Taxes when selling a house in Spain as a resident (and what you actually take home)
If you’re tax resident in Spain and sell a house at a profit, you pay Spanish income tax (IRPF) on the gain: between 19% and 30%, depending on how much you made. On top of that comes the local plusvalía tax and the costs of the sale. There are big exemptions, such as the one for over-65s selling their main home. Here’s how it all works, with a worked example of what ends up in your bank account.
- If you’re tax resident in Spain, the gain goes on your Spanish income tax return (IRPF) as savings income, taxed at 19% to 30% in bands.
- The gain is the sale price minus your selling costs, minus what you paid plus your buying costs and improvements.
- No tax on the gain if you’re over 65 and sell your main home, or on whatever you reinvest in a new main home.
- The plusvalía and the seller’s costs come on top. The income tax is paid in the following year’s tax return.
Who pays Spanish income tax on a property sale
When you sell a home for more than it cost you, the Spanish tax authorities (Hacienda) treat the difference as a capital gain (ganancia patrimonial). If you’re tax resident in Spain, it goes on your annual IRPF return as savings income, with its own tax bands.
You’re tax resident in Spain if you spend more than 183 days a year here, or if your main business or economic interests are here. Many British and Scandinavian owners on the Costa Blanca live here full time and fall into this group. If you live abroad and only own a holiday home here, different rules apply: see capital gains tax for non-residents.
If you sell for less than you paid, there’s no gain and no income tax on the sale. You still report the loss.
How the gain is worked out
The gain is the difference between two figures:
- Transfer value: the sale price, minus the costs and taxes of the sale that you pay. For example, the plusvalía and your share of the notary fees.
- Acquisition value: what you paid, plus the costs and taxes of the purchase (purchase tax, notary, Land Registry), but not mortgage interest. Add the cost of improvements, such as a renovation or a pool. If you let the property, subtract the depreciation.
If you inherited the home, the acquisition value is the figure declared for inheritance tax, plus the costs of that inheritance. If that’s you, read selling inherited property in Spain too.
Improvements only reduce your gain if you can prove them. Keep the purchase deeds, the builders’ invoices and proof of payment. Work paid for without an invoice doesn’t count.
Capital gains tax rates in Spain for residents in 2026
The gain is added to the rest of your savings income for the year (interest, dividends, other gains) and taxed in bands. This scale has applied since 1 January 2025, when the 30% band was added. It’s the same in every region under the common system, including the Valencia region.
| Savings income | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to €6,000 | 19% |
| €6,000 to €50,000 | 21% |
| €50,000 to €200,000 | 23% |
| €200,000 to €300,000 | 27% |
| Over €300,000 | 30% |
Each rate only applies to the slice that falls in its band. A €60,000 gain isn’t taxed at 23% across the board: it’s 19% on the first €6,000, 21% on the next €44,000 and 23% on the last €10,000.
When you pay less or nothing
You’re over 65 and sell your main home
The gain is exempt. The same applies if you’re in a situation of severe or major dependency. It works if the house is your main home when you sell or was at any point in the previous two years. For Hacienda, your main home is one you’ve lived in continuously for at least three years, with exceptions such as a job move, a separation or a death.
If you’re over 65 and what you’re selling isn’t your main home, there’s another route: if you put the money into a guaranteed life annuity for yourself within six months, the gain is exempt, up to €240,000 invested.
You reinvest in a new main home
If you sell your main home and reinvest the proceeds in another one that will be your new main home, the gain is exempt. You have two years to do it, before or after the sale.
- If you only reinvest part, the exemption is proportional: reinvest half and half the gain is exempt.
- If you bought with a mortgage, what you need to reinvest is the sale value minus the outstanding loan you pay off.
- If you don’t reinvest in the same year, you must state in your return that you intend to.
You bought in 2012
If you bought an urban property between 12 May and 31 December 2012, half the gain is exempt. It doesn’t apply if you bought from your spouse, a close relative or a related company.
You bought before 1995
For homes bought before 31 December 1994 there are reduction coefficients (coeficientes de abatimiento). They only reduce the part of the gain generated up to 19 January 2006, worked out in proportion to the days.
- That part is reduced by 11.11% for each year of ownership at 31 December 1996, rounded up, from the third year on.
