Almost every buyer we speak to has done their research online and works with a figure of around 10% for the buyer's costs. That number doesn't come out of nowhere, but it is rarely exactly right. Depending on where you buy, whether it is an existing home or new-build, and how high the purchase price is, the real total moves between roughly 9% and 13.5%. On a home of € 600,000 that is a difference of more than € 25,000, enough to shift your budget.
01Why the 10% rule of thumb sets you off on the wrong foot
Want to work it out for your own situation straight away? Use our cost calculator.
The 10% is an average of a country in which each autonomous region sets its own rates. Buy an existing home on the Costa del Sol and, with all the additional costs, you sit around 9%. Buy that same home on the Costa Brava and you head towards 12%. And buy in the Comunidad Valenciana just above a million and you shoot up to over 13%.
Anyone who budgets for 10% is left with money to spare in one area and tens of thousands of euros short in another. You would rather discover that difference now than at the notary.
02The cost items for an existing home
If you buy from a private individual or from an owner who is not the original developer, you deal with these items:
- Transfer tax, in Spain the Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP)
- Notary fees
- Land registry fees for registering the deed in the property register (Registro de la Propiedad)
- Lawyer fees, tiered with us up to a maximum of 1% excluding VAT
- Gestoría, the administrative handling of the tax filing and registration
- Application for your NIE number, usually part of the lawyer fee
- A separate buyer-side agent fee, in certain cases
Only the first item differs strongly by region. Notary and land registry follow a national scale and, for a home in this segment, together usually come to € 1,500 to € 3,000. The gestoría normally charges € 300 to € 500. Those items are comparable across Spain and pale next to the transfer tax, which is quickly ten times as high.
03The cost items for new-build
If you buy directly from the developer, the transfer tax falls away. In its place come two other levies:
- VAT of 10% on the purchase price, the same nationwide
- Stamp duty on the first registration in your name, the Actos Jurídicos Documentados (AJD), which differs by region
Three practical points that regularly surprise buyers. You don't pay the VAT in one go at the handover of keys, but along with every construction instalment you settle. A separate plot or a garage space you buy apart from the home falls under the high VAT rate of 21% instead of 10%. And on the Canary Islands there is no VAT but IGIC, at a rate of 7%.
04Three factors that make the difference
1. Where you buy
The regions set the level of the transfer tax themselves. Those differences are considerable and they have been in motion over the past two years. Catalonia raised the rates for more expensive homes, the Comunidad Valenciana lowered the general rate and Murcia did the same.
2. Existing home or new-build
For new-build the VAT rate is the same everywhere, so the regional difference shifts to the stamp duty. That runs from 0.75% in Madrid to 2% in Murcia. On a home of € 600,000 that is a difference of € 7,500, whereas for an existing home the same regional difference can run up to € 36,000.
3. The size of the purchase price
In Andalusia and Murcia you pay one flat percentage, regardless of the price. In Catalonia, the Balearics and the Comunidad Valenciana the rate rises once you pass certain thresholds. The way those thresholds work differs by region, and that is exactly where it can get expensive.
05Transfer tax and stamp duty by region
The areas where we work are at the top, with a number of other regions below for comparison.
| Area | Region | Existing home (ITP) | New-build (AJD, on top of 10% VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Brava and Costa Dorada | Catalonia | 10% up to € 600,000, 11% up to € 900,000, 12% up to € 1.5m, 13% above, per bracket | 1.5% |
| Valencia city, Costa Blanca North and South | Comunidad Valenciana | 9% up to € 1,000,000, 11% once the value is above it | 1.4% |
| Costa del Sol | Andalusia | 7%, flat rate | 1.2% |
| Costa Cálida | Murcia | 7.75% | 2% |
| Balearics | Balearics | 8% up to € 400,000, rising via 9%, 10% and 12% to 13% above € 2m, per bracket | 1.5% |
| Canary Islands | Canary Islands | 6.5% | 1%, with 7% IGIC instead of VAT |
| Madrid | Madrid | 6% | 0.75% |
Read more about these areas on our region pages: Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca North and Costa Brava.
Almost every region also has reduced rates for young buyers, large families and buyers with a disability. Those rates almost invariably apply only to a home you use as your main residence, with a price ceiling far below our segment. For a second home they are therefore rarely applicable.
06Worked example: the same € 600,000 home
An existing home of € 600,000, without a mortgage, transfer tax only:
| Area | Calculation | Transfer tax |
|---|---|---|
| Costa del Sol | 7% of € 600,000 | € 42,000 |
| Costa Blanca | 9% of € 600,000 | € 54,000 |
| Costa Brava | 10% of € 600,000 | € 60,000 |
Add the notary, the land registry, the lawyer and the gestoría and you arrive at around € 51,000 on the Costa del Sol against € 69,000 on the Costa Brava. For exactly the same home.
For new-build those differences are closer together. On € 600,000 you pay € 60,000 VAT everywhere, plus € 7,200 stamp duty on the Costa del Sol, € 8,400 on the Costa Blanca and € 9,000 on the Costa Brava.
