Investment approach
Impuesto de Sociedades on a company's property sale: 25% or less
A company pays Impuesto de Sociedades on the profit from selling a property: the general rate is 25%, small companies have paid less since 2025, and there are none of an individual's personal allowances. But that is not the final tax burden for the company's owner.
When a company sells a property, the profit is subject to Impuesto de Sociedades – corporation tax – rather than IRPF or IRNR. The general rate is 25%, and since 2025 small companies have paid less. There are none of the personal allowances an individual would get. But the company's tax is not the final burden for its owner: when the money is paid out to an individual, a second layer of tax may apply.
A different tax, a different logic
If the property is owned by a company (a Sociedad Limitada, for example), the profit on its sale is included in the company's taxable profit for the year. The general rate is 25%. Since 2025 Ley 7/2024 has been cutting it in stages for small companies. For tax periods starting in 2026, a company with turnover below €1 million in the previous year pays 19% on the first €50,000 of taxable profit and 21% on the rest, and an empresa de reducida dimensión (turnover below €10 million) pays 23%. A newly formed company pays 15% in its first year with taxable profit and in the following year.
The reduced rates do not apply to an entidad patrimonial: a company where more than half of the assets are not used in a business activity. Letting property only counts as a business activity if the company has at least one full-time employee. The rates and exclusions are in Article 29 of the corporate tax law (Ley 27/2014 on the BOE).
The company's profit is not the owner's money
The tax is charged on the company's result for the financial year, which covers all of its income and expenses, not one deal in isolation. It is the company's own tax, not a personal tax on its owner. The money only reaches the owner when the company pays it out, for example as dividends.
The second layer: tax when money is paid out
The company pays Impuesto de Sociedades on its profit, then pays dividends to an individual shareholder – and the recipient may owe tax of their own (IRPF or IRNR on dividends). The combined burden on the final recipient is therefore often higher than the corporate tax rate alone. When comparing buying through a company with buying in your own name, look at the amount that finally reaches the owner, not at a single rate.
How it works at DNPI
In DNPI projects the property is, as a rule, registered directly in the investor's name or in a structure they designate. If the owner is an individual, they pay IRPF or IRNR on sale; see our articles on IRPF and IRNR. Impuesto de Sociedades becomes the tax on the deal when the investor buys through a company of their own. How project profit is split 50/50 between the investor and DNPI Capital is explained on the DNPI approach page; the exact structure of each deal is set out in the project documentation. How your own income is taxed is something to check with your tax adviser.
Questions and answers
Is the Impuesto de Sociedades rate always 25%?
No. 25% is the general rate. Reduced rates apply to small and newly formed companies (between 15% and 23% in 2026), but not to an entidad patrimonial. You need to look at the specific year, turnover and structure.
If the company makes a loss on another project, does that reduce the tax on a profitable deal?
As a rule, yes: the company declares its overall result for the year, and losses on some transactions reduce the total taxable base. The exact mechanics depend on how the company's accounts are set up.