legal ceiling of 30% of the taxable base.

None: the statute names the seller as taxpayer in onerous transfers.

• Rent is taxed in Spain under the non resident income tax at 19% for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and 24% for all other taxpayers.
• The base is the gross rent, excluding VAT, with no expenses deducted; individuals and entities resident in the EU or EEA (with effective information exchange) may instead deduct expenses allowed by the Spanish personal or corporate income tax, if directly and inseparably linked to the Spanish income, and attach a certificate of tax residence.
• If a property is let for only part of the year, the unlet months use imputed income of 1.1% or 2% of cadastral value.
• Only donation deductions and withholdings already made reduce the tax due.
• If the property is managed in Spain by at least one full time employee, the activity may be treated as a permanent establishment with different rules.

Form 210 is filed for each accrual period. Under Order HAC/623/2026 (BOE 23 June 2026), for returns filed from 1 January 2027:

• rent with tax to pay is filed and paid in the first 20 days of April of the year after accrual, whether filed separately or grouped for the year
• a zero tax return is filed 1 to 20 January of the following year
• a refund return may be filed from 1 February of the following year within four years
• imputed income of urban property is filed from 1 April to 31 December of the year after accrual
• a sale of property is filed within three months counted after the one month that follows the transfer
• direct debit filing windows are 1 to 15 April for rent. Transitional rule: grouped rent for 2026 and separate rent accrued in the last quarter of 2026 follow the new April window
• earlier periods follow the previous quarterly calendar

Short stay lets also need a registration number under Real Decreto 1312/2024 before they can be advertised.

The gain on a sale of Spanish real estate by a non resident is taxed at a flat 19% under the non resident income tax, whatever the state of residence. The gain is the sale value less the acquisition value, which includes price, improvements, acquisition expenses (commission, notary, registry) and acquisition taxes (ITP, AJD, VAT).

• The buyer, whether resident or not, withholds 3% of the agreed price and pays it on form 211 within one month of the transfer; the seller deducts it from the tax due and any excess is refunded.
• The seller reports the sale on form 210 even if the result is a refund.
• The seller's return on form 210 for a sale is due within three months counted after the one month that follows the transfer (Order HAC/623/2026).

A gain on a former main home can be excluded if the full proceeds are reinvested in a new main home, available to residents of an EU member state or an EEA state with effective tax information exchange (code 33 for reinvestment before the sale, 34 after). The buyer still withholds and the seller still files.

• Inheritance and gift tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones) is a state tax ceded to the autonomous communities.
• For a non resident heir the state rules apply by default, with a statutory right to use the rules of a community instead: for an inheritance from a non resident, the community holding the greatest value of Spanish assets (or the heir's community of residence if no Spanish assets); for an inheritance from a resident of a community, that community's rules; for a gift of Spanish real estate, the community where it lies; for a gift of Spanish movable assets, the community where they were located most days in the previous five years.
• The statutory text no longer limits this right to EU or EEA residents.
• Regional differences are large: the Ministry of Finance survey reports about ten communities that have nearly removed the tax for close relatives (100% allowance in Cantabria and Illes Balears, 99.9% in Canarias, 99% in Andalucia, La Rioja, Murcia, Extremadura, Madrid, Castilla y Leon and Comunitat Valenciana), Group I and II being the closest relatives; other communities use partial allowances or the state scale, so the community that applies can change the bill sharply.
• Management: non residents file with the National Tax Management Office (form 650 within 6 months of death, extendable by 6 months if asked in the first 5 months; form 651 for gifts within 30 business days); non residents outside the EU or EEA with no tax information exchange agreement must name a representative resident in Spain; foreign documents need an apostille and sworn translation.

Articles 63 to 67 of Ley 14/2013 were left without content by the final provision 21 of Ley Organica 1/2025 (published in the BOE on 3 January 2025, in force three months after publication, that is 3 April 2025). Applications filed before that date are processed under the old rules, and visas valid on that date keep their validity for the period issued, with renewals under the rules at the initial grant.

closed

Residence without working, with sufficient means (set as a multiple of the IPREM indicator, updated yearly) and health cover, per consular information sheets. Owning property is not itself a qualifying route.

open

Consular information sheets describe a one year visa with a longer residence authorisation on renewal, income linked to the minimum wage, and proof of a remote work relationship; property is not a criterion.

open