What buying property in Spain actually costs on top of the price

The cost of buying property in Spain adds roughly ten to thirteen per cent to the purchase price, a commonly used planning range that covers the purchase tax and all the professional fees. Which tax applies, and therefore where inside that range you land, depends on whether you are buying a resale from a private owner or a new build from a developer.

Treat that range as something to set a search budget against, not as a quotation. What follows is what each cost is, how it is calculated and who sets it, so that you can have the exact figure worked out on a specific property before you sign anything.

Why this page does not print tax rates

The largest single item is set regionally and has been changed by the regions within recent memory. A number written into a page goes stale silently, without anybody noticing that the reader is now being misled, so these guides explain the mechanism and name the authority instead. You can then check the current figure at the source, or ask us to work it out for a specific property.

One page on this site does the arithmetic rather than describing it, the Mallorca purchase cost calculator, and it prints the date its rates were last checked next to the result.

The one big tax, in two versions

Which tax applies depends on whether you are buying a resale or a new build direct from the developer. This is the single largest variable in the whole calculation and it is worth getting right early, because the two routes are taxed under entirely different regimes. An identical price on a resale and on a new build produces different totals.

Resale: transfer tax (ITP). Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales is paid by the buyer, and it is a regional tax. The autonomous community sets the rate, not the Spanish state. A percentage quoted for “Spain” with no region attached tells you nothing dependable about the property in front of you.

New build from the developer: VAT plus stamp duty. A first transfer from a developer attracts VAT (IVA) rather than transfer tax. VAT applies to the agreed price at the residential rate, which is set nationally. On top of it comes stamp duty (AJD, Actos Jurídicos Documentados) on the notarised deed, and that rate is again regionally set.

Two things buyers routinely miss. You never pay both regimes on the same purchase: it is transfer tax, or VAT plus stamp duty, never both. And “new build” for tax purposes means the first transfer from the developer, so a two-year-old apartment being sold on by its first owner is a resale. If you are buying before completion, read this alongside buying off-plan in Spain.

Regional differences: Andalusia and the Balearics

Because the autonomous community sets both the transfer tax rate and the stamp duty rate, the same price produces a different tax bill depending on where the property is. Rates written for Catalonia do not carry over to another region. The Balearic rates differ from Andalusia’s, and each region publishes its own through its own authority.

Andalusia (Marbella and the Costa del Sol). The authority is the Agencia Tributaria de Andalucía, which publishes the transfer tax and stamp duty rates for the region. Andalusia also operates reduced rates for certain buyers and certain circumstances. Whether any of them applies to you depends on facts about you rather than about the property, so it is a question for your adviser and not something a website can answer. The regional picture for buyers is in buying property in Marbella.

Balearic Islands (Mallorca). The authority is the Agència Tributària de les Illes Balears, ATIB, and there the transfer tax is banded rather than flat. Successive slices of the price carry rising rates, so the effective rate climbs with the purchase price and never matches the headline figure for the top band. Stamp duty on a new build is set by the Balearic government as well. The bands themselves, the mistake most online estimates make with them, and a calculator that applies them are on the cost of buying property in Mallorca.

The reference value

One number decides the tax and it is not the one you negotiate. Since 2022 Spain has used a valor de referencia, a reference value published by the Cadastre for most properties. Where it exists it acts as a minimum taxable base: if the reference value is higher than the price you actually agreed, transfer tax is calculated on the reference value and not on the price.

The consequence is blunt. Buying below the reference value does not reduce the tax, so a bargain on price is not a bargain on tax. This surprises people regularly.

The reference value is published and can be checked at the Cadastre before you make an offer, free of charge. It can be challenged, but challenging it is a process with its own cost and its own timeline, so the useful moment to look is before signing rather than after the assessment arrives. Checking it is part of what we do on a purchase; it is also something you can do yourself through the Cadastre’s electronic office.

For a new build bought from the developer this applies only in part. VAT replaces transfer tax there, and VAT is charged on the price you agreed. For the stamp duty that comes on top, the reference value remains the floor of the taxable base.

The professional costs

These are broadly comparable whichever tax route applies, and most of them are set on published tariffs rather than negotiated.

Notary. The public deed is executed before a notary, whose fees follow an official scale set by the deed value and its complexity. It is not a negotiated fee and it does not vary meaningfully between notaries. The buyer normally picks the notary, which makes that a question of convenience rather than of cost.

Land Registry. Registering the deed in your name follows its own official scale. Registration is what makes your ownership effective against third parties, so it is not optional in any real sense.

Gestoría. An administrative agency that handles the filings: tax forms, registry submission, sometimes utilities. It charges a modest fee and is frequently bundled by the bank where there is a mortgage.

