Key Takeaways
- ✓ Budget roughly 12–13% on top of the price in the Valencia region, on resale and new build alike.
- ✓ Resale: 10% ITP transfer tax. New build: 10% IVA plus 1.5% AJD stamp duty. That 1.5% is the main difference in the tax bill.
- ✓ Worked example on €229,000 (the median of our 200k–250k band, where we hold 104 live properties) comes out around €256,000 all in.
- ✓ The fixed fees do not shrink with the price, so the percentage bites hardest at the bottom. Our cheapest listing is €89,900.
- ✓ Some costs are legally the seller's, including plusvalía municipal and the energy certificate. Do not let them drift onto your side of the sheet.
The honest answer to "what does it cost to buy in Spain" is: the price plus about twelve per cent. On a €229,000 purchase (the median of the 200k–250k band in our live book, where we currently hold 104 properties), that is roughly €27,000 you need in cash on top of the asking price, and it is not optional or negotiable. Here is exactly where it goes.
First: which tax regime are you in?
Spain taxes a resale and a brand-new home completely differently, and the regional rates matter because property transfer tax is set by the autonomous community. Everything below is the Valencia region, which covers the whole Costa Blanca.
| Resale (second-hand) | New build (first transfer from developer) | |
|---|---|---|
| Main tax | ITP: transfer tax at 10% | IVA: VAT at 10% |
| Stamp duty | None | AJD at 1.5% |
| Paid to | Valencia regional tax office | The developer, who remits it |
| When | Within 30 working days of the deed | On each payment and at completion |
| Effect on total | About 12% over the price | About 13.5% over the price |
Reduced ITP rates exist in the Valencia region for certain buyers (younger buyers purchasing a first habitual home, large families, buyers with a recognised disability), but they apply to a habitual residence, not a holiday home, and the conditions are strict. Ask your lawyer to confirm your eligibility; assume you do not qualify until they do.
Worked example: a €229,000 resale
Cash purchase, no mortgage, Valencia region. The tax line is exact. The fee lines are typical ranges: notary and registry fees follow a state tariff, and lawyers usually quote around 1% plus IVA. Treat them as a planning figure and get a written quote.
| Line | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | €229,000 | Median of our 200k–250k band |
| ITP transfer tax at 10% | €22,900 | Exact. The single biggest cost |
| Notary (notaría) | €700–€1,200 | Tariff-based, so barely varies between notaries |
| Land registry (registro) | €500–€900 | Also tariff-based |
| Lawyer (abogado) | €2,300–€2,800 | Around 1% plus 21% IVA |
| Gestoría / paperwork | €300–€500 | Optional, often bundled by the lawyer |
| Total cash needed | €255,700–€257,300 | About 11.7–12.4% over the price |
Same property, if it were a new build at the same price: swap the €22,900 ITP for €22,900 IVA plus €3,435 AJD, and the total lands around €259,000–€261,000, roughly 13–14% over the price. That 1.5% stamp duty is the real cost difference between the two routes, and it is worth weighing against everything else in new build versus resale in Spain.
If you are borrowing, add these
A mortgage adds its own layer. Since the 2019 Spanish mortgage law most of the set-up costs sit with the lender rather than the borrower, which is a genuine improvement, but two things remain yours:
- The valuation (tasación). Carried out by an approved valuer, paid by you, and the lender lends against that figure rather than the price. Typically a few hundred euros.
- The arrangement fee (comisión de apertura), where the lender charges one. Expressed as a percentage of the loan, and negotiable.
- Linked products. Life and home insurance bundled with the rate. Legal, common, and worth pricing separately before you accept.
Non-resident buyers should also expect a lower loan-to-value than residents get, which changes how much cash you need on the day. Mortgages in Spain for foreign buyers covers what lenders actually approve.
Costs that are NOT yours (do not let them drift)
| Cost | Who legally pays | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Plusvalía municipal (land value tax) | The seller | Contracts that try to shift it to the buyer. It is negotiable but the default is the seller |
| Estate agency commission | The seller | A separate "buyer fee" on top of the price |
| Energy performance certificate | The seller | A sale should not complete without one |
| Certificate of occupation renewal | Usually the seller | Common sticking point on older resales |
| Outstanding community fees | The seller, up to completion | Unpaid fees can follow the property: get the certificate |
One that is yours, and surprises people: if the seller is a non-resident, the buyer is legally required to withhold 3% of the price and pay it directly to the tax office as an advance against the seller's capital gains tax. Your lawyer handles the form. You just need to know that 3% of the money never reaches the seller, and that it is not an extra cost to you.
What it looks like at other price points
Using the median of each of our live price bands, on the resale model. The percentage barely moves, which is the useful finding: it is close to 12–13% almost everywhere.
| Band (live properties) | Band median | ITP at 10% | Other fees (typical) | Approx cash needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under €150k (46) | €139,900 | €13,990 | €3,200–€4,300 | About €158,000 |
| €150k–€200k (68) | €175,000 | €17,500 | €3,600–€4,700 | About €197,000 |
| €200k–€250k (104) | €229,000 | €22,900 | €4,300–€5,400 | About €256,500 |
| €250k–€300k (156) | €275,000 | €27,500 | €4,800–€5,900 | About €308,000 |
| €300k–€400k (361) | €349,900 | €34,990 | €5,700–€6,800 | About €392,000 |
Notice the bottom row of that table. At €139,900 the fixed portion (notary, registry, gestoría) is a bigger share of a smaller purchase. It is one reason the cheapest end of the market is less of a bargain than it looks, and why we generally point people at the bands where the stock actually is.
And then the annual costs begin
Completion is not the end of the spending. Every owner pays IBI (the council property tax, based on the cadastral value), rubbish collection, home insurance, utility standing charges and, on most Costa Blanca property, community fees. Non-residents also file an annual imputed income tax return even in a year the property sat empty. None of these are large; all of them are real. The full list is in property taxes and annual costs in Spain, and community fees explained covers what a comunidad actually charges for.
If your money is in sterling, kronor or dollars, there is one more line nobody itemises: the exchange rate. On a €229,000 purchase a one per cent difference between two providers is €2,290, roughly your entire notary and registry bill. Our currency guide explains how to compare quotes properly.
Four properties in the €200k–€250k band
All four sit inside the band the worked example uses. Add roughly 12–13% to each figure and you have the real number to plan around.
€222,000Three-bed penthouse, El Raso
Guardamar Del Segura · EL RASO
€233,900Two-bed bungalow, San Fulgencio
San Fulgencio · San fulgencio pueblo
€243,000Three-bed apartment, Catral
Catral · Comunidad valenciana
Browse the whole book under properties for sale, or the new-build side at new-build developments, where the 1.5% AJD applies but a ten-year structural warranty comes with it.
Get the number before you make an offer
Every mistake in this article is a budgeting mistake, and all of them are avoidable with one sheet of paper written before you offer rather than after. The wider sequence (NIE, lawyer, arras, notary) is set out in the complete guide to buying property in Spain, and the things that go wrong are in 12 pitfalls of buying property in Spain.
Tell us your budget below and we will send back an itemised cost sheet for the actual properties it reaches: taxes, fees and the cash you need on completion day, not a range.