Balearic Islands, Costa Blanca or Costa del Sol? The rules side by side
The Balearic Islands, the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol are all popular with non-resident buyers, but each region sets its own transfer tax, letting rules and inheritance and wealth tax reliefs. This table sets the three books side by side. The Balearics book reflects rules in force in September 2026, while the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol books reflect rules in force in October 2026.
| Topic | Balearic Islands | Costa Blanca | Costa del Sol |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax on a resale home (ITP) | Banded: 8% up to €400,000, 9% to €600,000, 10% to €1m, 12% to €2m, 13% above. Charged on the higher of price and reference value. | 9% of the whole value up to €1,000,000 (10% before 1 June 2026); 11% of the whole value above that. Same reference value rule. | 7% of the whole value, whatever the price, with no higher rate. Same reference value rule. |
| New build: VAT and stamp duty (AJD) | 10% VAT plus 1.5% stamp duty; 2% stamp duty if the property is worth €1,000,000 or more. | 10% VAT plus 1.4% stamp duty (1.5% before 1 June 2026). | 10% VAT plus 1.2% stamp duty. |
| Buying costs in the book's worked example | €750,000 resale home: €65,918 in taxes and notary and registry fees, about 8.8% of the price, before the lawyer's fee. Budget around 10%. | €450,000 resale villa: €41,207 in taxes and notary and registry fees, about 9.2% of the price, before the lawyer's fee. Budget around 10% (new build 12–13%). | €450,000 resale townhouse: €32,207 in taxes and notary and registry fees, about 7.2% of the price, before the lawyer's fee. Budget around 8–9% (new build 12–13%). |
| Typical asking prices per m² | Fotocasa, March 2026: from €2,925 in Inca and €3,486 in Maó to €7,665 in Ibiza town and €8,693 in Santa Eulària des Riu. | idealista, May 2026: from €2,548 in Torrevieja to €4,072 in Jávea; provincial average €2,811. | idealista, September 2026: from €3,043 in Manilva and €3,717 in Mijas to €5,967 in Marbella; provincial average €4,317. |
| Tourist tax | Ecotasa collected from guests: €2.20 per guest per night from 1 May to 31 October, €0.55 in low season; under-16s exempt. | None. A regional tax approved in 2022 was repealed in November 2023 before it took effect. | None. Málaga city has asked the Junta to allow one. |
| Holiday letting of flats and houses | No new licences for flats; Palma accepts no new holiday lets in homes. A house needs a licence, suitable zoning and tourist places. | Town hall report and five-year registration needed; flats need approval of three-fifths of owners. Alicante city, Dénia, Jávea and others suspend or cap new lets. | RTA registration and a town that allows it; flats need approval of three-fifths of owners. Málaga city accepts no new lets until as late as August 2028; Manilva and Fuengirola restrict them; Marbella still accepts them. |
| Wealth tax allowance for non-residents | €3,000,000 under Balearic rules, only if you file form 714; otherwise the national €700,000. | Plan on €1,000,000 under Valencian rules, only if you file form 714. Whether non-residents get the €2,000,000 from July 2026 law is unsettled. | 100% reduction under Andalusian rules, so nothing due below about €3.7 million net, only if you file form 714 when required. |
| Inheritance tax: children | 100% relief for children, spouses and parents, including heirs abroad: €0 on a €750,000 home. | €100,000 allowance and 99% reduction for children, grandchildren, spouses and parents, including heirs abroad: about €686 on a €450,000 villa. | €1,000,000 allowance and 99% reduction for children, grandchildren, spouses and parents, including heirs abroad: €0 on a €450,000 townhouse. |
| Inheritance tax: brothers, sisters, nephews (group III) | 60% relief (35% if inheriting alongside the deceased's children). Brother inheriting €750,000: about €92,800. | 25% reduction for deaths from 1 June 2026, 50% from 1 June 2027. Brother inheriting €450,000: about €112,300 (about €74,900 from June 2027). | €10,000 allowance, multiplier 1.5, no reduction. Brother inheriting €450,000: about €127,800. |
| Military permit (non-EU buyers) | Needed for rural land anywhere in the islands; not normally for homes on urban land. | Needed only for rural land in Torrevieja, Orihuela, Pilar de la Horadada and San Miguel de Salinas; since July 2021 not for urban land (lawyer to confirm per plot). | No general zone known on the Costa del Sol; the notary confirms it for each property. |
| Unlicensed work on rural land | Protected rural land: no time limit. Ordinary rural land: eight years. Legalisation windows close in 2028 (Mallorca February, Menorca March, Ibiza April). | No time limit on ordinary rural land since February 2019, none on protected land. Many homes completed before 20 August 2014 can be regularised. | Six years under the LISTA, but no limit next to rivers and the coast or on flood-risk land while the risk lasts; illegal subdivisions can be pursued at any time. Houses past the limit can apply for an AFO declaration. |
| Countries in the country annex | Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Sweden, Netherlands. | United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Sweden, Norway. | United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, United States, Ireland. |
Good to know
- In all three regions non-resident owners pay notional income tax of 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value, at 19% (EU/EEA) or 24% (others), even if the home is never let. Most Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol towns use 2%, because their values were last revised long ago. From 2027, a national housing decree would replace both rates with a banded scale from 1.1% to 3%, if it is confirmed.
- In all three regions the buyer keeps back 3% of the price when the seller is non-resident, and gains on sale are taxed at 19%.
- From 1 December 2026, a national housing decree adds 10% VAT to holiday lets of 30 nights or fewer in all three regions, if parliament confirms it by early November 2026.
- Prices are property portal asking prices (Fotocasa for the Balearics, idealista for the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol), for comparison only. The percentages in the worked-example row are calculated from the books' figures.
- Banks typically lend non-residents 60–70% (EU) or 50–60% (non-EU) in all three regions.
- Rules change often in all three regions; check the current position before you act.
Which suits whom
On the books' figures, the Balearics combine the highest asking prices, a banded transfer tax and a €3m wealth tax allowance with holiday letting largely limited to houses that already hold a licence. The Costa Blanca has lower asking prices, a 9% transfer tax up to €1m and no tourist tax, with letting decided town by town. The Costa del Sol has higher asking prices than the Costa Blanca but the lowest transfer tax of the three, a flat 7%, and effectively no wealth tax for non-residents who file, below about €3.7 million of net Spanish assets; Málaga city, however, has frozen new holiday lets. For children, all three regions leave little or no Spanish inheritance tax on a typical home; for brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces, the Costa del Sol is the most expensive of the three, because Andalusia gives them no reduction.
Try your own figures in the free calculators for the Balearic Islands, the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol.
More detail in the books. Each region has its own book with worked examples, deadlines and the risks behind the figures, plus a free calculator: Balearic Islands · Costa Blanca · Costa del Sol.
General information based on the rules described in each 2026–27 edition (Balearic Islands: September 2026; Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol: October 2026), not legal or tax advice.