Investment approach
Taxes on Spanish Property Investment: From Purchase to Exit
Taxes on a Spanish property investment fall into five stages: purchase, ownership, rent, sale and cash-out. The rate at each stage depends on status: resident, non-resident or company.
An investor pays property tax in Spain at five stages: on purchase (ITP, or IVA plus AJD), during ownership (IBI and tax on imputed income), on rental income, on sale (plusvalía municipal and capital gains tax) and when cash leaves a company (dividend tax). The rate depends on who buys: a Spanish resident, a non-resident or a company. Below is a map of rates as of 12 October 2026.
Which taxes an investor pays at each stage
| Stage | Tax | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buying a resale property in Catalonia | ITP (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales, transfer tax) | 10% up to €600,000, 11%, 12% and 13% on the part of the price above the thresholds; 20% for a gran tenedor (large holder of residential property) | ATC |
| Buying a home from a developer (first transfer) | IVA (VAT) + AJD (Actos Jurídicos Documentados, stamp duty) | IVA 10%, AJD 1.5% | art. 91 Ley 37/1992, ATC guide |
| Ownership | IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles, annual property tax) | The rate is set by the ayuntamiento (city council); the tax accrues on 1 January | art. 75 TRLRHL |
| Owning an empty property (non-resident) | IRNR (Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes, non-resident income tax) on imputed income | 2% of cadastral value (1.1% after a cadastral revision), then 19% or 24% | art. 85 Ley 35/2006 |
| Rent (non-resident) | IRNR | 19% (resident of the EU or EEA) or 24% (everyone else) | art. 25 TRLIRNR |
| Sale | Plusvalía municipal (municipal tax on the increase in land value) | Calculated by the ayuntamiento under its own ordenanza (local tax bylaw) | art. 107 TRLRHL |
| Sale, capital gain | IRNR, IRPF (personal income tax for residents) or IS (corporate income tax) | 19% (non-resident), 19–30% (resident); a company pays the general 25% rate, with reduced rates for small companies | art. 25.1.f TRLIRNR, art. 29 LIS |
| Cash-out from an SL (Spanish limited company) | Dividend tax | Non-resident: 19%, unless reduced by a tax treaty | art. 25.1.f TRLIRNR |
The 3% withholding on a sale by a non-resident (Modelo 211) is left out of the table on purpose. It is not a separate tax but a prepayment of IRNR that the buyer pays on the seller's behalf (art. 25.2 TRLIRNR).
What the rate depends on
A Spanish resident pays IRPF. A gain on sale goes into the base del ahorro (savings income base), and the 2025 scale runs from 19% to 30% (AEAT, state rate and regional rate).
A non-resident pays IRNR. The 19% rate applies to residents of another EU or EEA state that exchanges tax information with Spain; everyone else pays the general 24% (art. 25.1.a TRLIRNR). A gain on sale is taxed at 19% for any non-resident. Rental expenses can be deducted only by EU and EEA residents; the rest pay tax on gross income (art. 24 TRLIRNR).
A company pays impuesto sobre sociedades (corporate income tax). The general rate is 25%. For tax periods starting in 2026, companies with turnover below 10 M€ in the previous period pay 23%, and those with turnover below 1 M€ pay on a scale of 19% up to €50,000 of base and 21% on the rest. Neither relief applies to an entidad patrimonial (asset-holding company) (art. 29 LIS and its disposición transitoria 44). Then, when money is paid out to the owners, a second layer appears: dividend tax.
A separate case: a company from a jurisdiction Spain treats as a tax haven pays an annual special levy of 3% of the property's cadastral value, unless it carries on real business activity in Spain (art. 40–43 TRLIRNR).
What changed in 2025–2026
Since 27 June 2025 Catalonia has applied a progressive ITP scale and a 20% rate for a gran tenedor. On the same day the AJD rate on transactions where the IVA exemption is waived rose from 2.5% to 3.5% (ATC guide).
Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 on housing was issued on 29 September. On 2 October Congress refused to validate it, and the BOE published its repeal the same day (BOE-A-2026-20526). The tax amendments in the same act, to IRPF, IVA and plusvalía municipal, were withdrawn with it. In the consolidated texts of the laws on the BOE this shows as the note "se deja sin efecto" (rendered without effect).
Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 of 6 October (BOE-A-2026-20823) has been in force since 8 October 2026, and as of 12 October Congress has not validated it. It again changes the IRPF reductions for residential landlords, introduces IVA of 10% on renovation of homes for long-term rental from 1 December 2026, adds IVA on furnished rentals of up to 30 nights, changes the ceiling coefficients of plusvalía municipal and the IBI surcharges, and from 2027 introduces a progressive scale of imputed income. These rules are not included in the calculations in this article: if Congress rejects the decree, they lapse.
For non-residents outside the EU, the question of deducting rental expenses is currently before the courts. It is covered in the article on tax on non-resident rental income.
Worked example: the taxes on one project
A worked example, not a forecast and not a DNPI project. An EU non-resident, a private individual, buys an apartment in Barcelona for €400,000 and sells it after renovation.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | €400,000 |
| ITP (10% on a value up to €600,000) | €40,000 |
| Notary, registry, gestoría (assumption) | €6,000 |
| Renovation (assumption, including IVA) | €70,000 |
| Sale price | €700,000 |
| Seller's costs on sale (assumption) | €20,000 |
| Gain for IRNR purposes | €164,000 |
| IRNR 19% | €31,160 |
| 3% withholding on the sale price (credited against the tax) | €21,000 |
On a gain of €164,000, IRNR takes €31,160, and €40,000 had already gone on ITP at purchase. The calculation leaves out plusvalía municipal, IBI, financing and running costs, so the real burden is higher. The €21,000 withheld is less than the tax, and the remaining €10,160 is paid through Modelo 210.
Who this map is not for
It does not replace a calculation for a specific person. If you hold more than ten residential properties in Catalonia, have tax residence in a country with a double taxation treaty, or are choosing between holding in your own name and through an SL, check the rates in the table with an asesor fiscal (tax adviser). Questions for the adviser: what is my tax residence status, which treaty applies, where is tax on the gain paid and how is it credited at home, and how does cash-out from an SL work.
A comparison of rates and places of payment is collected on the tax map for a foreign investor page, and you can estimate a project's result under your own assumptions in the calculator.
Questions and answers
What is the biggest tax when buying property in Barcelona?
For a resale home it is ITP: 10% up to €600,000 and a higher scale above that, 20% for a gran tenedor. On a first transfer of a home from a developer, you pay IVA of 10% and AJD of 1.5%. The scale is covered in detail in the article on the progressive ITP.
Does a non-resident pay tax if the property is empty?
Yes, on imputed income: 2% of cadastral value (1.1% after a cadastral revision), taxed at 19% or 24%. No imputed income accrues on a property under construction (art. 85 Ley 35/2006).
Is it true that 3% is withheld from a non-resident's sale?
Yes, the buyer must withhold 3% of the price and pay it to Hacienda (the tax authority). It is a prepayment of IRNR, not a separate tax: if the final tax is lower, the difference can be refunded, and if it is higher, the balance is paid. The mechanics are described in the article on IRNR on a sale.