07The million threshold in the Comunidad Valenciana
This point deserves separate attention, because it falls precisely in our segment. Since 1 June 2026 you pay 9% transfer tax in the Comunidad Valenciana. If the value is above € 1,000,000, 11% applies. The tax authority does not charge that higher rate over the excess, but over the full amount.
| Purchase price | Rate | Transfer tax |
|---|---|---|
| € 995,000 | 9% | € 89,550 |
| € 1,005,000 | 11% | € 110,550 |
A home that is € 10,000 more expensive costs you € 21,000 more in tax. In negotiations around that threshold that is an argument of weight, for both parties.
Two points to note. The basis is the value, not necessarily the purchase price, so a cadastral reference value above a million also puts you in the high rate. And Valencian law adds together purchases that take place within three years with the same seller and on the same cadastral unit. Splitting the home and a garage or plot into two separate deeds therefore brings no relief.
By comparison: Catalonia and the Balearics do work with brackets, as in Dutch income tax. There the higher percentage applies only to the part above the threshold.
08What you pay the tax on
Since 2022 the basis for the transfer tax is the higher of two values: the price in the deed, or the cadastral reference value (valor de referencia) of the home. If you buy below that reference value, the tax authority still assesses you on the higher amount.
On a sharp purchase that can mean you pay tax on a value you did not pay yourself. The reference value can be requested and we check it as standard before you make an offer. If it is demonstrably too high, you can object, although that takes time.
09What you pay once you are an owner
The running costs of a Spanish home follow little regional logic and much individual variation. Your energy, water and maintenance depend on use, the installation and the condition of the building. For an apartment or a home in a resort, the community service charges are added. And you insure the home, just as in the Netherlands.
Taxes do show regional patterns. The municipal property tax (IBI) differs strongly by municipality and relates to the year in which the cadastral values were last revised. No general picture can be given of that, but a concrete figure per home can, and we request it in advance.
With wealth tax you see a clear line: the further south, the lighter. Andalusia has a far-reaching exemption, Catalonia has the heaviest rate and the Comunidad Valenciana doubled its tax-free threshold to € 1,000,000. Non-residents can in principle invoke the regional scheme when the bulk of their Spanish assets lies in that region. We devote a separate article to this topic.
If you own the home as a non-resident, you also pay the non-resident tax over the period in which you do not rent it out. That works similarly to the Dutch eigenwoningforfait.
If you are considering living permanently in Spain in time, it is wise to have the fiscal side examined in advance. Where you buy then has consequences that reach far beyond the one-off buyer's costs.
10What this means for your choice
The buyer's costs should not decide where you live. That choice depends on travel time, climate, surroundings and the people around you. Where you feel at home cannot be expressed in percentages.
What the buyer's costs do decide is your budget. A difference of three percentage points on a purchase of € 800,000 is € 24,000, and that money comes off your renovation, your furnishings or your reserve. So work it out in advance, so that you enter the market with a realistic figure and don't adjust your expectations halfway through your search.
If you buy with a Spanish mortgage, also include the valuation, the arrangement fee and the costs of the mortgage deed in your sum.
11Frequently asked questions
Is the 10% rule of thumb for buyer's costs in Spain correct?
As a national average, yes; as a planning figure, no. Reckon on about 9% on the Costa del Sol, 11% to 12% on the Costa Blanca and 12% to 13.5% on the Costa Brava, depending on the price range and on existing home or new-build.
As a buyer, do I pay an agent fee?
With the selling agent the commission is built into the asking price and you don't pay it separately. If you work with a buying agent, you often pay that fee yourself. In return you have a party on your side of the table, which is less common in Spain than in the Netherlands.
What amount do I pay transfer tax on?
On the higher of two values: the amount in the deed or the cadastral reference value. If you buy below the reference value, the assessment is still calculated on that higher amount.
How much time do I have to pay the tax?
Thirty working days after the deed is signed. Paying late leads to surcharges and interest. In practice the gestoría arranges this for you within the term.
Can I finance the buyer's costs?
No. Spanish banks usually finance 60% to 70% of the value for non-residents and you meet the additional costs from your own funds. With a mortgage, therefore, reckon on the down payment plus the full buyer's costs.
Do the reduced rates for young buyers also apply to me?
Almost never for a second home. Those rates require a main residence, an age limit and a price ceiling that usually lies around € 150,000 to € 270,000.
What does a lawyer cost for a purchase in Spain?
We work with tiered rates up to a maximum of 1% excluding VAT, with the percentage falling as the purchase price rises. For that amount you get the legal investigation, the contracts, the fiscal handling and usually your NIE application.
Does anything change if I later become a resident?
Yes, and sometimes considerably. Your income tax, wealth tax and the treatment of your home then shift to the Spanish resident regime. Have that calculated before you choose a region.
12What Costa Select does here
Before you make an offer, we map out the full cost structure for your specific home: the transfer tax or VAT, the stamp duty, the notary, the land registry, the lawyer and the gestoría. We check the cadastral reference value, so you know what you will be taxed on. For purchases around the million threshold in the Comunidad Valenciana we calculate both scenarios, so you know what a higher purchase price truly costs in tax terms.
For the legal and fiscal handling we work with fixed Spanish lawyers and tax advisers. They test your situation, we safeguard the process and the planning.
Want to calculate it yourself? Go to the cost calculator, in which you can also include a mortgage part.
Want to work through your scenario together? Make an appointment.
Marc Stam
A Dutch buying agent for homes on the Spanish coast. More than 800 purchases since 2005, with dedicated consultants per region and independent advice.