How much does it cost to buy a home on the Costa Blanca?
As a non-resident buying a resale home on the Costa Blanca, plan on paying roughly 10% of the purchase price on top of the price itself. Nearly all of that is tax. The notary, the Land Registry and your own advisers make up only a small part of the bill.
Transfer tax on resale homes
If you buy from a private seller rather than a developer, the main cost is the Valencian transfer tax, ITP (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales), collected by the Valencian tax agency (ATV). Unlike many regions, the Valencian Community does not use bands. It charges one rate on the whole value:
| Value of the property | Rate on the whole value |
|---|---|
| Up to €1,000,000 | 9% (10% before 1 June 2026) |
| Over €1,000,000 | 11% |
The 11% applies to the whole value, not just the part above €1,000,000. A home taxed at exactly €1,000,000 pays €90,000; one at €1,000,001 pays €110,000. If you are buying close to that line, discuss the price, and any furniture included in it, with your lawyer before you sign.
ITP is paid on form 600 within one month of signing the deed. Your lawyer or the notary's gestoría usually files it, but the duty is yours.
You may see Valencian rates of 8%, 6%, 4% or even 3% advertised, for young buyers, large families, people with disabilities or protected housing. All of them require the home to become the buyer's main residence. A non-resident's holiday home always pays the standard rate.
The Catastro reference value sets a floor
Since January 2022, ITP is charged on the Catastro's reference value (valor de referencia) or the deed price, whichever is higher. If you pay less than the reference value, which still happens with older and rural property, you are taxed on money you never spent. Ask your lawyer to check the reference value on the Catastro's online portal before you sign a reservation, and if it is above the agreed price, build the extra tax into your offer.
New builds: VAT and stamp duty
New developments are a large part of the market in the south of the Costa Blanca. A newly built home bought direct from the developer carries no transfer tax. Instead you pay:
- VAT (IVA) at 10% of the contract price, including up to two parking spaces and storage rooms bought with the home, paid to the developer.
- Stamp duty (AJD) on the deed at 1.4% (1.5% before 1 June 2026), a Valencian tax due within the same one-month deadline as ITP. It is charged on the reference value if that is higher than the price.
A home counts as new only on its first sale by the developer. Buy it from the first owner and you pay transfer tax at the resale rate.
Notary, Land Registry and lawyer
- Notary: an official scale, less a general 5% reduction. On a €450,000 home the base fee is about €460, before copies, pages and 21% VAT.
- Land Registry: about €250 plus VAT on a €450,000 home, and never more than roughly €2,100 whatever the value.
- Lawyer: fees are freely agreed, commonly around 1% of the price plus VAT, often with a minimum. Ask for a written quote showing what is included.
Buying from a non-resident seller
Many sellers on the Costa Blanca live abroad. If yours does, you must keep back 3% of the deed price and pay it to the Spanish tax agency for them, on form 211, within one month of signing. It comes out of the price and is not an extra cost to you, but if you fail to pay it, the tax office can recover it from the home you have just bought.
The seller's municipal gains tax (plusvalía municipal) is also your responsibility: when the seller is a non-resident individual, the law makes the buyer liable to pay it in the seller's place, within 30 working days. Ask your lawyer to estimate it and withhold that amount too.
A worked example at €450,000
Take a €450,000 resale villa in the Marina Alta bought from a non-resident seller, with the reference value below the price and professional fees left out:
- Transfer tax at 9%: €40,500.
- Notary and Land Registry base fees, before VAT and copies: €707.
- Total taxes and fees: €41,207.
- Withheld for the seller's tax: €13,500, part of the price rather than a cost.
As a new build, the same home would carry €45,000 of VAT, €6,300 of stamp duty and the same €707 in fees, a total of €52,007. You can try your own figures with the free calculator.
More detail in the book. Chapters 3 and 6 of Buying a Home on the Costa Blanca as a Non-Resident cover this with worked examples, deadlines and the risks behind the figures.
General information based on the rules in force in October 2026, not legal or tax advice. Rules change often: check your own case with an independent Spanish lawyer or tax adviser before you act.
Related: Legal checks before buying a villa or country house on the Costa Blanca · What does a non-resident pay each year on a Costa Blanca home?