Buying in Catalonia: ITP from 10% to 13%, and 20%

The ITP scale and how the average rate works

The rule is in the sixth book of the Catalan Tax Code (Código tributario de Cataluña), art. 641-1, in the version in force since 27 June 2025 after Decreto-ley 5/2025. A transfer of real estate pays “el tipo medio que resulta de aplicar la tarifa siguiente”, measured on the total value of the property:

“Average rate” means the scale is applied to the whole value, the resulting tax is divided by that value, and that percentage is then applied to the taxable base of each buyer. For one buyer owning 100%, the result equals a band-by-band calculation. The text sets the scale by the value of the whole property; for co-buyers, ask the adviser how the average rate is applied to each share.

Protected-housing units (viviendas con protección oficial) pay 7% (art. 641-1.2).

Worked example (calculation, not a quote)

These figures apply the published scale to round prices.

• €300,000 resale home: 10% × €300,000 = €30,000.
• €700,000 resale home: €60,000 on the first €600,000, plus 11% × €100,000 = €11,000, so €71,000, an average rate of about 10.14%.
• €1,000,000 resale home: €93,000 + 12% × €100,000 = €105,000, an average of 10.5%.
• €300,000 resale home bought by a large holder: 20% × €300,000 = €60,000.
• €300,000 new home: VAT 10% = €30,000, plus AJD at 1.5% = €4,500 on a base of €300,000.

The tax base itself comes from national law: the higher of the price, the declared value and the Catastro reference value on the date of the transfer (art. 10 of the 1993 text). See the Catastro reference guide.

The 20% rate for large holders

Article 641-1.5 raises the rate to 20% when the buyer, an individual or a company, is a gran tenedor. Three points from the text:

1. A large holder is anyone who owns more than 10 residential properties, or more than 1,500 m² of built residential space, located in Catalonia. It also covers anyone who owns five or more urban residential properties inside a zone that the Generalitat has declared a tight residential market. Garages and storage rooms are not counted.
2. “Home” includes a storage room and up to two parking spaces bought together with it or located in the same building or complex.
3. Two exclusions: a buyer that is a social housing promoter or a non-profit body that houses people in residential vulnerability, and purchases meant as the large holder’s own head office or workplace.

Article 641-1.6 also fixes 20% when a whole residential building is transferred to any person or company. If the building is sold in stages, the stage-by-stage self-assessments are provisional and are regularised in the last one.

The text defines large holders by what they own in Catalonia, with no reference to where they live. A foreign buyer who already owns several Catalan properties should have the count checked before signing.

Reduced rates (5%) and the AJD bonus

Several articles set a 5% ITP rate for a main residence (vivienda habitual), each with a ceiling on the buyer’s income base from the last personal income tax return:

• Under-35s (age at the date the tax falls due, art. 641-5): base general plus savings, minus personal and family minimum, not above €36,000.
• Large families (art. 641-2): same €36,000 limit, raised by €14,000 for each child above the legal minimum for a large family.
• Single-parent families (art. 641-3): same €36,000 base, with the same increase.
• Persons with a disability of 65% or more, or a family-unit member with that disability (art. 641-4): €36,000 for the family unit.
• Victims of gender-based violence (art. 641-5 bis): €36,000, and the purchase must follow from the need to change address.

These articles require the home to be actually occupied within twelve months of purchase, or of completion of works if it is built within three years. None of them sets a price cap. The home counts with a storage room and up to two parking spaces.

On stamp duty, art. 642-1 sets the general AJD at 1.5% on first copies of deeds (letter d), and art. 642-6 gives under-35s with the same €36,000 income test a 100% bonus of the AJD quota on a main residence. A rate of 3.5% applies where the seller has waived the VAT exemption.

What non-resident and foreign buyers should know

No article read for this guide sets a different general rate by residence. The reduced rates depend on the home becoming your vivienda habitual and on your last personal income tax return, so a buyer who has no Spanish return or who keeps the home as a second residence will usually pay the scale rate. The 20% rate depends only on how many properties you own in Catalonia.

You will need a Spanish tax number first: see the NIE guide.

Who pays, and how it is filed

The buyer owes ITP regardless of what the contract says (art. 8.a of the national text). The tax is self-assessed (autoliquidación), that is, the taxpayer files the return and pays. The regional authority is the Catalan Tax Agency (Agència Tributària de Catalunya); its deadlines and forms were not read here, so check them with the agency or your adviser.

Areas popular with foreign buyers

In Payotte’s zone data for Catalonia, the places most often followed are the city of Barcelona, the coastal towns of Sitges, Castelldefels and Salou, and the city of Girona. All fall under the same Catalan scale.

Which professional to consult

A lawyer registered with a bar association (colegio de abogados) can count your Catalan properties against the large-holder test and compare the 5% conditions with your tax return; see property lawyers. A tax adviser can prepare the return that proves your income base.