How much does it cost to buy a home on the Costa del Sol?
As a non-resident buying a resale home on the Costa del Sol, plan on paying roughly 8% to 9% of the purchase price on top of the price itself. Most of that is tax. The notary, the Land Registry and your own advisers make up the rest.
That is lower than in much of Mediterranean Spain, because Andalusia charges a single 7% transfer tax. On a €450,000 home, the Costa Blanca would charge €40,500 and the Balearic Islands about €36,500, against €31,500 on the Costa del Sol.
Transfer tax on resale homes
If you buy from a private seller rather than a developer, the main cost is the Andalusian transfer tax, ITP (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales), collected by the Andalusian tax agency. Andalusia uses one rate on the whole value, with no bands and no higher rate for expensive property:
| Value of the property | Rate on the whole value |
|---|---|
| Any value | 7% |
So a €450,000 home pays €31,500 and a €1.2 million villa €84,000. ITP is paid on form 600 within two months of signing the deed. Your lawyer or the notary's gestoría usually files it, but the duty is yours.
You may see Andalusian rates of 6% and 3.5% advertised, for homes worth up to €150,000, young buyers, large families and people with disabilities. All of them require the home to become the buyer's main residence. A non-resident's holiday home always pays 7%.
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
Buying new from a developer is common around Marbella, Estepona and Mijas. 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 1.2%, an Andalusian tax due within the same two-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 7%.
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. Ask for a written quote showing what is included.
Buying from a non-resident seller
Many sellers on the Costa del Sol 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 agency 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 townhouse in Mijas Costa bought from a non-resident seller, with the reference value below the price:
| Resale | New build | |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax at 7% | €31,500 | – |
| VAT at 10% | – | €45,000 |
| Stamp duty at 1.2% | – | €5,400 |
| Notary and Land Registry, base fees | €707 | €707 |
| Total taxes and fees | €32,207 | €51,107 |
| Withheld for the seller's tax (part of the price) | €13,500 | – |
Add a lawyer's fee of around €5,450 and the resale total comes to about €37,650, or 8.4% of the price. You can try your own figures with the free calculator.
More detail in the book. Chapter 6 of Buying a Home on the Costa del Sol 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 country house or urbanisation home on the Costa del Sol · What does a non-resident pay each year on a Costa del Sol home?