• Home
• News
• What Tax Does a Non-Resident Pay When Selling a Marbella Property in 2026?

What Tax Does a Non-Resident Pay When Selling a Marbella Property in 2026?

Most individual non-resident sellers pay Spanish Non-Resident Income Tax at 19 per cent on their documented net capital gain, not on the full sale price. The buyer also retains 3 per cent of the price as an advance tax payment, while plusvalia municipal and the normal selling costs have to be considered separately.

Most guidance written for people who own a home on the Costa del Sol concentrates on the purchase, the transfer tax and the running costs, and treats the exit as an afterthought. For a non-resident owner selling in 2026 that is the wrong emphasis, because the tax charged on a sale in Marbella is calculated in a way that catches sellers off guard and ties up real money for months. Owners who understand the mechanics before they list tend to price more confidently and hand their lawyer a cleaner file.

Prices along this coast have kept climbing, which makes the exit larger in cash terms than many long term owners expect. February 2026 asking-price figures published by idealista put Nagueles and the Golden Mile around 8,241 Euros per square metre and Nueva Andalucia at 6,178 Euros per square metre, both at or near record highs. Those are asking prices rather than completed sales, and the figures achieved at the notary generally sit below them, but a home bought a decade ago has in many cases gained substantially, and it is that gain, rather than the headline sale price, that the Spanish state is interested in.

The tax is calculated on the gain

A non-resident who sells Spanish residential property pays Non-Resident Income Tax on the net capital gain at a flat rate of 19 per cent in 2026. That single rate applies whether the seller lives inside the European Union or outside it, so a British owner and a German owner face the same headline percentage. The reliefs can differ, though, since a qualifying resident of the EU or EEA may claim relief when reinvesting the proceeds of a former Spanish main residence, a relief that British residents generally no longer qualify for. The gain itself is the difference between the documented purchase cost and the sale proceeds, and the word documented matters, because the taxable figure can be reduced by costs the seller can prove.

Deductible items include the transfer tax or IVA paid on the original purchase, notary and land registry fees from that transaction, the cost of structural improvements backed by invoices, and the selling costs incurred on the way out. A sale that looks like a headline profit of €300,000 can settle at a taxable gain well below that once these deductions are applied. Keeping the original purchase deed, the renovation invoices and the receipts for taxes paid is the single most useful thing a long term owner can do to protect the position.

There is also a trap for owners who have let the property. The rules require the acquisition value to be reduced by the statutory annual depreciation for the years the home was rented, whether or not that depreciation was ever claimed, which raises the taxable gain accordingly. It is a common and costly surprise for Costa del Sol owners who have taken rental income along the way.

The three per cent the buyer holds back

At completion the buyer is legally required to withhold 3 per cent of the agreed price and pay it directly to the tax authority using Modelo 211, which is due within one month of the sale. The withholding works as an advance against the seller’s eventual liability, and the retention protects the Spanish tax authority where enforcement against a non-resident seller may be more difficult. The seller then has the following three months to file Modelo 210, declare the actual gain, credit the 3 per cent already paid, and either settle a small balance or reclaim the difference. Full guidance on the non-resident return sits with the Agencia Tributaria.

The cash flow point is easy to miss. On a €1.2 million sale the buyer withholds €36,000 regardless of whether the seller made a large gain, a small one or none at all. Where the real 19 per cent charge comes out lower than the withheld sum, the balance is refundable, but the refund takes months and the tax office can inspect the file first, so a seller who bought only a few years ago should expect to wait for money that is genuinely theirs.

Plusvalia and the town hall

Separate from the national gains tax is the plusvalia municipal, a local levy on the increase in the value of the urban land itself, payable to Marbella town hall. Where the seller is a non-resident individual, the buyer becomes the substitute taxpayer and is the party formally liable to the town hall, though the cost normally remains the seller’s in economic terms. Since the 2021 reform the seller can choose between two methods, one applying an official coefficient to the cadastral land value by years of ownership, the other based on the real increase in land value between purchase and sale. The taxpayer is entitled to whichever produces the lower bill, and where there is no land value gain at all no plusvalia is due, though even a no-gain position has to be declared and evidenced rather than simply assumed.

This tax falls due within thirty working days of the sale, so it cannot be deferred while other matters are settled. For an older apartment on a modest plot the figure is often a few thousand Euros. For a villa on a large parcel of land it can be considerably higher, which is another reason to have it estimated before agreeing a price rather than after.

Agency, legal and certificate costs

Beyond the two taxes, a Marbella seller carries the ordinary transaction costs. Documented costs directly connected with the purchase or sale may be taken into account, though not everything qualifies. Mortgage principal, for instance, is not deductible, while the notary and Land Registry costs of cancelling a mortgage generally are.

• Estate agency commission, which on prime Costa del Sol sales commonly runs between 4 and 5 per cent of the price plus IVA, varying with the exclusivity of the mandate
• Legal fees for the seller’s own lawyer, who handles the conveyancing checks and the tax filings on the seller’s behalf
• An energy performance certificate, which is legally required before a home can be marketed and must be in place for the deed
• The cost of cancelling any outstanding mortgage, including the notarial and Land Registry fees to remove the charge from the register

The legal due diligence and the final tax computation sit with the seller’s own lawyer or tax adviser rather than the selling agent, and that boundary is worth respecting. A good adviser will also confirm that community fees, the local property tax known as IBI and any rubbish charges are settled to the completion date, because arrears here can stall a sale at the notary.

What this looks like on a real sale

Consider a British couple who bought a Nueva Andalucia apartment in 2015 for €650,000 and agree a 2026 sale at €950,000. Before deductions the gain reads €300,000. Assume around €47,000 of transfer tax and purchase costs from 2015, a documented refurbishment of €40,000, selling commission of about €45,000 and legal fees of around €3,000. Taking those off brings the taxable gain to about €165,000, which at 19 per cent produces exactly €31,350 of tax. The buyer will already have withheld €28,500 as the 3 per cent retention on the €950,000 price, so the couple face a balance of around €2,850 to settle, before any deductible plusvalia is taken into account.

Planning the exit before you list

The practical takeaway is to model the net figure, not the gross, before a property goes to the market. Gather the purchase deed and the renovation invoices, obtain an estimate of the plusvalia from the town hall, and set the asking price with the 19 per cent charge and the retention already in view. A seller who does this arrives at the notary without surprises and without a price expectation that the tax position cannot support.

If you are weighing up a sale, we advise Marbella owners on realistic pricing and on preparing a property so that it moves in the current market. We also advise owners selling property in Estepona and elsewhere along the Costa del Sol. Speak to us about a valuation and a sale strategy before you commit to a figure, and browse comparable Marbella property for sale to see how your home sits against what is currently listed.