Spain Property Transfer Tax: ITP vs IVA vs AJD 2026

Quick answer: Spain charges one of two purchase taxes, never both. A resale home pays ITP transfer tax, set by the autonomous community and typically 6 to 10 percent of the price. A new build from a developer pays 10 percent IVA plus AJD stamp duty of roughly 0.5 to 1.5 percent. Transfer tax is the single largest line in your buying budget, which is why it belongs at the top of the cost of buying hub before you compare any two properties.

If you searched “Spain property transfer tax,” you are trying to turn a sticker price into a true all-in cost, and the answer hinges on one fork: is the home a resale or a new build? That single fact decides whether you pay ITP or IVA plus AJD, and the regional rate decides how much. Get this wrong and a “cheaper” resale in a high-ITP region can cost more than a pricier new build elsewhere. This guide walks the fork, the regional table, and two worked examples, then hands you off to the notary and registry cost guide for the rest of the stack.

ITP vs IVA vs AJD: the three taxes and which one you pay

Spain’s purchase tax depends entirely on whether the property is second-hand or brand new from a developer. The two regimes do not overlap on the same sale, so your first job is to classify the property correctly.

Tax	Full name	Applies to	Typical 2026 rate
ITP	Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales	Resale (second-hand) homes	6 to 10% by region
IVA	Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido (VAT)	New build from developer	10% residential
AJD	Actos Jurídicos Documentados (stamp duty)	New build deeds and mortgages	0.5 to 1.5% by region

The logic is clean once you see it. ITP and IVA are mutually exclusive: a resale pays ITP and no IVA, while a new build pays IVA and no ITP. AJD rides along with the IVA regime on new builds and on mortgage deeds, but it is not charged on top of ITP for a standard resale purchase. So a resale buyer budgets one tax, and a new build buyer budgets two.

This classification is not always obvious. A “new” apartment that has already had one private owner is legally a resale for tax, so it falls under ITP, not IVA. The first transfer from the developer is the IVA event; everything after is ITP territory.

How much is ITP on a resale: the autonomous community table

ITP is a regional tax, so the rate is decided by the autonomous community where the property sits, not by national law. That is why an identical apartment can carry a 6 percent tax bill in Madrid and a 10 percent bill in Alicante. Some regions apply a single flat rate; others use progressive bands where higher-value slices are taxed at higher rates.

Autonomous community	Covers	Typical ITP rate 2026
Comunidad de Madrid	Madrid	around 6%
Andalucía	Málaga, Marbella, Sevilla	around 7%
Comunidad Valenciana	Alicante, Valencia, Costa Blanca	around 10%
Región de Murcia	Murcia, Costa Cálida	around 8%
Cataluña	Barcelona, Costa Brava	10 to 11% banded
Illes Balears	Mallorca, Ibiza	8 to 13% banded
Canarias	Tenerife, Las Palmas	around 6.5%

Treat these as planning figures, not gospel. Regions adjust ITP and offer reductions for young buyers, large families, or primary residences, and banded regions tax higher slices at higher rates. Before you commit to a budget, confirm the exact current rate and any reduced bands for your target community, as flagged in the due diligence guide. The headline point stands: location changes your tax bill as much as price does.

New build taxes: 10% IVA plus AJD stamp duty

Buying a brand-new home directly from a developer puts you in the IVA regime. Residential new builds carry 10 percent IVA, charged on the price and paid to the developer at completion as part of the purchase. On top of that, the deed attracts AJD stamp duty, set by the autonomous community at roughly 0.5 to 1.5 percent.

New build cost element	Rate	Paid to
IVA (residential)	10%	Developer at completion
AJD stamp duty	0.5 to 1.5% by region	Regional tax office
IVA on commercial or land	21%	Developer
IGIC instead of IVA (Canarias)	lower regional rate	Developer

Two traps catch new build buyers. First, garages and storerooms bought separately, or plots of land, can attract 21 percent IVA rather than 10 percent, so confirm what the 10 percent actually covers. Second, the Canary Islands sit outside the Spanish IVA system and use IGIC at a lower rate, which changes the maths for Tenerife and Las Palmas buyers. Off-plan purchases follow the same IVA plus AJD logic, with the added requirement of a bank guarantee on staged deposits.

