Property Purchase Taxes in Catalonia: ITP, IVA and AJD

Which tax you pay when buying property in Catalonia

The regime depends on who is selling and what exactly is being sold. What the taxes themselves are is explained in the article what ITP and AJD are; here the focus is on rates and calculation. If the seller is a private individual, the purchase is subject to the property transfer tax (ITP, transmisiones patrimoniales onerosas mode), without IVA. The same ITP is paid when the seller is a business but the transaction is exempt from IVA, and when the business transfers the property as an autonomous economic unit [1].

IVA plus the stamp duty on documented legal acts (AJD) is paid when a developer sells in the first transfer of a finished building. A transfer does not count as the first if the property has previously been used continuously for two years or more (by the owner, a usufructuary or a tenant without a purchase option). IVA and AJD are also paid on the sale of a renovated building, if the renovation meets the conditions of the IVA law, and on the sale of plots with construction in progress [1].

The IVA rate on housing: 10% for unrestricted housing and officially protected housing, 4% for special-regime protected housing [3]. The 10% rate under article 91 of Ley 37/1992 covers the dwelling and no more than two parking spaces and storage rooms sold together with it [12]. AJD under the AJ4 rate is 1.5%, and when a business seller waives the IVA exemption the AJ5 rate of 3.5% applies (from 27 June 2025) [1].

The transaction classifier on the AEAT website helps you work out which tax applies to you: it shows whether the transaction is subject to IVA or ITP, but says nothing about AJD [1]. The rate does not depend on whether you are a non-resident: the ATC tables do not list the buyer’s nationality as a criterion, and the rate depends on the price, the type of property and the buyer’s category [1][2].

How much tax you pay when buying a flat in Catalonia: summary table

The buyer of a flat pays one of two sets of taxes: ITP if the seller is a private individual, or IVA with AJD if the seller is a developer. The ITP rate varies with the price, the use of the home and the buyer’s category [1][2].

Table data: pages of the Agència Tributària de Catalunya [1][2], Ley 37/1992 [12] and the Generalitat [3]. Below we go through the ITP calculation on the scale, the reliefs, new builds and other costs.

ITP: rates and calculation

The Agència Tributària de Catalunya scale applies to transactions from 27 June 2025. Before that date the 10% rate covered transactions up to €1,000,000, and that is the threshold you will find in most articles [2].

Here is how it works in figures. A flat for €300,000: 10%, that is €30,000. A house for €700,000 (the ATC’s own example): €60,000 plus 11% of €100,000, total €71,000, an average rate of 10.143% [2]. A property for €1,000,000: €93,000 plus 12% of €100,000, total €105,000 (arithmetic based on the table). If two people buy in shares, the tax is calculated on the full value of the property to determine the average rate, which is then applied to each person’s share [2].

The tax base. General rule: market value. For property with a reference value from the cadastre (valor de referencia), the base is the highest of the reference value, the declared value and the contract price [4]. If the reference value is too high, the taxpayer can file a request to rectify the self-assessment and challenge it [4]. There is no point in understating the price in the escritura.

Higher and reduced rates: who they apply to

20% ITP is paid by a buyer whom the law considers a large holder of housing, and also by the buyer of an entire building made up of dwellings. The ATC considers a large holder anyone who owns more than 10 urban residential properties in Catalonia, or whose residential floor area adds up to more than 1,500 m² (excluding garages and storage rooms), or five or more residential properties in municipalities with a stressed housing market. For taxable events before 13 July 2026, the five properties were counted within a single stressed market area.

The status is determined before the transaction: if you own four homes in the area and buy two more under one contract, neither of them is taxed at 20% [2]. Flats let to tourists are also counted [2]. The 20% rate does not apply if the buyer acquires the home as their main residence; a main residence is a home where the person lives continuously for three years [2]. This does not affect an ordinary buyer of one flat, but an investor with a portfolio should check.

Reduced rates apply to buying a home as your permanent residence when the conditions are met: officially protected housing (one ATC page states 7%, another 5%, check when filing), young people under 35, large and single-parent families, people with disabilities, victims of gender violence (5%), rural municipalities (4%, 3% in municipalities of special attention) [1][2]. For a non-resident buying a second home, these reliefs usually do not apply. Read the conditions on the ATC page, which lists the requirements for each rate.

