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Cost of Selling Process

When you sell your property in Spain, you will need to pay a tax fee to “Hacienda” (Tax Office) for the profits you are making with the selling.

The amount of tax you pay may vary depends on several conditions.


Foreign non-residents are required to pay 20% on the profit of the sale of their property.

When the sale has been complete a flat rate of 3% will be charged to you on the full amount of the declared sale price. This amount will be deducted from the final money you will receive when you visit the Notary to complete on the sale of the property.


Foreign residents. You are a Spanish resident when you have been living in Spain for 3 or more years. In this case you will have to prove that and also that you intend to spend in Spain by providing a contract to purchase a new home or a rental contract for at least 6 months.

In this situation you must pay 20% tax on the profits from the sale. This amount is not paid on completion of the sale, but is declared in your following year’s tax declaration.


Foreign residents who are aged 65 and over. In this case and if you are selling your primary residence you don´t have to pay capital gains tax.

You will have to prove that you will need to prove that you have lived in Spain for 3 years or more and intend to continue living here.

If you intend to go back to your home country, you pay 3% tax on the full declared price on completion and then in your next years tax declaration you can claim this money back from the tax office.



In addition to capital gains tax, the plusvalía tax is also paid by the vendor.

The plusvalía tax is based on the increase in the value of your land from the date you bought it to the date you sell it and it is calculated by your local Town Hall.

The plusvalía tax is calculated according to the rateable value of the land and the number of years it has been in the ownership of the vendor.

For an indication of the amount of plusvalía tax you are likely to have to pay, you need to go your local Town Hall with your Escritura and an IBI receipt for your property. They will be able to tell you the tax accrued if the property was to be sold on that date.