Resale vs new build: which tax regime costs more?

The instinctive assumption is that new builds are taxed more harshly because they carry two taxes. The reality depends on the region. In a high-ITP community like the Comunidad Valenciana, a 10 percent resale tax can roughly match a 10 percent IVA plus 1.5 percent AJD on a new build. In a low-ITP region like Madrid, the resale at 6 percent is clearly cheaper on tax than the new build at 11.5 percent combined.

Factor	Resale (ITP)	New build (IVA + AJD)
Headline tax	6 to 10%	10% + 0.5 to 1.5%
Number of taxes	One	Two
Cheapest in	Low-ITP regions (Madrid)	Versus high-ITP regions
Deposit protection	Standard arras	Bank guarantee on off-plan
Snagging risk	Older defects	Construction warranty
Negotiability	Often flexible	Developer list price

The decision framework: in low-ITP regions, resale wins on tax; in high-ITP coastal regions like Alicante, the tax gap narrows enough that the new build warranty and energy efficiency can justify the marginal extra. Never pick resale or new build on tax alone; price it against the warranty, the condition, and the regional rate together. For income buyers, model the after-tax position alongside the rental yield guide.

Worked example 1: €300,000 resale in Alicante

A €300,000 second-hand apartment on the Costa Blanca sits in the Comunidad Valenciana, where ITP is around 10 percent. This is the most common foreign-buyer scenario in Alicante, which recorded a 43.29 percent foreign share of transactions in 2025.

Cost line	Basis	Amount
Purchase price	Agreed	€300,000
ITP transfer tax	around 10%	€30,000
Notary fees	Sliding scale	around €900
Land registry	Sliding scale	around €600
Independent lawyer	around 1% plus IVA	around €3,600
Gestoría / admin	Fixed	around €400
Total buyer cost	Price plus extras	around €335,500

On this resale, transfer tax alone is €30,000, the single biggest add-on. The all-in cost lands near €335,500, about 11.8 percent above the headline price. That ratio is exactly why experienced buyers quote themselves the all-in number, not the listing price, from day one. Mortgage buyers should add valuation and lender costs from the non-resident mortgage guide.

Worked example 2: €400,000 new build on the coast

A €400,000 new build bought from a developer is taxed under IVA plus AJD. Assume a coastal region with AJD at 1.5 percent, in line with the Comunidad Valenciana.

Cost line	Basis	Amount
Purchase price	Developer	€400,000
IVA	10%	€40,000
AJD stamp duty	1.5%	€6,000
Notary fees	Sliding scale	around €1,000
Land registry	Sliding scale	around €700
Independent lawyer	around 1% plus IVA	around €4,800
Total buyer cost	Price plus extras	around €452,500

Here the combined IVA and AJD reach €46,000, or 11.5 percent of price in tax, with the all-in figure near €452,500, around 13.1 percent above the headline. New build coastal stock such as the Calpe sea-view apartments or Kosmos in Torremolinos follows this profile. The lesson from comparing both examples: in a high-ITP region the resale and new build tax burdens are surprisingly close, so the choice should turn on condition, warranty, and yield, not tax fear.

Pros and cons of each tax regime

Pros	Cons
Resale ITP is one tax, simpler to budget	ITP is high in coastal regions like Alicante
Resale prices are often negotiable	No new-build warranty on older defects
New build IVA is a fixed, predictable 10%	New build adds AJD as a second tax
New build comes with a construction warranty	Off-plan needs a bank guarantee on deposits
Canary Islands IGIC is lower than IVA	Garages and land can attract 21% IVA
Regional ITP reductions can cut the bill	Banded regions tax higher slices more

Red flags and an insider tip on declared value

The biggest transfer-tax risk is not the rate; it is the value the tax is calculated on. Regional tax offices apply a reference value (valor de referencia) set by the cadastre. If the declared price is below that reference value, the tax office can assess ITP on the higher reference figure and issue a complementary bill months later, often with interest.

