The costs of selling a property on the Costa del Sol

If you own a property on the Costa del Sol and are thinking of putting it on the market, it’s worth doing some research before you set a price, to work out how much the sale will cost you.

Besides paying an agency commission to a property agent like Terra Meridiana for successfully marketing and selling your Costa del Sol home, there are some other costs that vendors have to bear. These can vary according to the situation, but the most common ones are taxes, payable to local authorities and the Spanish Tax Agency (Hacienda), and if you have a mortgage on the property the bank will charge some fees for its cancellation.

A property sale in Spain gives rise to tax liability for the vendor. Exactly how much is owed depends on a number of factors: the length of time the property has been owned, how much the property has gained in value during that time, the seller’s fiscal status, place of residence and the income earned during the taxable period when the sale is finalised.

Taxes applicable to sellers:
Municipal capital gains tax (Plusvalía) – due to your local Town Council and calculated using the cadastral or rateable value, on the increase in the value of the land on which your property stands. Generally speaking, the longer you own a property, the more you have to pay, even if you sell for less than you paid.

Income tax (Impuesto sobre la Renta) – is paid to the Spanish Tax Agency and is based on the difference between the price you paid for the property (including any costs deriving from the purchase) and the price at which you sell (less any costs), at a variable rate that depends upon the seller’s tax status.

Possible additional fees:
Mortgage cancellation fees – if you have a mortgage outstanding on your property and intend to pay this off upon selling the home most Spanish banks will charge a small percentage of the loan in commission for this service.

Estate-agent fees – if you use an estate agent, we (and most other real-estate agents on the Costa del Sol) normally charge 5% of the sales price, plus 21% VAT, for our services. The percentage may be negotiable, but it covers all the costs associated with listing and marketing your property, viewings, visits, and everything else we need to do to help your property sell.

Buyers are normally required to pay all the other costs involved with a property transaction in Spain, with the exception of notary fees for the creation of a new public title deed for the property in the buyer’s name. If these are not specifically passed on to the buyer within the terms of the purchase contract, the seller is liable for 80% of the amount.

You can find more detailed information on the costs of selling a property on the Costa del Sol here – or consult our complete Sellers’ Guide here.

Originally published in October 2015, updated by Adam Neale in August 2018

By Adam Neale | Property News | August 9th, 2018

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