Buying property in Spain: the whole process
Buying a house in Spain takes six steps: NIE number, bank account, checks, reservation and contract, deed before a notary, registration. What changes the final cost most is whether the home is new or resale: a new build pays VAT (IVA) and stamp duty (AJD); a resale home pays transfer tax (ITP). Below are each step and each cost, with the law behind it.
1. NIE number
The Número de Identidad de Extranjero is required to sign the deed, pay taxes and open a bank account. It is an identification number, not a residence permit. You apply with form EX-15 at an immigration office or National Police station in Spain, or at the Spanish consulate where you live.
2. Bank account
An account with a Spanish bank — a non-resident account if you do not live in Spain — is used to pay the developer or seller, utility bills and taxes. The deed records how the price was paid, so payments must be traceable.
3. Checks before you reserve
For a resale home: a nota simple from the Land Registry (owner and charges), the latest IBI council tax receipt, and a certificate from the community of owners that there are no debts. For a new build: the building licence, the specification (memoria de calidades), a written completion date and the guarantee for stage payments (step 4). A lawyer who does not work for the developer can run these checks for you.
4. Reservation and contract: paying for an off-plan home
The reservation takes the home off the market; the amount and refund terms are in the reservation document. Then comes the private purchase contract with the payment schedule: part on signing, more during construction, the rest at the deed.
Money you pay the developer towards the price before completion must be guaranteed by law. The first additional provision of Law 38/1999 on Building Regulation (Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación, LOE), as worded by Law 20/2015, requires the developer, from the moment it holds the building licence, to guarantee those payments — plus taxes and statutory interest — with a surety insurance policy or a bank guarantee, and to pay them into a special account kept apart from its other funds. If building does not start or the home is not delivered on time, you can cancel and get your money back with interest, or agree to an extension. If the developer has not repaid within thirty days of your formal written demand (requerimiento fehaciente), you claim from the insurer or the bank. Ask for the guarantee certificate for every payment and pay only into the special account.
5. The deed (escritura)
When the building is finished — with a first occupation licence or a declaración responsable, depending on the region — you sign the deed before a notary, pay the balance and get the keys. A mortgage is signed in the same appointment. For a resale home, the deed follows once the conditions of the deposit contract (arras) are met.
6. Taxes and registration
AJD or ITP is paid to the regional tax office — in most regions with form 600 — within the deadline your region sets (one month in most). The deed is then entered in the Land Registry, which protects your ownership against third parties. A gestoría (administrative agency) usually handles this.
New build or resale: which taxes
- New build (first sale by the developer): VAT (IVA) at 10% of the price, plus stamp duty (AJD) at your region's rate (0% – 2%). Garage spaces (up to two) and annexes such as a storage room take the same rate only if they are in the same building and sold together with the home; bought separately, they pay 21%. A commercial unit is never an annex, even if it comes with the flat. The 4% rate is reserved for officially protected housing under the special or public-promotion regime (VPO de régimen especial o de promoción pública) when the developer itself sells it; general-regime VPO pays the standard new-build rate. Canarias (the Canary Islands) charge IGIC (7%) instead of VAT; Ceuta and Melilla charge IPSI.
- Resale: transfer tax (ITP) at the regional rate (3% – 13%), usually with no VAT or AJD. Several regions have reduced rates subject to conditions (age, large family, main home). If the seller is a non-resident individual, you as the buyer pay the municipal capital gains tax (plusvalía) to the town hall on the seller's behalf and hold it back from the price (Article 106.2 of the local finance law, TRLRHL). You must also withhold 3% of the price and pay it to the tax agency with form 211 (Article 25.2 TRLIRNR).
- Watch out: if the home has been used continuously for two years or more — by the developer or by a tenant with no purchase option — the sale is no longer a first sale and ITP applies. A lease with an option to buy does not count, and the rule does not apply when the buyer is the person who was using the home.
Royal Decree-Law 29/2026 extends the reduced rate (4%) to permanently protected housing from 01/12/2026. It is already in force, but lapses if Congress does not validate it (convalidación).
The rate for every tax territory, with the law and the date checked (15/10/2026), is in the table on this page.