Independent lawyer. Not legally required, and the single expense we would argue hardest against economising on. The notary’s role is to verify identity and the legality of the deed itself, not to protect your interests in the negotiation or to investigate the property’s history. That is what your lawyer does; see also the nota simple. A percentage of the price with a minimum is common, though fixed fees are negotiable and often more sensible on an expensive property.

The three tariffed items move with the price and with how complicated the deed is: extra buyers on the deed, a mortgage, a newly declared extension. Quoting one number for any of them would be false precision, so a range is the honest answer, and your lawyer can give you a tight one for a specific property. Added together the professional costs are real money, and none of them can be financed.

Who pays what, between buyer and seller

Customarily the buyer carries the transfer tax, or the VAT and stamp duty, along with the registry and the notary. The seller carries plusvalía municipal, the agency commission and their own gains tax. It is custom rather than law, and what the contract says is what applies. The seller’s side of the same transaction is set out in selling property in Spain.

Agency commission is normally paid by the seller and is normally already reflected in the asking price. A buyer who is separately asked to pay a commission should ask what exactly is being charged and by whom.

Our own position is stated plainly because it is the reason this firm exists: we advise, we do not carry a developer’s stock, and we are not paid to move a particular property. That does not make us free. It makes the basis of our fee something you should ask about directly.

If there is a mortgage

A Spanish mortgage adds costs of its own: the lender’s valuation, the lender’s arrangement fee where one applies, and the mortgage deed. Under current Spanish rules the distribution of mortgage-related costs between lender and borrower is not what it was a decade ago, so old guidance circulating online is unreliable here. Ask the lender for the full breakdown in writing before you commit.

Then the part where budgets actually break. Spanish lenders advance against the property price, which means the taxes and fees above are yours to fund from cash, on top of the deposit. A buyer who calculated the deposit correctly and forgot this arrives at completion short. Non-resident buyers should also expect a lower maximum loan-to-value than a resident would be offered, which changes the cash requirement rather than the cost. The lender’s side of all this is set out in mortgages for non-residents.

What is not a purchase cost but arrives immediately afterwards

• IBI, the annual municipal property tax, charged by the town hall.
• Community fees, in any development with shared grounds or facilities.
• Rubbish collection and similar local charges.
• The annual non-resident return, if you own Spanish property and are not tax resident in Spain. Spain expects a filing on the property even in a year when it produced no income.

We list them here because they belong in the same conversation. The purchase cost is a one-off; these are the running cost, and together they are what ownership actually costs. They are set out in non-resident property tax.

How to budget on a specific property

Ask for the full figure on that property, in writing, before the reservation. It should name:

• which tax applies, transfer tax or VAT plus stamp duty
• the taxable base being used, and whether the reference value exceeds the price
• notary and registry, as a range
• legal fees
• gestoría, if used
• mortgage costs, if any

If the answer to any of those comes back as “roughly”, it is too early to sign.

Frequently asked questions

How much does buying property in Spain cost on top of the price?

Roughly ten to thirteen per cent is a common planning range, covering transfer tax or VAT plus stamp duty, notary, Land Registry and legal fees. Where you fall inside it depends on the region, on the price band, and on whether you are buying a resale or a new build from the developer. With a real property in front of you, the figure can be worked out precisely.

Who sets the transfer tax rate in Spain?

The autonomous community, not the Spanish state. In Andalusia the authority is the Agencia Tributaria de Andalucía; in the Balearic Islands it is ATIB, which charges progressively across price bands. That is why a figure written for another region, or for Spain as a whole, does not apply to the property you are buying.

Do I pay VAT or transfer tax?

VAT plus stamp duty on a new build bought from a developer; transfer tax on a resale bought from a private owner. Never both. “New build” means the first transfer from the developer, so a recently built property being sold on by its first owner counts as a resale for tax purposes.

What is the reference value and why does it matter?

It is a value published per property by the Cadastre. Where it exceeds the agreed price, transfer tax is assessed on it instead of on what you paid, so buying below it does not reduce the tax. It can be checked at the Cadastre free of charge before you make an offer, which is the useful moment to do it.

Can I add the purchase costs to my mortgage?

No. A Spanish mortgage is advanced against the property price only, so the tax and the professional fees sit outside the loan and have to be met from your own funds at completion. Non-resident buyers should also expect a lower maximum loan-to-value than a resident would be offered, which raises that requirement further. Ask the lender for the full breakdown in writing.

Do I need a lawyer to buy property in Spain?

It is not a legal requirement, and it is the expense we would argue hardest against skipping. The notary verifies identity and the legality of the deed itself; the notary does not investigate the property’s history or represent your interests in the negotiation. An independent lawyer does both.