Glossary of buying property in Spain
Buying in Spain comes with words that have no exact equivalent at home: the deed is an escritura, the registry extract is a nota simple, and there are three different taxes on the purchase alone. This glossary explains twelve of them in plain English, each with the law it comes from and what it means for you as a buyer.
- Taxes: IBI, ITP, AJD, IRNR and plusvalía municipal.
- Documents: NIE, nota simple, escritura and cédula de habitabilidad.
- Building status: AFO and VPO.
- Living in a building: comunidad de propietarios.
Each term links to the guide or calculator where it matters. To see them in order, start with the buying guide; to put figures on the taxes, use the purchase costs calculator. Rates come from our tax table, with the date they were checked; the definitions are general information, not legal advice.
- NIE
The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is the personal, unique number Spain uses to identify a foreigner, and the one you need to sign the purchase deed and pay your taxes.
- IBI
IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) is the yearly property tax each Spanish town hall charges the owner of a property on its cadastral value.
- ITP
ITP (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales) is the state tax, ceded to the autonomous communities, that the buyer of a resale home in Spain pays on the price in the deed or, if higher, on the Catastro reference value.
- AJD
AJD (Actos Jurídicos Documentados) is the state stamp duty, ceded to the autonomous communities, on registrable notarial deeds that the buyer of a new home from a developer pays on top of VAT.
- IRNR
IRNR (Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes) is the income tax that people who are not resident in Spain pay on Spanish income, including the income a home they own is deemed to produce.
- Plusvalía municipal
The plusvalía municipal (IIVTNU) is a town-hall tax on the increase in the value of urban land that shows up when a home is sold, inherited or given away.
- Nota simple
A nota simple is an information extract from the Spanish Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) showing who owns a property, how it is described and which charges are registered against it.
- Escritura pública
The escritura pública de compraventa is the deed of sale that buyer and seller sign before a Spanish notary, and the document that transfers ownership of the home.
- Cédula de habitabilidad
The cédula de habitabilidad is the official document certifying that a home meets the minimum conditions to be lived in; in regions that do not use it, a licence or a declaración responsable of occupancy plays that role.
- AFO (asimilado a fuera de ordenación)
AFO (asimilado a fuera de ordenación) is the status Andalusia gives to a building put up without a licence once the deadline to restore planning legality has passed: it can be bought, but it is not legalised.
- VPO (vivienda de protección oficial)
A VPO (vivienda de protección oficial, today usually called "vivienda protegida") is a home classified by the authorities that, in exchange for public support, has a maximum price, must be the owner's main residence and can only be bought by people who meet the requirements.
- Comunidad de propietarios
The comunidad de propietarios is the community of the owners of a building or development divided into separate homes, governed by Spain's Horizontal Property Act (LPH).
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