Taxes on buying a home: ITP, IVA and AJD by region

How much to budget on top of the price: the big picture

All of a buyer's costs fall into three groups:

1. The main transaction tax - ITP for resale housing, or IVA plus AJD for a new build. This is the largest item: from 6% to 13% depending on the region and the type of property.
2. Paperwork - notary, registration of title, gestoria: a benchmark of 1-2% in total for a standard flat.
3. Annual payments - IBI, the waste charge, comunidad fees: they are not part of the deal itself, but they belong in an owner's budget.

A working rule: plan for 10-15% on top of the property price. For a flat at 250,000 euro in the Valencian Community that is around 25,000-30,000 euro in taxes and paperwork alone. Below is what makes up that figure.

Resale property: the ITP tax and regional rates

ITP (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales) is paid when you buy a home from a private individual or from a company that is not a developer. The tax is devolved to the autonomous communities, so the rate depends on the address of the property, not on where you live. Benchmarks for 2026:

Rates change from time to time, and most regions offer reliefs: reduced rates for young buyers, large families, people with disabilities and VPO housing. Before the deal, check the tax portal of the specific autonomous community - Agencia Tributaria Valenciana for the Valencian Community, for example.

Payment is made by self-assessment on modelo 600 filed with the regional tax office, and the standard benchmark is 30 working days from the date of the notarial deed. Without ITP paid, the registrar will not enter your title in the register.

New builds: IVA 10% plus AJD

If you are buying a first-transfer home from a developer, ITP is replaced by a pair of taxes:

• IVA 10% of the price - for the home and up to two parking spaces transferred with it (in the Canary Islands IGIC applies instead of IVA, at its own rate);
• AJD (actos juridicos documentados) - stamp duty on the notarial deed, with the rate set by the autonomous community: benchmark 0.5-1.5% (lower in Madrid, higher in the Valencian Community, for instance).

IVA is paid to the developer along with the price (including in stages, with the advance payments), while AJD is self-assessed with the regional tax office after the deed is signed. In total the tax burden on a new build is usually 10.5-11.5%, as a rule higher than ITP on resale property in the same region.

Valor de referencia: why you cannot pay tax "on the price in the contract"

Since 2022 the base for ITP and AJD is not simply the transaction price but the higher of two figures: the price or the valor de referencia, the reference value that the Cadastre calculates every year for most properties.

What this means in practice: if you bought a flat for 180,000 euro but its valor de referencia is 200,000 euro, the tax has to be calculated on 200,000. Pay on the lower amount and the regional tax office will issue an additional assessment with penalties.

So before signing the arras it is worth checking the property's reference value in the Cadastre's electronic office (Sede Electronica del Catastro) - it is free. If the figure looks inflated relative to the market it can be challenged, but that is a separate procedure handled by specialists in the field.

Notary, registration and plusvalia

Besides taxes, the budget for the deal includes:

• Notary - fees are regulated by the state, benchmark 600-1200 euro for a standard flat;
• Registro de la Propiedad - registration of title, benchmark 400-800 euro;
• Gestoria - filing the taxes and documents, if you are not handling it yourself;
• Plusvalia municipal - the tax on the increase in land value. By law the seller pays it, but if the seller is a non-resident the obligation passes to the buyer, so the amount is withheld from the price at settlement.

A separate case is buying from a non-resident seller: the buyer must withhold 3% of the price and transfer it to the tax office (modelo 211) against the seller's tax. Skipping this step turns the property into "security" for the seller's debt to the treasury.

Annual taxes after the purchase: IBI and more

The deal is closed, but your relationship with the tax office is not. Every year the owner of a home in Spain pays:

• IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) - the municipal property tax. It is paid by whoever owns the property on 1 January; the benchmark runs from 200-300 euro a year for a modest flat to noticeably more in large cities. In the year of purchase the parties often split IBI in proportion to the months, which is a matter of agreement in the deed.
• The waste collection charge (basura) - set by the municipality.
• Comunidad - owners association fees: not a tax, but a compulsory payment.
• IRNR for non-residents - the tax on deemed income from Spanish property, declared annually (modelo 210), even if the home is not rented out.

Before the deal, ask the seller for the latest IBI receipt and a certificate showing no debts to the comunidad - debts follow the property.

How Krepko does this for you

Getting the taxes right means choosing your region and your property with your eyes open, and not receiving an additional assessment a year later. Within our Real estate practice, Krepko takes the financial and tax side of the deal off your hands:

• we calculate the full purchase budget before the deposit is paid: tax, paperwork, annual payments;
• we check the valor de referencia and any IBI and comunidad debts;
• we prepare and file modelo 600 and the related returns on time;
• for a purchase from a non-resident, we make sure the 3% withholding and plusvalia are handled.

Legally significant steps are performed by licensed specialists - lawyers, gestores and sworn translators. If you want an exact figure for your property, leave a request - the review is free.

Sources

• BOE: Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1993 (the ITP and AJD act)
• Sede Electronica del Catastro: valor de referencia
• Agencia Tributaria Valenciana: rates and modelo 600