In Spain “Escritura” or “Escritura Pública” means Deed or legal written document signed, sealed, witnessed and recorded by a notary public. A Deed related to any form of real estate transaction is normally submitted to the Land Registry for its registration.
No, you will not, I am afraid. From January 20, 2006 there is no exemption from capital gains tax for property sellers. Those long-term proprietors who bought before 1986 had privileges of reduction which reduced their tax to zero after 10 years. At the present, however, they must pay capital gains tax on the part of their profit calculated since January 20, 2006. Therefore, all sellers of property can now apply only a coefficient of reduction that approximately matches the inflation rate, but then again no matter how long you have owned your property, you will certainly have capital gains tax to declare when you sell it.
In Spain “Escritura” or “Escritura Pública” means Deed or legal written document signed, sealed, witnessed and recorded by a notary public. A Deed related to any form of real estate transaction is normally submitted to the Land Registry for its registration.
Non-resident individuals owning real estate properties in Spain have the obligation to declare and pay the following taxes every year:
IBI, or Impuesto de Bienes Inmuebles, means the municipal real estate tax. This tax is charged annually by the municipality. Every IBI receipt shows the real estate property’s cadastral reference number (important for several other tax declarations) as well as the official assessed value of such property.
In case you purchase from a non-resident, you are legally obliged to deposit a three per cent of the total declared price with tax authorities in the name of the vendor as a guarantee of his taxes. If this obligation is not accomplished, then the tax aAuthorities could eventually make you (i.e. the acquired real-estate property) responsible in case the seller does not pay his dues. (2007-07-06)
There are two taxes and two expenses that must be paid:
TAXES
A) Transfer tax: In Spanish it is known as Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP), and in Andalucía is:
1) 8% for the stretch of the value of the real estate property declared in the contract for private sales under EUR 400,000
2) 9% for the stretch of the value of the real estate property that exceeds the amount of Euros 400,000 and is under EUROS 700,000.
3) 10% for the stretch of the value of the real estate property that exceeds the amount of EUROS 700,000.
The same new rates will apply to garages (except for those annexed to houses with a maximum of two units) for the stretch of the following values:
1) Under EUR 30,000 (8% tax).
2) Exceeding the amount of Euros 30,000 and is under EUROS 50,000 (9% tax)
3) Exceeding the amount of EUROS 50,000 (10% tax)
Only in case you buy a new property from the developer: you do not pay Transfer tax (ITP) but you pay IVA (Value Added Tax) which is nowadays 8% of the declared purchase’s price and in addition to IVA you pay a Stamp duty Tax of 1.2% (applicable in Andalucía as well).
B) Plusvalía Tax: it is a municipal tax also known in Spanish as Arbitrio Municipal sobre el Incremento del Valor de los Terrenos, but people prefer to call it Plusvalía for short. Its amount can vary and it is based on the increase in the value of the land where the property is located calculated from the date the last sale took place. Therefore it is a seller’s tax, and you must be aware of this since there is a widely spread customary formula by means of which the sellers make that the buyers agree to pay this tax, and once agreed, the buyers cannot claim any reimbursement. In order to know the exact amount that corresponds to any purchase’s plusvalía tax, you can simply ask it at the municipal tax office in your town.
EXPENSES
- Notary fees. These are fixed fees based on an official scale.
- Property Registry fees: also fixed fees based on an official scale.
(updated on March 2012)
It is a digest of the property’s record into the Property Registry books, which will incorporate a mention to any mortgages or several other charges pending on the property as well as the true owner’s identity.
Declaring and registering a new building at the Property Registry in Spain is not a legally demandable action since for constructions as well as in general for several other real-estate transactions the rule is of voluntary registration. However, as for the case of registration of several other actions at the Property Registry, it is normally advisable, or even necessary, to do it when owners face a transmission, external financing or other transactions such as subdivision of the built area (2009-07-01)
Yes, you can. But only in case the hidden defects existed by the time the sale took place and they are substantial defects (not unimportant, or small ones). The term you have to claim your money back is 6 months after the sale’s completion date. (2009-07-02)