The listing price is not the price. The real cost of buying property in Spain runs 10–13% above what you agree with the seller in most regions, and if you are buying with a mortgage or moving money from dollars or pounds, a few more lines join the bill. Most guides list three or four of these costs and stop. This one lists all of them, with 2026 figures, and then adds everything up in two fully worked examples so you can see an honest total, not a rule of thumb.
If you want the tax side explained in depth (why regions differ, what you pay every year after buying, what happens at sale), that is our property-tax guide. This article assembles the full purchase budget.
Rates and figures last verified: July 2026 — confirm current rates before you sign.
The purchase taxes: the biggest line by far
One tax or the other, never both:
| You are buying | You pay |
|---|---|
| Resale (any previous owner) | ITP (transfer tax), set by the region: Madrid 6% · Andalucía 7% · Canarias 6.5% · C. Valenciana 9% up to €1M (cut from 10% in June 2026), 11% on the whole price above · Balearics 8–13% tiered · Catalonia 10–13% tiered |
| New build (from developer) | IVA at 10% plus AJD stamp duty (roughly 0.75–1.5% by region); the Canaries charge 7% IGIC instead of IVA |
On a €400,000 purchase, the regional spread alone moves the tax bill between €24,000 and roughly €44,000. These rates changed twice in the last year (Catalonia mid-2025, Valencia June 2026), so verify your region’s current rate the week you sign. The full regional table and the annual taxes that follow the purchase are in our non-resident property tax guide.
One thing that is often asked and worth settling calmly: the proposed 100% tax on non-EU buyers is not law. As of July 2026 the draft has never been debated in Congress, was left out of the government’s January 2026 housing package, and faces constitutional and EU-law doubts. Non-EU buyers today pay the same purchase taxes as everyone else.
Every other line item
| Line item | Typical 2026 cost | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Notary | €600–1,200 (regulated scale) | Always |
| Land registry | €400–700 (regulated, usually 50–70% of notary) | Always |
| Gestoría (tax filing + registration paperwork) | €300–500 | Always in practice; often bundled with legal counsel |
| Independent legal counsel | Commonly 1% of price + 21% IVA (some firms quote up to 1.5%, or flat fees on smaller purchases) | Strongly advised for any non-resident |
| Valuation (tasación) | €300–600, paid by you | Mortgage only |
| Mortgage arrangement fee | 0–1% of the loan, paid at signing | Mortgage only |
| Sworn translations + apostilles (bank file, foreign documents) | €150–500 depending on volume | Mostly mortgage buyers and non-EU files |
| Power of attorney (signed abroad: local notary + apostille + sworn translation) | €200–400 all-in (€70–120 if signed before a notary in Spain) | Remote buyers |
| Currency transfer spread | Retail banks commonly take 2–4% inside the exchange rate; specialist FX brokers 0.1–1% | Anyone funding in USD, GBP, CHF |
| Survey / technical inspection | €250–600 apartments, €400–900+ villas | Optional, wise on older stock |
Two of these deserve a closer look, because they are the ones foreign buyers most often miss.
The currency spread is a real cost, not a banking detail. It never appears on any invoice, which is exactly why it gets missed. A US buyer wiring €300,000 through a retail bank at a 2.5% margin hands over about €7,500 inside the exchange rate. A specialist FX broker doing the same transfer at 0.4% costs about €1,200. That difference is larger than the notary, registry, and gestoría lines combined, and fixing it takes one account setup.
The survey is optional, and on older stock it should not be. Spain has no mandatory structural inspection at purchase, and the seller has no duty to volunteer defects a survey would find. On anything built before the 1990s, €400–900 for a technical architect’s report is the cheapest insurance in this entire table.
Worked example 1: €350,000 resale in Valencia, cash
An EU-based buyer, funds already in euros, present at signing. Older apartment, so the survey is in.
| Line | Amount | % of price |
|---|---|---|
| ITP (9%, C. Valenciana) | €31,500 | 9.0% |
| Notary | €900 | 0.26% |
| Land registry | €550 | 0.16% |
| Gestoría | €400 | 0.11% |
| Independent legal counsel (1% + 21% IVA) | €4,235 | 1.21% |
| Survey | €450 | 0.13% |
| Total costs | €38,035 | 10.9% |
| All-in | €388,035 |
Cash purchases sit at the low end of the range: no valuation, no arrangement fee, no bank file to translate. The tax is 83% of the entire costs column, which is why the region you buy in matters more than every fee combined.
