What buying really costs, beyond the asking price
The transfer tax rate fell from 10 to 9 % on 1 June 2026. Here is the full calculation, and the 2 obligations that fall on the buyer when the seller is not resident in Spain.
Published · 8 minute read
The rate fell on 1 June 2026, and almost nobody has written it down
If you read elsewhere that transfer tax is 10 % around Alicante, that page has not been updated since the spring.
Valencian Community law 5/2025, article 33, cuts the general rate of the Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales from 10 to 9 % for sales completed on or after 1 June 2026. Above 1 million euros the rate stays at 11 %.
The same act, article 34, cuts Actos Jurídicos Documentados, which applies to new builds and not to resales, from 1.5 to 1.4 % on the same date.
Reduced rates of 8, 6, 4 and 3 % do exist, but none of them applies if you are buying a second home: they are reserved for the main residence of buyers under 35, for protected housing, for large or single-parent families, for people with disabilities and for women who are victims of domestic violence, all subject to income limits.
In short
Valencian Community transfer tax went from 10 to 9 % on 1 June 2026, and AJD from 1.5 to 1.4 %. Allow 9.2 % of the price all in on a resale. The base is not the price paid but the cadastral reference value if that is higher. And if the seller is a non-resident, you pay over the 3 % withholding within a month, and the town hall comes to you for the plusvalía.
What you pay on top of the price, on a resale
The only item that really weighs is the tax. The notary and the registry, which worry people most, come to less than 0.4 % of the price.
| Price paid | ITP at 9 % | Notary and registry | Total to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150,000 € | 13,500 € | 479 € | 13,979 €, that is 9.32 % |
| 200,000 € | 18,000 € | 517 € | 18,517 €, that is 9.26 % |
| 250,000 € | 22,500 € | 555 € | 23,055 €, that is 9.22 % |
| 350,000 € | 31,500 € | 631 € | 32,131 €, that is 9.18 % |
| 500,000 € | 45,000 € | 745 € | 45,745 €, that is 9.15 % |
The registry fee is capped: whatever the price, it cannot exceed 2,181.67 € before the 5 % discount, so 2,072.59 € after it. The dearer the house, the less these fees weigh.
The gestoría that handles the paperwork charges unregulated fees, set by no scale at all. Ask for the amount in writing before you sign the engagement: it is the only item on this list that can be negotiated.
The tax base is not the price you pay
This is the point that surprises people most, and it is written out in full in the law.
Article 10.2 of the consolidated transfer tax act says that, for real property, the taxable base is the cadastral valor de referencia at the date of sale. And it adds: if the agreed price is higher than that value, the higher of the 2 is used.
In other words, you can never pay on less than the reference value, even if you bought below it. A property listed at 210,000 € with a reference value of 240,000 € triggers ITP calculated on 240,000 €, which is 2,700 € more.
Check the reference value before you make an offer. It can be looked up free of charge at the Cadastre electronic office using the property's cadastral reference. Article 10.3 makes clear it can only be challenged when appealing the assessment or requesting a rectification: it is not up for discussion beforehand.
3 figures to know before you sign
All read in the official texts on 7 August 2026.
The transfer tax rate in the Valencian Community since 1 June 2026. It had been 10 % since January 2024.
The cap on the land registry fee, with the 5 % discount applied, whatever the price of the property.
The deadline for paying over the 3 % withholding if the seller is a non-resident. After that, the property itself answers for the debt.
The 2 obligations that fall on you when the seller is a non-resident
They apply to a large share of Costa Blanca sales, and they are poorly understood because they reverse the usual logic.
The 3 % withholding. Article 25.2 of the consolidated non-resident income tax act requires the buyer to withhold 3 % of the agreed price and pay it to the Spanish treasury, using modelo 211, within 1 month of the sale. It is not optional: if you fail to do it, the property you have just bought answers for the seller's tax debt. The seller then has 3 months to file and reclaim any overpayment.
The municipal plusvalía. Article 106.1 of the consolidated local finance act names the seller as the taxpayer. But article 106.2 adds that, where the seller is a non-resident individual, the buyer becomes the substitute taxpayer: the town hall comes to them. Have it calculated and held back at the notary's office, that is the only way not to discover it afterwards.