IVA and AJD when buying a new-build

If you buy a new home from a developer, IVA is 10% of the price before tax: on a flat for €400,000 the IVA will be €40,000 [3]. AJD at the AJ4 rate (1.5%) is added when the transaction is formalised in a notarial escritura [1]. The taxes are paid by the buyer. For the first transfer of officially protected housing the escritura is exempt from AJD, but modelo 600 must still be filed [1].

The buyer of a new build also pays the conveyancing costs: notary, registry, gestor. The costs of the developer’s mortgage loan and of the escritura de obra nueva and the division into horizontal property are borne by the seller [3]. A new home must have ten-year defects insurance: without it, it will not be entered in the registry [7]. We look at other differences between the two types of purchase in the article new build or resale.

Other buyer costs

We do not give notarial and registry amounts in the table: they depend on the price, the number of pages and the operations in the document. Notaries and registrars charge according to a scale set by the state, so the total is similar from one notary’s office to another [3][8]. Since 10 November 2018 the tax on the mortgage escritura (AJD) has been paid by the bank granting the mortgage [3]. A detailed look at notary costs: notary costs when buying.

Non-resident: what is added

A non-resident buyer pays the same taxes as a resident buyer, but a transaction with a non-resident seller creates additional obligations. If the seller is an individual without tax residence in Spain, the buyer withholds 3% of the price and pays it to the tax authority on account of the seller’s tax (article 25.2 TRLIRNR); until the withholding is paid, the property remains liable for this payment [10]. For the plusvalía municipal, in this case the buyer acts as the substitute taxpayer (article 106.2 TRLRHL) [11].

After the purchase a non-resident pays IBI and has obligations to file IRNR returns; we cover them in the article on non-resident rental income tax (modelo 210). The purchase procedure itself is described in the article buying property as a non-resident.

How to pay the tax: modelo 600 and deadline

1. Determine the regime (ITP or IVA with AJD) and the rate code: for example TUB for an urban property, THP, TUJ, TUF and others for reduced rates, TGT for large holders, AJ4 for IVA and AJD [1][2].
2. Prepare the purchase contract, the property details and the cadastral reference. For ITP the tax accrual date is the date of the purchase contract; for AJD it is the date of the escritura [1][13].
3. File and pay modelo 600 with the Agència Tributària de Catalunya within one month of the date of the transaction. The period is counted from date to date; if the last day falls on a weekend or public holiday, it moves to the next working day [5]. Filing is usually entrusted to a notary, a gestor or a lawyer.
4. The buyer is listed as the taxpayer (subjecte passiu), the seller as the transferor [1].
5. Keep the payment document and the filing receipt for the form: you need them to register the title.

If the contract contains a condition precedent, check the start of the period separately against the modelo 600 instructions and with your gestor [13].

Common mistakes

• They calculate the tax using the old threshold of €1,000,000 instead of €600,000. The change applies from 27 June 2025 [2].
• They budget only for the tax and forget the notary, the registry and the gestor.
• They try to understate the price in the escritura, but the tax is still calculated on the reference value [4].
• They do not find out whether the flat is being sold by a non-resident: in that case a 3% withholding is required [10].
• They assume a reduced rate applies to them without checking the conditions: reliefs are tied to the buyer’s category and to the main home [1][2].
• They do not check whether the buyer counts as a large holder: the 20% rate can make the deal unprofitable [2].

How we can help

The buyer’s status, the use of the home, the number of properties you already own and whether the sale is subject to IVA all change the rate. In the consultation the ReloVictory team works out, before the deposit, which regime applies, how to calculate the tax for your property and your buyers, and what you need to prepare to file modelo 600. We do not recalculate taxes in place of the tax authority and do not promise a result. Book here: consultation. Compare the costs of buying with renting: rent or buy in Barcelona. What to check before the deposit: nota simple and arras. Documents and appointments with the authorities: document service, the general procedure after moving: residence permit in Barcelona.

Frequently asked questions

Related articles

ReloVictory · Sources reviewed 02.10.2026 · Not a substitute for individual legal advice.