Worked example 2: €600,000 resale in Valencia, 60% mortgage, US buyer
A US buyer financing €360,000 (60% is a realistic non-EU loan-to-value; the full financing picture is in our non-resident mortgage guide), funding the rest from dollars, and signing by power of attorney rather than flying in for completion.
| Line | Amount | % of price |
|---|---|---|
| ITP (9%, C. Valenciana) | €54,000 | 9.0% |
| Notary | €1,150 | 0.19% |
| Land registry | €700 | 0.12% |
| Gestoría | €450 | 0.08% |
| Independent legal counsel (1% + 21% IVA) | €7,260 | 1.21% |
| Valuation (tasación) | €450 | 0.08% |
| Mortgage arrangement fee (0.5% of €360k loan) | €1,800 | 0.30% |
| Power of attorney (US notary + apostille + sworn translation) | €350 | 0.06% |
| Sworn translations, bank file | €300 | 0.05% |
| Survey | €500 | 0.08% |
| Currency spread (≈€307,000 moved USD→EUR at 0.4% via specialist broker) | €1,230 | 0.21% |
| Total costs | €68,190 | 11.4% |
| Cash needed (€240,000 equity + costs) | €308,190 |
The honest headline for a US buyer: financing 60% of a €600,000 purchase still requires roughly €308,000 in available cash. And the FX line is the one that swings. Run that same €307,000 through a retail bank at a 2.5% margin and the spread costs about €7,700 instead of €1,230, pushing total costs to roughly 12.4% of the price. The single cheapest decision in this table is made before any money moves.
Both examples assume the NIE (the foreigner identification number, required before you can complete) is already in hand; the tasa itself is €9.84, so it rounds to zero here, but the lead time does not. Our NIE guide covers the timing.
What is not your cost
Just as useful as the list above: the lines that sometimes get pushed onto foreign buyers but are not theirs to pay.
- The seller’s agent commission. In Spain the seller usually pays their listing agent, typically 3–6%. Some agencies, including some large networks, charge the buyer as well, so ask in writing who pays whom before you view, and negotiate any buyer fee before you commit.
- Plusvalía municipal. The town-hall tax on the land’s value increase is the seller’s by law. Contracts occasionally try to shift it; strike that clause.
- The bank’s loan costs. Since the 2019 mortgage law (Ley 5/2019), the bank pays the mortgage deed tax (AJD), notary, and registry fees on the loan itself. Your mortgage costs are the valuation and any arrangement fee, nothing more.
- The 100% non-EU surcharge. As covered above: a stalled proposal, not a law, and not in any current budget.
The sequencing of when each payment lands, from reservation to keys, is on our buying process page.
Cost of buying property in Spain: quick answers
How much on top of the price should I budget?
Plan on 10–13% of the purchase price in most regions, dominated by the transfer tax (6–13% depending on region). Cash purchases land near the bottom of that range; mortgage purchases add the valuation, any arrangement fee, and translation costs. Madrid and the Canary Islands sit lower than the coasts.
What does a lawyer cost when buying in Spain?
Independent legal counsel commonly charges around 1% of the purchase price plus 21% IVA, so roughly €4,200 on a €350,000 purchase; some firms quote up to 1.5% or flat fees on smaller deals. That covers due diligence, contract review, and completion. It is the one professional fee we would never cut.
Do foreign buyers pay extra taxes in Spain?
No. Purchase taxes are identical for residents and non-residents of any nationality. The proposed 100% tax on non-EU buyers is not law: as of July 2026 it has never been debated in parliament and was dropped from the January 2026 housing package. Where nationality does bite is annual rental-income tax, not the purchase.
How much cash does a US buyer need with a Spanish mortgage?
With a typical non-EU loan of 50–60% of the property value, plan on covering 40–50% of the price plus 10–13% in costs from your own funds. On a €600,000 purchase at 60% financing, that is roughly €308,000 in cash, including taxes, fees, and the currency transfer.
If you want it handled
Every number above lands on a specific date between offer and keys, and the expensive mistakes are sequencing mistakes: an arras deposit signed before the financing is real, a completion date that ignores translation lead times, six figures moved through a retail bank at a 2.5% spread. Zenith Concierge runs this arithmetic on every shortlisted property before you offer, so the all-in figure (not the listing price) is what you approve. Budgeting to the total rather than the asking price is where a buyer’s agent in Spain either earns the fee or does not. Due diligence completes before any deposit contract is signed, we represent only buyers, and if you want us to search, we cover the whole market, off-market listings included, and you follow every step live in your client portal. Already found the property? We start with due diligence.
Book a Strategy Call — 30 minutes. We’ll build the all-in budget for your target price, region, and financing before you look at a single listing.