Buying taxes by tax territory
| Territory | IVA · IGIC · IPSI | AJD | ITP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andalucía Law: AJD · ITP: Ley 5/2021 Tributos Cedidos Andalucía (art. 49; art. 41) | 10% | 1.2% | 7% |
| Aragón Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 1/2005 Aragón (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 122-1; art. 121-1) | 10% | 1.5% | 8% – 10% |
| Asturias Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 2/2014 Asturias (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 34; art. 26) | 10% | 1.2% | 8% – 10% |
| Islas Baleares Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 1/2014 Illes Balears (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 15; art. 10.a) | 10% | 1.5% – 2% | 8% – 13% |
| Canarias Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 1/2009 Canarias (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 36; art. 31.1.a) | 7% IGIC | 1% | 6.5% |
| Cantabria Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 62/2008 Cantabria (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 13.3; art. 9.1.A) | 10% | 1.5% | 9% |
| Castilla y León Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 1/2013 Castilla y León (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 24.2; art. 24.1.a) | 10% | 1.5% | 8% – 10% |
| Castilla-La Mancha Law: AJD · ITP: Ley 8/2013 Medidas Tributarias Castilla-La Mancha (art. 21.1; art. 19.1) | 10% | 1.5% | 9% |
| Cataluña Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 1/2024 Cataluña (Código tributario, libro sexto) (art. 642-1.d; art. 641-1.1) | 10% | 1.5% | 10% – 13% |
| Comunitat Valenciana Law: AJD · ITP: Ley 13/1997 Comunitat Valenciana (tramo autonómico IRPF y tributos cedidos) (art. 14.Cuatro; art. 13.Uno) | 10% | 1.4% | 9% – 11% |
| Extremadura Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 1/2018 Extremadura (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 46; art. 36) | 10% | 1.5% | 8% – 11% |
| Galicia Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 1/2011 Galicia (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 15.Uno; art. 14.Uno.1) | 10% | 1.5% | 8% |
| Comunidad de Madrid Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 1/2010 Madrid (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 32.1.b; art. 28) | 10% | 0.4% – 0.75% | 6% |
| Región de Murcia Law: AJD · ITP: DLeg 1/2010 Murcia (TR tributos cedidos) (art. 7.1; art. 6.1) | 10% | 1.5% | 7.75% |
| Navarra (foral territory) Law: AJD · ITP: DFLeg 129/1999 Navarra (TR ITPAJD) (art. 22.2; art. 8.1.a) | 10% | 0.5% | 6% |
| La Rioja Law: AJD · ITP: Ley 10/2017 La Rioja (impuestos propios y tributos cedidos) (art. 48; art. 44.1) | 10% | 1% | 7% |
| Ceuta Law: AJD · ITP: RDLeg 1/1993 TRLITPAJD (arts. 31.2 y 57 bis.1; arts. 11.1.a y 57 bis.3.a) | 0.5% IPSI | 0.25% | 3% |
| Melilla Law: AJD · ITP: RDLeg 1/1993 TRLITPAJD (arts. 31.2 y 57 bis.1; arts. 11.1.a y 57 bis.3.a) | 4% IPSI | 0.25% | 3% |
| Álava (foral territory) Law: AJD · ITP: NF 11/2003 Álava (ITPAJD) (art. 69, exención 42; art. 43.Uno.b) | 10% | 0% | 4% |
| Gipuzkoa (foral territory) Law: AJD · ITP: NF 18/1987 Gipuzkoa (ITPAJD) (art. 41.I.B.11; art. 11.1.b) | 10% | 0% | 4% |
| Bizkaia (foral territory) Law: AJD · ITP: NF 1/2011 Bizkaia (ITPAJD) (art. 58, exención 35; art. 13.b) | 10% | 0% | 4% |
General rate · Checked: 15/10/2026. Since RDL 17/2018 the bank pays the AJD on the mortgage.
Costs on top of tax
- Notary: €383 – €527. Fees are set by regulation (RD 1426/1989) and depend on the price and the length of the deed.
- Land Registry: €197 – €283. Regulated fees (RD 1427/1989).
- Gestoría: no regulated fee; ask for a written quote.
Under Article 1455 of the Civil Code, the seller pays the cost of executing the deed and the buyer pays for the first copy and anything after the sale, unless agreed otherwise. Developer contracts often change this split, so check yours. Plusvalía is the seller's tax (Article 106.1.b TRLRHL); in a sale by a developer to a consumer, a clause passing it to the buyer is unfair and void (Article 89.3.c of the consumer protection law, TRLGDCU). Ranges checked on 15/10/2026.
Non-resident mortgage
Spanish banks lend to non-residents but usually finance a smaller share than for residents, calculated on the lower of price and valuation. They ask for your NIE, proof of income, tax returns from your home country and a credit report. You pay for the valuation. The bank pays stamp duty on the mortgage (Article 29 TRLITPAJD, as amended by RDL 17/2018) and, under Law 5/2019, the notary (except copies you ask for), the registry and the gestoría fees for the mortgage (not those for the purchase itself). The bank must give you the standardised offer (FEIN) at least ten days before signing, counted in calendar days, and the notary explains the loan to you free of charge beforehand. For an off-plan purchase the mortgage is signed at the deed, so stage payments during construction come from your own funds.
After you buy
Every year: the municipality's IBI and, if you are not tax resident in Spain, non-resident income tax on the property even if you do not rent it out.
Each municipality's IBI rate is in our IBI rate table.
Looking for a new build? See the new build catalogue for Spain, the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Updated 15/10/2026.