Selling after five years

What you keep after selling in Spain in year five

A worked EUR 400,000 Spanish property sale showing capital gains tax, plusvalia, fees, mortgage repayment and the cash left for you.

Piggy bank beside a calculator for estimating the net proceeds from a Spanish property sale

19%

Non-resident tax rate on the taxable gain

Sale price withheld for a non-resident

2 taxes

Capital gains tax and municipal plusvalia

Automatic tax breaks for owning exactly five years

A home bought for EUR 300,000 and sold for EUR 400,000 five years later appears to have made EUR 100,000. That isn't the taxable profit, and EUR 400,000 isn't what reaches your bank. Documented taxes and transaction fees paid when you bought can increase the acquisition value, while estate-agent and legal fees reduce the cash you keep. Any mortgage still outstanding leaves at completion too.

Five years is useful as an investment checkpoint, but Spain gives no general capital-gains exemption simply because you reached it. The calculation follows the same rules in year four or year six. The result depends on your tax residence, invoices, mortgage balance, local land value and actual selling costs.

Take a non-resident owner who bought for EUR 300,000, later spent EUR 12,000 on a documented value-adding improvement and sells for EUR 400,000. In the Selling calculator, enter those figures, select a 4% agent fee and add the EUR 180,000 mortgage balance. The calculator estimates acquisition costs at 12% of the purchase price, or EUR 36,000. These are documented costs of buying, such as transfer tax or VAT, notary and registry fees, plus eligible legal fees. They aren't a second purchase price or a standard deduction you can claim without evidence.

The calculator adds the EUR 36,000 acquisition-cost estimate and EUR 12,000 improvement to the purchase price, producing an acquisition value of EUR 348,000 and a taxable gain of EUR 52,000. At the non-resident rate of 19%, its capital-gains estimate is EUR 9,880. It then deducts a EUR 16,000 agent fee, EUR 1,500 legal fee and EUR 180,000 mortgage, leaving EUR 192,620 before plusvalia municipal. We use an illustrative EUR 1,200 for plusvalia, leaving EUR 191,420; the town hall must calculate the real amount from the cadastral land value, ownership period and local rules.

Headline gain versus taxable gain

Selling calculator estimate: EUR 36,000 acquisition costs and a EUR 12,000 improvement reduce the gain to EUR 52,000.

Sale price EUR 400,000

Purchase price - EUR 300,000

Estimated acquisition costs at 12% - EUR 36,000

Documented capital improvement - EUR 12,000

Acquisition value EUR 348,000

Taxable gain EUR 52,000

Capital gains tax at 19% EUR 9,880

Agent and legal fees in calculator - EUR 17,500

Illustrative plusvalia municipal EUR 1,200

Mortgage repaid at completion EUR 180,000

Calculator net before plusvalia EUR 192,620

Final cash after illustrative plusvalia EUR 191,420

Where the EUR 400,000 sale price goes

Selling calculator figures plus an illustrative EUR 1,200 plusvalia. The mortgage affects cash kept but does not reduce the taxable capital gain.

If the seller is non-resident, the buyer withholds 3% of the agreed sale price and pays it to Spain's Tax Agency using Form 211. On EUR 400,000, that is EUR 12,000. It is an advance payment, not an extra tax. Against the calculator's EUR 9,880 capital-gains estimate, the seller would claim EUR 2,120 back after filing Form 210.

This timing matters. Before the refund, the completion statement shows EUR 189,300 after the mortgage, the calculator's selling costs, EUR 12,000 withholding and our estimated plusvalia. The eventual net rises to EUR 191,420 if the Tax Agency accepts the figures and refunds the excess. Don't commit the expected refund to your next purchase until it has arrived.

The official calculation can differ from this first estimate. Spain's rules allow the purchase price, documented taxes and costs inherent to acquisition, qualifying investments and improvements, and eligible seller-paid transfer costs to enter the gain calculation. Routine repairs don't count as improvements. If the property was rented, minimum tax depreciation can reduce the acquisition value even when you never claimed it, which can increase the gain. Keep invoices, tax receipts and proof of payment for your adviser.

Usually relevant to the gain

Original purchase price

Transfer tax or VAT paid on purchase

Notary, registry and eligible legal costs

Invoiced capital improvements

Seller-paid agent and legal fees

Does not reduce the gain

Outstanding mortgage capital

Mortgage interest

Routine repairs and maintenance

Furniture sold with the home

Uninvoiced cash payments

Ask for two calculations before agreeing a listing price: the national capital gain and the municipal plusvalia. Then add an up-to-date mortgage redemption figure, including any cancellation costs. A Spain tax resident may have different rates or reliefs, including possible habitual-home exemptions for qualifying reinvestment or for some sellers aged 65 and over. Those reliefs depend on the facts; five years of ownership alone isn't enough.

Use our Selling calculator for a first estimate. To reproduce this example, enter EUR 400,000 sale price, EUR 300,000 purchase price, EUR 12,000 improvements, a 4% agent fee and a EUR 180,000 mortgage. Then have a Spanish tax adviser replace the calculator's 12% acquisition-cost estimate with your documented costs and check residence, selling-cost deductions, prior rental use, plusvalia and any relief before you sign. Our selling-cost guide covers the other documents and charges that can appear on the completion statement.

Before you choose a price