Selling a flat in Spain while living abroad is not difficult because of the law, which is the same for everyone. It is difficult because of the logistics: certificates that expire, a tax withholding the buyer is obliged to apply, a municipal tax calculated by the town hall, and a notary's office that needs the complete file before it can draft anything. This guide sets all of that out so that you know what lies ahead before you start.
1. The documents you need to gather
The deed of sale is not drafted until the notary's office holds the complete file. These are the documents asked for in almost every case:
- Title deed, that is, the deed by which you acquired the property, or an up-to-date nota simple (Land Registry extract).
- Valid identity document for each seller and their NIE (foreigner's tax identification number). Without a NIE you cannot sign the sale, pay taxes or register anything.
- Energy performance certificate, compulsory since 2013 and valid for ten years.
- Latest IBI receipt (the annual council property tax) and a certificate from the owners' association confirming that payments are up to date.
- Occupancy certificate (cédula de habitabilidad) in the autonomous regions that require it, such as Catalonia, the Balearic Islands or the Region of Valencia.
- Outstanding debt certificate from the bank if the property is mortgaged.
One detail that is often overlooked: if you inherited the property and the inheritance was never registered at the Land Registry, the property is still recorded in the deceased's name and cannot be sold until it has been formally awarded and registered. Check this at the outset, not in the week of signing.
2. The 3 % withholding on non-residents
This is the feature that most surprises sellers based abroad. Where the seller is not tax resident in Spain, the buyer is required by law to withhold 3 % of the price and pay it to the Spanish tax authorities using modelo 211, within one month of signing. You do not receive that 3 %: the tax office receives it on account of the tax due on your gain.
That withholding is a payment on account, not a final tax. You then file modelo 210 and settle up:
- If the actual gain gives rise to less tax than the amount withheld, you can claim a refund of the excess. The deadline to claim it is four months from the date the buyer files modelo 211.
- If it gives rise to more, you must pay the difference.
- If you sold at a loss, the whole withholding is refunded, provided this is properly evidenced.
The gain is calculated as the difference between the acquisition value and the transfer value, and you may add to the purchase value the costs and taxes you paid at the time, as well as improvement works documented by invoice. Keeping those invoices can save you a considerable amount.
3. The other taxes on the sale
Besides the withholding, the sale brings two further items:
- Plusvalía municipal (municipal capital gains tax), officially the tax on the increase in value of urban land. It is paid by the seller and calculated by the town hall where the property is located. Since the 2021 reform there are two methods of calculation and you may choose whichever is more favourable; and if there has been no increase in value, nothing is payable.
- IRNR, the non-resident income tax, which is settled through modelo 210 and against which the 3 % withholding is credited.
The notarial fees for the deed are shared as agreed between the parties; the general custom, unless agreed otherwise, is for the seller to bear the original deed and the buyer the certified copies and the registration.
4. If the property still has a mortgage
This is not an obstacle. The usual course is to repay the mortgage out of the sale price, at the signing itself: the outstanding debt certificate is requested from the bank, the buyer pays part of the price directly to the lender, and the property is left free of charges.
Two things are worth telling apart, because they are often confused. A mortgage being repaid does not mean it has been cancelled at the Land Registry. Thousands of properties in Spain still show a charge years after the last instalment was paid, and that blocks the sale until the entry is formally cancelled. Request a nota simple at the start of the process and put the question to rest.
5. When the property has several owners
If the flat belongs to several siblings, to a couple who have since separated or to a group of heirs, every owner must take part in the sale. There is no practical way of selling only "your share" of the property: you may transfer your undivided share, but finding a buyer is very difficult and the other co-owners have a right of pre-emption.
Where one of the co-owners wishes to keep the property and compensate the others in cash, the appropriate instrument is not a sale but the dissolution of co-ownership (extinción de condominio), which has a different and considerably more favourable tax treatment when it is properly structured.
6. How long it really takes
With the paperwork complete and a committed buyer, these are reasonable timescales:
- Gathering the paperwork: one to three weeks, depending on what has to be requested from the bank, the owners' association or the Land Registry.
- Drafting of the deed by the notary's office: one or two weeks from receipt of the complete file.
- Signing: one day.
- Taxes and registration at the Land Registry: a further two to four weeks.
What stretches the timescales is almost never the notary's office. It is usually a certificate that does not arrive, a NIE that was not applied for in time, or an earlier inheritance that was never registered.
7. Five costly mistakes
- Starting without a NIE. Obtaining one takes time, and without it nothing can be signed or paid.
- Declaring too low a value in an earlier inheritance. The lower the value declared on inheriting, the greater the gain on selling, and the greater the tax.
- Forgetting the invoices for improvement works. Without an invoice they cannot be added to the acquisition value.
- Assuming the mortgage has been cancelled at the Land Registry. Repaid is not the same as cancelled.
- Failing to claim the refund of the 3 %. There is a deadline, and it is lost once it passes.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to travel to Spain to sell my property?
Not necessarily. There is the possibility of taking part remotely where this is legally available, and also the route of granting a power of attorney so that someone you trust signs on your behalf. Which of the two fits your particular case is decided by the notary's office after examining the transaction, not beforehand.
What exactly is the 3 % withholding?
It is an amount the buyer withholds from the price and pays to the Spanish tax authorities on account of the non-resident seller's tax. It is not an additional tax: if, once the figures are worked out, the tax due is lower, a refund of the excess is claimed.
Can I receive the price into an account outside Spain?
Yes. The price is normally paid by transfer or banker's draft, and may be received into a Spanish or a foreign account, according to what is agreed and recorded in the deed.
What if I inherited the property and never put it in my name?
The inheritance has to be accepted, formally awarded and registered before you can sell. The two transactions are often carried out one after the other on the same day at the same notary's office.
Do I need a lawyer as well as the notary?
It is not compulsory. The notary checks the legality of the instrument he or she authorises. What is advisable is for someone to take charge of the administrative side: paperwork, taxes, and coordination with the buyer and the Land Registry.
How much does it cost to sell a property in Spain?
It depends on the price of the property and on the autonomous region. The fixed items are the notarial fees, the plusvalía municipal and, where applicable, the tax on the gain. The 3 % withholding is not a cost, it is an advance payment.
At Notario.org we manage and coordinate notarial procedures in Spain with Spanish notary offices. We are not a notary's office: the instrument is authorised by, and is the responsibility of, a notary, an independent public official. If you would like to know what can be resolved in your case without travelling, tell us about your transaction and we will come back to you with an assessment and a fixed quotation.
