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AJD: stamp duty on notarial deeds

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.

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What AJD taxes, who pays it and how much

AJD is one of the three parts of the tax governed by RDLeg 1/1993. Its graduated charge applies to the first copy of a notarial deed that meets three conditions at once: it has an economic value, it records an act that can be entered in the Land Registry, and that act is not subject to ITP, company transactions tax or inheritance and gift tax (art. 31.2). Buying a new home from a developer fits: the sale pays VAT (IVA), not ITP, and the deed pays AJD.

Each autonomous community sets the rate, which varies across Spain (0% – 2%); where there is no regional rate, in Ceuta and Melilla, the state rate applies with half of it relieved. In the Basque Country and Navarre the tax is governed by their own foral rules. Several regions have reduced rates for a main home, young buyers or large families, always with conditions. The base is the value declared in the deed, which cannot be lower than the Catastro reference value (art. 30.1, as worded by Law 11/2021).

The buyer pays (art. 29). The exception is the mortgage deed: since Royal Decree-Law 17/2018 (November 2018), the lending bank is liable. AJD is self-assessed within the same deadline as ITP: one month in the Valencian Community, two in Andalusia and, where there is no regional rule, 30 working days from signing (art. 102 of RD 828/1995). Add it all up in the purchase costs calculator.

How to pay AJD on the deed step by step

  1. Get your NIE: without it you cannot sign the deed or file the return.
  2. Confirm with the developer that the sale is a first delivery with VAT, meaning the home has not been used, or let without a purchase option, for two years or more.
  3. Check the AJD rate of the region where the home is located and whether you meet the conditions for any reduced rate.
  4. Compare the price with the reference value on the Catastro e-office (Sede Electrónica del Catastro).
  5. Sign the deed before the notary: VAT is included in the price you pay the developer; AJD you pay separately to the regional tax office.
  6. File modelo 600 or your region's form and pay on time.
  7. With the proof of payment, register the deed in the Land Registry.

Common mistakes with AJD

  • Budgeting for VAT only: on a new build AJD comes on top, on the same price.
  • Thinking a resale purchase pays AJD: that deed pays ITP and not the graduated AJD charge.
  • Thinking the mortgage AJD is yours: the bank pays it; the one on your purchase deed is yours.
  • Assuming a reduced rate on a second home: almost all require a main home, and a non-resident buyer usually pays the standard rate.

AJD on new builds and on resale homes

A new build bought from the developer pays two taxes: VAT (IVA) at 10% on the price and AJD on the deed. In the Canary Islands VAT is replaced by IGIC at 7%, and Canarian law sets its own AJD rate for deeds of transactions subject to IGIC or VAT. A VPO under the special or public-promotion regime sold by its developer pays the super-reduced VAT of 4%, and the deed of that first transfer, once final qualification (calificación definitiva) has been obtained, is exempt from AJD (art. 45.I.B.12.c); so is regional protected housing within the state limits on floor area, price and income.

On a resale home the sale is exempt from VAT and pays ITP, and that deed pays no graduated AJD (arts. 7.5 and 31.2). The dividing line is the first delivery: if the developer used the home or let it without a purchase option for two years or more, the sale becomes a second delivery and pays ITP (art. 20.Uno.22 of Law 37/1992). Compare the total cost of both options in the buying guide and browse developments in the new-build catalogue.

Sources and legal basis

Glossary of buying property in Spain

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