One detail even professionals get wrong: royal decree-law 16/2025 had set new plusvalía coefficients from 1 January 2026, but the Congress of Deputies repealed it on 28 January 2026. The maximum coefficients in force today are therefore the 2024 ones. The same thing had happened 1 year earlier.
The 100 % tax on buyers from outside the European Union: where it stands
This is the question we are asked most over the past 18 months, especially by British and Norwegian buyers.
We searched the Spanish official journal, filtering for texts in force, and then the register of bills at the Congress of Deputies. As at 7 August 2026 there is no rule in force restricting or surcharging the purchase of a home by a non-EU non-resident.
The announcement made in January 2025 has produced no bill filed. The only related initiative, a private member's bill against property speculation, was tabled 3 times: lapsed in July 2025, withdrawn in October 2025, then rejected. And its text did not target non-EU non-residents.
We are writing this on 7 August 2026 and we date the check. A political announcement is not a law, and a law is not a law in force. If that changes, the page will be corrected and the update date with it.
New build or resale, it is not the same tax
The difference in treatment goes well beyond the headline rate.
Resale: ITP at 9 %
A single tax, paid by the buyer, calculated on the reference value or on the price if that is higher. Nothing to reclaim, nothing to deduct.
New build: IVA at 10 % plus AJD at 1.4 %
IVA goes to the developer, article 91 of law 37/1992, and AJD to the Generalitat, so 11.4 % in total. AJD drops to 0.1 % for a main residence, which does not apply to a second home.
Protected housing
IVA drops to 4 % for special-regime or publicly promoted protected housing delivered by its developer. These homes are almost never available to a non-resident buyer.
What we do with this
We are neither notaries nor tax advisers, and we do not handle your purchase. What we do starts on the day the keys change hands: the house is checked on 38 points, photographed and dated from the very first visit. That opening record is what lets you prove, 3 years later, what state the property was in when you bought it, whether to an insurer, a buyer or an authority.
A question about your home?
The check visit is free, with no commitment. We come, we check the 38 points and we send you the report. You see what you are buying before you pay.
4 questions about buying costs
How much should I set aside in total, on top of the price?
On a resale, allow 9.2 % of the price for tax, notary and registry, plus the unregulated gestoría fee and, where relevant, the municipal plusvalía if the seller is a non-resident. On a new build, 11.4 % of tax instead of 9 %.
Does the 9 % rate apply if I signed a deposit contract before June 2026?
The act refers to chargeable events arising on or after 1 June 2026. The chargeable event for transfer tax is the deed of sale, not the deposit contract. Have your notary confirm it, they are the one who assesses the tax.
What happens if I do not pay over the 3 % withholding?
The text is explicit: the property itself is charged with the tax owed by the seller. The treasury can register a charge over your house for a debt that is not yours. That is why the notary almost always holds the money back.
Are notary fees negotiable?
No. The scale is set by royal decree and the 5 % discount is compulsory, not commercial. What can be negotiated is the gestoría fee, which no scale regulates.
Sources: Valencian Community law 13/1997, articles 13 and 14, consolidated text; Law 5/2025 on tax measures, articles 33 and 34, cutting the rates from 1 June 2026; Consolidated transfer tax act, article 10, taxable base; Notarial scale, royal decree 1426/1989, and registry scale, royal decree 1427/1989; Consolidated non-resident income tax act, article 25.2, the 3 % withholding; Consolidated local finance act, article 106, who owes the plusvalía; Repeal of royal decree-law 16/2025 by the Congress of Deputies, 28 January 2026. All opened on 8 August 2026.
What to remember
- Transfer tax went from 10 to 9 % on 1 June 2026, and AJD from 1.5 to 1.4 %.
- Allow 9.2 % of the price all in on a resale, 11.4 % of tax on a new build.
- The taxable base is the cadastral reference value, or the price if that is higher.
- If the seller is a non-resident, the buyer pays the 3 % withholding within 1 month and becomes the substitute taxpayer for the plusvalía.
Written by Fabrizio and Krystel, Domivaro, Busot. Updated 7 August 2026.
This article gives general information, checked against the sources cited on the date shown. It replaces neither your contract nor the advice of your tax adviser, your insurer or a legal professional. Domivaro provides maintenance and condition reporting, not a private security or tax advisory service.
