Foreign buyers in Spain – what taxes and fees for foreigners ?

As you can read on other articles on this blog, foreign buyers in Spain are very active, and grew to 55.512 transactions a year in 2016, which is not less than 9 billion euros worth of sales. Nearly one buyer in five in Spain is a foreigner.

But is it difficult for foreigner to buy in Spain ? What taxes and fees apply to them ?

Here is some answers that I compiled using sources that I recommend, and are quite trustworthy:

• Blog of Mark Stücklin, an expert of the Spanish property market
• Blog of Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers, “an independent Spanish law firm specialized in property conveyancing, non-resident taxation and litigation. Expert English-speaking Spanish lawyers and economists blend legal and practical advice providing tailored assistance on your matter. Our range of services cover mainland Spain, the Balearic and Canary Islands.”

What are the taxes when buying a property in Spain?

In a nutshell, to calculate the total cost of a property purchase in Spain: “add 10 – 15% over and above the purchase price”.

To get into more details, I strongly suggest to read this article https://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/2015/07/08/taxes-on-buying-spanish-property/

What are the taxes when selling your property in Spain?

There are two taxes a seller should know about : Capital Gains Tax and Plusvalía Tax.

I. Capital Gains Tax

• Non-EU residents: 24%
• E.E.A. or EU-residents: 20% (in 2016 this drops to 19%)

II. Plusvalía Tax

In most cases it is not significant, usually amounting to less than €1,000 but can be more in the case of villas with large plots of land.

Again for more detailed information, I strongly recommend referring to SpanishPropertyInsight.com and to the Lawyers blog larrainnesbittabogados.com