- If you bought before 31 December 1986, that part is tax-free altogether.
- There’s a cap: it only applies while the total value of everything you’ve sold with this relief since 2015 stays under €400,000.
None of these exemptions apply automatically. You have to know about them and claim them correctly. If in doubt, ask before you sign, not after.
The plusvalía (local land value tax)
This is a separate tax paid to the town hall on the rise in the value of the land. The seller pays it, and it’s worked out either from the cadastral value of the land or from the real gain, whichever is lower. In Altea the rate is 27%; in Albir and l’Alfàs del Pi it’s 27% or 30% depending on how long you’ve owned the home. The coefficients and a worked example are in plusvalía tax in Altea and Albir.
Whatever you pay in plusvalía counts as a cost of the sale, so it reduces your gain for income tax.
Other costs for the seller
| Cost | Who pays |
|---|---|
| Sale deed (notary) | The seller pays for the original; the buyer for their copy, unless agreed otherwise |
| Plusvalía | The seller |
| Paying off the mortgage | The seller, if there is one |
| Energy performance certificate | The seller |
| IBI (council tax) for the year of sale | Whoever owned it on 1 January; can be split by agreement |
| Community fees owed | The seller must be up to date |
If there’s a mortgage, the bank is paid off at the signing and there may be an early repayment fee, depending on your loan contract. More on that in selling a property with a mortgage. You need the energy certificate before you can advertise, and the seller pays for it.
What you take home: a worked example (hypothetical)
These figures are made up to show the maths. Imagine you’re a Spanish tax resident aged 58 with no other savings income that year.
You bought in 2015 for €250,000. Purchase taxes and costs were €25,000, and you later spent €20,000 on a renovation, with invoices. You sell in 2026 for €400,000. Your selling costs (plusvalía, notary, certificate and so on) add up to €12,000, and you have €80,000 left on the mortgage.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Transfer value: 400,000 − 12,000 | €388,000 |
| Acquisition value: 250,000 + 25,000 + 20,000 | €295,000 |
| Gain | €93,000 |
| Income tax: 6,000 at 19% + 44,000 at 21% + 43,000 at 23% | €1,140 + €9,240 + €9,890 = €20,270 |
| Mortgage paid off at signing | €80,000 |
| You take home: 400,000 − 12,000 − 80,000 − 20,270 | €287,730 |
If you were 66 instead of 58 and it had been your main home for more than three years, the income tax would be zero and you’d take home €308,000. That’s €20,270 difference on the same house.
When each one is paid
- At the signing: the outstanding mortgage and the notary.
- Within 30 working days: the plusvalía declaration.
- In the following year’s return: the income tax. Sell in 2026 and you declare it in the 2027 filing season.
As a resident, the buyer doesn’t hold back any of the price. The 3% retention only applies to non-resident sellers. So the whole amount reaches your account and the income tax is due months later. Set it aside on the day you sign so spring doesn’t bring a nasty surprise.
If you don’t yet know what your home will sell for, all of this starts with a realistic price. That’s what the valuation is for.
First we need to know what your home will sell for. Answer eight questions and I’ll give you a price based on what people pay in your part of Altea, Albir or Alfaz del Pi.
Frequently asked questions
How much tax do I pay when I sell a house in Spain as a resident? +
Between 19% and 30% of the gain, in bands: 19% up to €6,000, 21% up to €50,000, 23% up to €200,000, 27% up to €300,000 and 30% above that.
Do over-65s pay capital gains tax in Spain on their home? +
Not if it’s their main home, or was in the two years before the sale, and they’re Spanish tax residents.
Do I pay tax if I buy another home with the money? +
If you sell your main home and reinvest in a new main home within two years, the gain is exempt in proportion to what you reinvest.
What costs can I deduct from the gain? +
Your buying costs (purchase tax, notary, Land Registry), improvements with invoices and the selling costs you pay, such as the plusvalía and the notary. Mortgage interest can’t be deducted.
When do I pay the tax on the sale? +
In your income tax return for the year of the sale, filed the following year. Sell in 2026 and you declare it in the 2027 filing season.
Founder of maXcasa International. Thirty years buying and selling homes on the Costa Blanca North, with clients from all over Europe.
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