Property Taxes on the Costa del Sol

When buying a property on the Costa del Sol it is important to have a clear idea of the taxes you will have to pay, not only for purchase of your Costa del Sol property, but also the IBI and basura (local taxes) which are paid yearly by proerty owners in spain. Spanish housing yearly rates vary based on the value of the property and the area it is in.

Taxes payable at the time of the purchase

When purchasing a resale property there is a 7% transfer tax, known in Spanish as Impuesto de Transferencia de Propiedad (ITP). For off-plan purchases the tax is still 7% but is referred too as IVA (VAT). If you do not intend to purchase a residential property but are interested in business on the Costa del Sol, garage/storage or a plot of land then the tax rate is 16% as opposed to 7%. Please note that as soon as construction of a residential property commences on a plot you are able to reclaim the tax, bringing it down to 7%.
 
Stamp duty, Impuesto de Actos Jurídicos Documentados (AJD) is currently 0.5%. This tax is paid upon signature of the public deeds.
 
Capital gain, Plus Valia, is a tax paid on the profit that a vendor makes on the sale of his or her property. As of 1st of January 2007 the Plus Valia tax has been lowered to 18% from a previous 35%. This % is based on the difference between the property value stated in the deeds of the house prior to the sale, and the price stated in the contract for the current sale.
 
If the vendor is not a fiscal resident, Hacienda will retain 3% of the selling price. This percentage is only retained for one year, if there are not outstanding debts/taxes the full sum is returned to the vendor.
 
If the buyer requires a mortgage to purchase a property, an official valuation must been done first of all. Most property assessors charge around 280€ to perform an official valuation. Once done the bank is able to inform you exactly much you can get on a mortgage.
 
The bank, itself, will more than likely charge for opening an account, setting up a mortgage, etc… This fee of course varies from bank to bank, so shop around for the best offer!
 
If you require the services of a solicitor, the fee is generally 1% of the purchase price. Again this varies. Please note, a professional lawyer will include all costs within this 1% and will not include any ‘add-ons'.
 
If the buyer is applying for a mortgage, the bank will require a minimum level of home insurance.
 
Before a Spanish mortgage lender will grant a loan on a property it will insist on seeing a Nota Simple (land registry) that confirms that the property is free of any other unexpected debts. You solicitor will need to request a nota simple from the land registry for your own sake so this can be considered a non-differential cost that you would face with or without a mortgage.
 
The existence of a mortgage on a Costa del Sol property (the mortgage is seen as a debt against the property) must be registered with the land registry. This slightly increases the land registry fees when buying a property. The fee for registering a Spanish mortgage is approximately the same as the fee for registering the property.
 
Notary fees are based on the number of clauses in the deeds and a mortgage deed will have approximately the same number of clauses as a purchase deed. Therefore a mortgage deed will cost slightly more that a purchase deed.
 
As a new property owner there are several payments that have to be made.
 
An annual property tax (IBI) is a municipally levied tax. It varies widely from one area to another and from one type of property to another. It could be 50 euros a year for a simple property in a rural area, while a luxury property in prime urban area might be 1.500 euros a year.
 
Rubbish collection tax (basura) is annual paid tax for rubbish collection.
 
If your property is part of a community or complex there will be community fees that need to be paid. These communities are subject to Spanish law of Horizontal division. All property owners of the block form the Community of Property Owners. They are responsible for their individual parts and common areas of the block. They all participate in the expenses of the community on a pro-rata basis. Every apartment of the block has a share in the communal areas, usually proportionate to the size of the owner's property.
 
Urbanisations are rule by a different law, as they share elements with the outside world such as street lighting, roads, etc. But the Spanish law of Horizontal Division may also be applied provided that certain requirements are met.