Red flag	Risk
Price declared below reference value	Surprise top-up ITP assessment later
”Pay part in cash to cut the tax”	Tax fraud exposure for the buyer
Assuming a national flat ITP rate	Under-budgeting in high-ITP regions
Ignoring AJD on a new build	0.5 to 1.5% missing from the budget
Late ITP filing after the notary	Surcharges and interest

Insider tip: before you offer, ask your lawyer to check the cadastral reference value for the unit. If a “bargain” price sits well under the reference value, you will likely be taxed on the higher figure anyway, so the saving is smaller than it looks, and a too-low declaration invites a tax inspection. Budgeting transfer tax on the reference value, not just the agreed price, prevents the most common nasty surprise.

Buyer scenarios: matching the tax regime to your profile

Buyer profile	Likely regime	Tax planning priority
Costa Blanca holiday buyer	Resale ITP around 10%	Budget on reference value
Madrid city investor	Resale ITP around 6%	Compare with new build maths
Off-plan launch buyer	New build IVA + AJD	Confirm AJD rate and bank guarantee
Canary Islands buyer	IGIC, not IVA	Use the lower regional rate
Young or primary-residence buyer	Resale with reductions	Check regional ITP discount bands
Yield investor	Either, after-tax model	Price all-in cost into net yield

Decision framework: classify the property as resale or new build first, then pull the exact regional rate, then add notary, registry, and legal fees to reach the all-in number. Only then compare two listings. A resale and a new build with the same sticker price rarely cost the same once the regime and region are applied.

How transfer tax fits the full buying budget

Transfer tax is the largest single cost, but it is not the only one. Across resale and new build, total buyer costs in Spain land around 10 to 13 percent on top of the price once notary, land registry, legal, and admin fees are added. Foreigners completed roughly 97,480 of Spain’s 714,237 residential deals in 2025, and the ones who budget cleanly all do the same thing: they price the all-in cost before they fall for a view.

Budget component	Resale	New build
Transfer tax	ITP 6 to 10%	IVA 10% + AJD 0.5 to 1.5%
Notary	Sliding scale	Sliding scale
Land registry	Sliding scale	Sliding scale
Legal fees	around 1% plus IVA	around 1% plus IVA
Total over price	around 10 to 12%	around 11 to 13%

For the complete cost breakdown including financing, see the cost of buying hub, and for the process from NIE to keys, the foreign buyer hub and the Spain investment guide set the wider context.

The bottom line on Spain transfer tax

Spain’s purchase tax comes down to one fork and one variable. The fork is resale versus new build, deciding ITP against IVA plus AJD. The variable is the autonomous community, which can swing the resale rate from 6 to 10 percent. Budget on the cadastral reference value, add notary, registry, and legal fees to reach an all-in figure around 10 to 13 percent over price, and compare listings only on that all-in number. Do that, and transfer tax becomes a known line in your plan rather than the surprise that ruins it. Continue with the cost of buying hub and the notary cost guide to finish the budget.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between ITP and IVA on a Spanish property? +

ITP is the transfer tax on resale homes, set by each autonomous community at typically 6 to 10 percent. IVA is VAT on new builds from a developer, at 10 percent residential, paired with AJD. A purchase pays one or the other, never both.

How much is transfer tax on a resale property in Spain? +

It depends on the region: around 6 percent in Madrid, 7 percent in Andalucía, and 10 percent in the Comunidad Valenciana, which covers Alicante. Some regions use progressive bands, so confirm the current rate before budgeting.

Do I pay AJD on a resale home? +

Generally no. AJD stamp duty mainly applies to new builds taxed under IVA and to mortgage deeds. On a standard resale taxed with ITP, AJD is not charged separately, because ITP and AJD are mutually exclusive.

What taxes apply when buying a new build? +

New residential builds pay 10 percent IVA plus AJD of about 0.5 to 1.5 percent depending on the region. In the Canary Islands, IGIC replaces IVA at a lower rate. New build buyers pay IVA and AJD instead of ITP.

Who pays the transfer tax, buyer or seller? +

The buyer pays ITP on a resale and IVA plus AJD on a new build. The seller typically pays plusvalía municipal and capital gains, though plusvalía can sometimes be negotiated.

When do I pay ITP or IVA after buying? +

IVA on a new build is paid to the developer at completion. ITP on a resale is self-assessed and paid to the regional tax office, usually within 30 working days of signing the escritura, or surcharges apply.