ITP: transfer tax on a resale home in Spain, by region

Who pays and why it is regional

Article 8 of the national consolidated text (texto refundido, TRLITPAJD, Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1993) names the buyer as the taxpayer on a transfer. The sale contract cannot move that obligation to the seller as far as the tax authority is concerned. The rate, however, is not national. Article 11.1.a lets each region approve it; only if a region approves none does the State rate of 6% apply. In practice that fallback matters only in Ceuta and Melilla.

ITP does not apply where the seller is a business selling a home subject to VAT. Article 7.5 takes such sales out of ITP when they are supplies of goods subject to VAT. Buying from a private individual, which is the usual resale, is the ITP case.

The base: price or reference value

Article 10.2 sets the base for a property as the reference value (valor de referencia) published by the Catastro on the date the tax falls due. If the price you agreed, or the value you declare, is higher, the higher figure is the base. Where no reference value exists, the base is the highest of the declared value, the price or the market value. The guide on the reference value explains how to read it and contest it. Navarre and the Basque Country apply their own foral rules on value instead.

The 19 general rates

Fifteen common-regime regions set their own rates; Navarre and the Basque Country are foral; Ceuta and Melilla have no rate of their own. These are the general rates for an individual buying a home. Reduced rates exist and depend on age, income, price and use as a main home.

The Basque Country row rests on the provincial regulations of Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, which treat housing at 4% for most buyers and higher for buyers holding more than five homes. Ask the provincial tax authority for your case.

How the bracket regions work

Seven regions use scales, and they work in three different ways.

• Aragon, Castile and León, Extremadura: marginal. Each slice is taxed at its own rate. Calculation on a €500,000 home in Aragon: €40,750, because the scale gives €32,000 on the first €400,000, then 8.5% and 9% on the next two €50,000 slices. In Castile and León a €300,000 home costs €20,000 plus €5,000 (10% of the €50,000 over €250,000), so €25,000.
• Balearic Islands, Catalonia: the scale produces an average rate (tipo medio), which is then applied to the whole base. On a €500,000 home in the Balearic Islands the scale gives €41,000, an average of 8.2%.
• Asturias, Valencian Community: a single rate on the whole value, so a threshold effect. In Asturias, article 26 uses the rate matching “the full value of the asset”: at €300,000 the rate is 8% (€24,000), at €320,000 it is 9% (€28,800). In Valencia the 11% rate applies once the value exceeds €1,000,000.

Filing and payment

The tax is settled through a return filed with the tax administration (article 10.3 refers to the buyer’s self-assessment, autoliquidación, which can be corrected). The form, the office and the filing deadline depend on the region, and no deadline was read for this guide: take them from the regional tax agency before you sign, so that it is not missed.

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with a Spanish bar association (colegio de abogados), see property lawyer, can confirm which reduced rate you meet. A gestoría (administrative agent) files the return. Fees are free-market; no official scale was found.