Buying a Home on the Costa del Sol as a Non-Resident

Budget around 8% to 9% of the price for a resale home, or 12% to 13% for a new build. Andalusia charges a single 7% transfer tax on the whole value, whatever the price, on the higher of the price and the Catastro reference value. In the book's worked example, a €450,000 resale townhouse in Mijas Costa costs €32,207 in tax and notary and Land Registry base fees; with a lawyer's fee of around 1% plus VAT, the total is about €37,650, or 8.4% of the price.

It depends on the town and the building. Every holiday let must be registered in the Andalusian Tourism Register (RTA), the town's planning rules must allow tourist use at that address, and since April 2025 a new let in a flat needs the approval of three-fifths of the owners. Málaga city accepts no new holiday lets anywhere until as late as August 2028, Manilva and Fuengirola restrict them, and Marbella still accepts them. If letting matters, buy a home that is already registered or get the town hall's confirmation first. From 1 December 2026, stays of 30 nights or fewer also carry 10% VAT, if the October 2026 housing decree is confirmed.

Yes. Non-resident owners pay tax on notional income even if the home is never let: 2% of the cadastral value in most Costa del Sol towns, including Mijas and Fuengirola, whose values were last revised long ago (1.1% where a general revaluation took effect in the last ten years). It is taxed at 19% for residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein and 24% for everyone else, including the UK and US. For the book's townhouse, with a cadastral value of €150,000, that is €570 or €720 a year, on form 210. From 2027, a housing decree in force since 8 October 2026 would replace both rates with a banded scale from 1.1% to 3% on the owner's total cadastral value, if parliament confirms it by early November 2026.

Usually none in Spain. Under Andalusian rules, children, grandchildren, spouses and parents each deduct €1,000,000 from what they inherit, and any tax left is reduced by 99%, whether they live in Spain or abroad. The book's €450,000 townhouse passes to a son or daughter, or to two children, with no Spanish tax. The return must still be filed within six months. Your own country may tax the home: if the parent lived in the Netherlands, a child would pay about €68,900 in Dutch tax, with nothing Spanish to credit.

Then the Spanish bill is large. Brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts and in-laws get only a €10,000 allowance and a multiplier of 1.5, with no reduction; cousins and unrelated heirs get no allowance and a multiplier of 1.9. On the €450,000 townhouse a brother would pay about €127,800, more than on the Costa Blanca for a death from June 2026, and an unrelated friend about €166,500. If your heirs will not be your children, take advice early.

First, how the land is classified and whether every structure has a licence. Andalusian planning law, the LISTA, gives the authorities six years from completion to act against unlicensed work, but on some land there is no limit, such as next to rivers, close to the coast or on rural land at risk of flooding while the risk lasts; illegal subdivisions of rural land can also be pursued at any time. A house without a licence should have an AFO declaration from the town hall, which lets it be registered and connected to utilities. Check the water supply, septic tank, electricity and the national flood map (SNCZI) too.

The homes concerned are lived in, registered and bought and sold, but ask your lawyer to check the specific property. Around 18,000 Marbella homes were built under licences that did not match the town plan of 1986, and the 2010 plan meant to regularise them was annulled by the Supreme Court in 2015. A new general plan received final approval on 18 September 2026 and takes effect once published in the provincial gazette; the detailed planning for each area is still being prepared. Ask whether the home is affected and what the new plan says about its area.

Yes, but expect to borrow less than a resident: typically 60% to 70% of the value if you live in the EU and 50% to 60% if you live outside it, applied to the lower of the price and the bank's valuation. On the Costa del Sol valuations are often well below asking prices, which shrinks the loan. Plan to fund 40% to 50% of the price yourself from the EU, or 50% to 60% from outside it. Many banks want the loan repaid by about age 75.

Almost certainly not. As a non-resident you are taxed only on assets in Spain, and if you opt for Andalusian rules you receive a 100% reduction of the wealth tax, so nothing is due unless your net Spanish assets exceed about €3.7 million. The catch is that the reduction only applies if you file form 714 and choose Andalusian rules whenever you are required to file. If your net Spanish assets exceed €700,000, or your gross Spanish assets €2 million, ask your adviser whether you must.

The 2026–27 edition reflects the rules in force in October 2026, including Málaga city's freeze on new holiday lets, Marbella's new town plan, the end of the national NRUA registration number and the national housing decree of 6 October 2026, which was in force at the time of writing but needed parliamentary confirmation. Andalusian and town rules change often, so each edition is updated, and the book flags the points most likely to change.

Yes. Everything except the country annex applies to any non-resident buyer. The annex covers the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, the United States and Ireland; for other countries, the book tells you what to ask a local adviser.

Yes: the coast of the province of Málaga, from Manilva and Estepona in the west, through Marbella, Fuengirola and Málaga city, to Nerja in the east, together with the hill towns just inland, such as Mijas Pueblo, the Alhaurín towns, Coín and the villages of the Axarquía. The Andalusian tax rules in the book apply across Andalusia.

No. It is general information to help you understand the process and the numbers, and to ask the right questions. Before you sign anything, take advice from an independent Spanish lawyer and, where relevant, a tax adviser in your own country.

Both have the same content. The paperback is 6 × 9 inches; the Kindle edition works on any Kindle device or the free Kindle app.

No. The calculator is free and needs no sign-up. The book explains where each figure comes from, the risks behind them and the deadlines.