Selling a property in Spain while living abroad involves several tax obligations, including the 3% withholding paid by the buyer to the Spanish Tax Agency, capital gains tax and the local plusvalía. You must file your tax return within the applicable deadline and can claim a refund if the 3% withheld exceeds the tax you owe.
At Lextax, we handle the tax side of your property sale. We calculate your gain, check applicable exemptions, file Form 210 and the plusvalía, and claim back any excess withholding. You do not need to travel to Spain. This service is part of our tax law services for foreigners in Spain, provided from our office in Jávea on the Costa Blanca.
Contact our team before the sale to find out how much tax you will pay and how much you may be able to recover.
The taxes when you sell property in Spain as a non-resident
| Tax | Who pays it | How much | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% retention (Form 211) | The buyer, out of the price | 3% of the agreed price | Within one month of the sale |
| Capital gains tax (Form 210) | You, the seller | 19% of your gain, minus the 3% already paid | Within the three months after the buyer’s one-month period |
| Municipal plusvalía | You, the seller | Depends on the town hall and the land value | Within 30 working days of the sale |
The 3% retention: what it is and why it exists
When the seller is not resident in Spain, Spanish law requires the buyer to withhold 3% of the agreed price and pay it to the Tax Agency with Form 211 within one month of the sale (Article 25.2 of the Non-Resident Income Tax Law). The buyer must give you a copy, because you will need it for your own return.
The 3% is not your tax. It is a payment on account of your capital gains tax. If you end up owing more, you pay the difference. If you owe less, or nothing, you get the difference back.
For buyers, this matters too: if the buyer does not withhold and pay the 3%, the property itself remains liable for the unpaid amount. That is why notaries and buyers’ lawyers in Spain check the seller’s residence and handle the retention at completion.
How capital gains tax is calculated
As a non-resident, you pay a flat 19% on the gain, whatever country you live in (Article 25.1.f of the Non-Resident Income Tax Law). According to the Tax Agency, the gain is the difference between:
- The transmission value: the real sale price, minus the costs and taxes you paid to sell (estate agent, notary costs you bear, the municipal plusvalía).
- The acquisition value: what you paid for the property, plus the costs and taxes of buying it (transfer tax or VAT, notary, land registry, legal fees) and the cost of improvements. Repairs and maintenance do not count, and neither does mortgage interest.
Two adjustments can change the result a lot:
- If you rented the property out, the acquisition value is reduced by depreciation: at least 3% a year of the building’s value (not the land) for the years it was rented, even if you never deducted it in your rental returns. Non-EU landlords, who cannot deduct expenses from their rent, are often surprised by this.
- If you bought before 31 December 1994, part of the gain may be reduced under a transitional rule, as long as your total sales since 2015 under this rule have not exceeded €400,000.
Case 1: selling at a gain
You bought a villa in 2015 for €200,000 and paid €20,000 in purchase taxes and costs. In 2026 you sell it for €320,000, paying €12,000 to the estate agent and €2,000 of plusvalía.
| Transmission value (€320,000 – €14,000) | €306,000 |
| Acquisition value (€200,000 + €20,000) | €220,000 |
| Capital gain | €86,000 |
| Tax at 19% | €16,340 |
| Less the 3% retained by the buyer (3% of €320,000) | -€9,600 |
| Still to pay with Form 210 | €6,740 |
Case 2: selling at a loss
You bought an apartment in 2019 for €300,000 plus €30,000 of costs, and sell it for €310,000, paying €10,000 in selling costs. Your transmission value is €300,000 and your acquisition value €330,000, so you have a loss of €30,000 and no tax to pay. The buyer still retained €9,300 (3% of €310,000), and that whole amount is yours to claim back with Form 210.
That refund does not happen on its own. If you do not file, the Tax Agency keeps the money.
Form 210 for the sale: deadline and refunds
You declare the sale on Form 210, in the section for property transfers. The deadline is three months, counted from the end of the one-month period the buyer has to pay the retention. In practice, that is about four months from the date of the deed. This applies whether you owe money, owe nothing or are due a refund.
If you are married and own the property jointly, each spouse files their own Form 210 for their share. You can also file a single return covering both spouses.
Form 210 is also the return non-residents file every year for owning or renting out a Spanish property. If you are not familiar with it, our guide to Spanish non-resident tax and Form 210 explains how it works.
Can you avoid capital gains tax as a non-resident?
Mostly no, but there are a few cases where part of the gain is exempt:
- Reinvestment in a new main home: if you live in an EU country, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein, and the property you sell was your main home, the gain is exempt if you reinvest the full amount in a new main home, in Spain or abroad. Partial reinvestment gives a partial exemption. You still have to file Form 210, and the buyer still withholds the 3%.
- Properties bought between 12 May and 31 December 2012: 50% of the gain is exempt, with some exclusions for sales between related persons.
One exemption that residents enjoy does not normally help non-residents: the exemption for people over 65 selling their main home. The Directorate General of Taxes has denied it to non-residents who do not reinvest.
Double tax treaties do not remove the Spanish tax either. Under the treaties with the UK and the US, for example, Spain keeps the right to tax gains on property located in Spain, and your home country usually gives you a credit for the Spanish tax. See our guides to the Spain-UK tax treaty and the Spain-US tax treaty.
The municipal plusvalía
The plusvalía (officially, the tax on the increase in value of urban land) is a local tax paid to the town hall where the property is. It taxes the increase in value of the land, not the building.
- Since 2021, you can choose between two methods: one based on the cadastral value of the land and the years you owned it, and one based on the real gain. You pay the lower of the two.
- If you sell at a loss, you can prove it and there is no plusvalía to pay.
- For sales, the deadline is 30 working days from the sale.
- It is common for the buyer to hold back the estimated plusvalía at completion, as well as the 3%, to make sure it gets paid.
The plusvalía you pay counts as a cost of the sale, so it reduces your gain for capital gains tax.
Step by step: selling your Spanish property from abroad
- Before you sell, gather your purchase deed, the receipts for purchase taxes and costs, invoices for improvements, and your last IBI bill. Check that your Spanish non-resident tax returns are up to date: the buyer’s lawyer will usually ask.
- At the notary, the buyer keeps 3% of the price (and often the plusvalía) and pays you the rest.
- Within one month, the buyer files Form 211 and gives you a copy.
- Within 30 working days, the plusvalía is filed with the town hall.
- Within the following three months, you file Form 210 for the sale and pay the difference or claim the refund.
- For the year of the sale, you still declare the imputed income or rental income for the months you owned the property.
- In your home country, report the sale as your local rules require and claim the credit for Spanish tax.
What happens if you inherited the property?
The acquisition value is generally the value declared for inheritance tax, plus the costs of the inheritance. If the inheritance was never formally completed in Spain, you will need to do that before you can sell. Our guide to the inheritance of a foreigner in Spain covers the procedure.
Common mistakes when selling as a non-resident
- Not filing Form 210 because «the 3% already covers it». It might not, and if it is too much, nobody refunds it automatically.
- Losing the purchase receipts. Without them you cannot add your purchase costs, and your gain looks bigger than it is.
- Forgetting depreciation on a property you rented out.
- Missing the plusvalía deadline, especially when the buyer did not hold back the amount.
- Selling with years of unpaid non-resident tax. It is better to regularise before the sale than to have it come up at the notary.
