Costs of buying property in Spain with a mortgage: the full list

In Spain, the advertised price does not cover the full cost of your purchase. On top of it come a purchase tax, which depends on the region and on whether the property is new or a resale, the cost of the deeds at the notary and the land registry and, if you borrow, the valuation of the property and the broker's fees. Part of the loan costs falls on the bank: the law has said so since 2019.

The purchase tax: transfer tax (ITP) on a resale, VAT on a new build

A resale property: transfer tax (ITP)

Buying a home from a private seller triggers the transfer tax (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales, ITP). Each autonomous community sets its own rate. These are the general rates in force in October 2026:

Reduced rates exist when buyers under 35 or some large households buy their main home, subject to conditions on price and income. A non-resident buying a second home usually pays the general rate.

A new build: VAT and stamp duty on the deed

Buying a new home from a developer means paying VAT (IVA) at 10%, plus stamp duty on documented legal acts (Actos Jurídicos Documentados, AJD) on the purchase deed: 1.4% in the Comunitat Valenciana since 1 June 2026, 1.2% in Andalusia and 1.5% in Murcia. In the Canary Islands, IGIC replaces VAT: 7% at the general rate, with AJD at 1%.

Deed costs

The notary and the land registry charge according to scales set by the State. The amount depends on the price and on the number of pages in the deeds. How the costs of the sale deed are split between buyer and seller is agreed in the contract, so check what your deposit contract (contrato de arras) says.

With a mortgage, the same notary handles two deeds on the same day: the sale deed and the loan deed. The costs of the loan deed are not yours to pay.

Loan costs: who pays what

Law 5/2019 splits the costs of a mortgage granted to an individual as follows:

The valuation must be carried out by a firm approved by the Banco de España. If you already have one, made by an approved firm and still valid, the bank must accept it. It may check that valuation, at its own expense.

The deposit paid under the arras contract

The deposit contract (contrato de arras) comes with a payment, often around 10% of the price. That payment counts towards the price on the day of the signing, so it adds nothing to the total. You do have to pay it before you have the loan, though, and you lose it if you pull out of a purchase signed with penitential arras (arras penitenciales). Get a financing agreement before you sign the arras.

If the seller is a non-resident

When you buy from a seller who does not live in Spain, you must withhold 3% of the price and pay it to the Spanish tax agency (Agencia Tributaria) within one month of the sale, using form 211 (modelo 211). This amount is deducted from what you pay the seller. It costs you nothing extra, but if you forget it, the property stands as security for the seller's tax. The municipal capital gains tax (plusvalía) works in a similar way: the seller owes it, but the buyer pays it on the seller's behalf when the seller is a non-resident individual, in practice by holding back part of the price.

Our fees

If you use Alveo Finance for your mortgage, you pay a €500 processing fee once your file has been pre-validated, then 1.15% of the amount borrowed with a minimum of €3,490, due when you accept the loan offer. We also receive a fee from the lending bank; its amount is shown in the FEIN.

What we do not handle

The NIE and document translations have a cost, which you pay directly. Alveo Finance handles neither of them. We do not calculate the tax on rental income either, if you let the property. We do calculate the total cost of your purchase: transfer tax or VAT, the arras deposit, the other costs and the valuation.

A worked example

A resale apartment in Alicante, bought for €250,000 by a non-resident, with a 70% loan (€175,000):

• Comunitat Valenciana transfer tax at 9%: €22,500;
• Alveo Finance processing fee and fees: €500 + €3,490 (1.15% of €175,000 comes to €2,012.50, so the minimum applies). We also receive a fee from the lending bank; its amount is shown in the FEIN.
• notary and land registry for the sale deed, and the valuation (tasación): according to the official scales and the valuation firm's price;
• notary, land registry, processing and tax on the loan deed: paid by the bank.

Your own funds therefore have to cover €75,000 of the price and €26,490 of transfer tax and fees, plus the deed and valuation costs. If that money starts out in pounds, dollars or another currency, budget for the exchange rate as well: these amounts are set in euros, and their cost in your own currency keeps moving until the day you transfer the funds. The simulator works out the total cost of the purchase for your region in 3 minutes and sends you a detailed PDF.

Official sources

• Comunitat Valenciana transfer tax: Generalitat Law 13/1997, article 13, amended by Law 5/2025, article 33; rate table of the Agència Tributària Valenciana.
• Andalusia transfer tax and AJD: Law 5/2021, articles 41 and 49.
• Murcia transfer tax: Legislative Decree 1/2010, article 6.1 (rate in force since Law 3/2025).
• Catalonia transfer tax: Legislative Decree 1/2024, article 641-1.
• Balearic Islands transfer tax: Legislative Decree 1/2014, article 10.
• Canary Islands transfer tax and AJD: Legislative Decree 1/2009, articles 31 and 36; IGIC: Legislative Decree 1/2025, articles 32 and 38.
• Madrid transfer tax: Legislative Decree 1/2010, article 28.
• 10% VAT on new homes: Law 37/1992, article 91.Uno.1.7º.
• Split of the loan costs: Law 5/2019 of 15 March on real estate credit agreements, articles 14.1.e and 15.8; tax on the loan deed paid by the bank: Royal Decree-law 17/2018, article 29 of the consolidated Transfer Tax and Stamp Duty Law (ITPAJD).
• Notary and land registry fee scales: Royal Decree 1426/1989 and Royal Decree 1427/1989.
• Valuation: Royal Decree 775/1997 (approval by the Banco de España); valuation provided by the client: Royal Decree-law 24/2021, Book I, article 20.
• Penitential arras: Civil Code, article 1454.
• 3% withholding on a non-resident seller: Agencia Tributaria, withholding by the buyer (article 25.2 of the Non-Residents' Income Tax Law). Municipal capital gains tax: consolidated Local Finance Law, article 106.