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What the 2026 Andalucia Property Tax Changes Mean for Costa del Sol Buyers

Andalucia changed its property transfer tax rules on 1 January 2026, and the change matters to anyone weighing a purchase along the coast from Marbella to Estepona. The headline rate that most private buyers pay has not moved, but the small print around the reduced rates has tightened, and the full cost of acquiring and holding a home here still runs well above the asking price. Working the numbers before you offer is the difference between a clean transaction and an unwelcome surprise at the notary.

The 2026 change to Andalucia transfer tax

Most private buyers of a resale home in Andalucia pay Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales, the transfer tax, at a flat 7 per cent of the declared price. That rate is unchanged for 2026. What changed on 1 January is the reduced 2 per cent rate that property professionals use when they buy to resell. The Andalusian Parliament approved the reform on 18 December 2025, and it now limits that 2 per cent rate to homes priced under 500,000 Euros and cuts the resale window from five years to two. In a market where a large share of Marbella and Puerto Banus stock trades above half a million Euros, the practical effect is that more trade purchases fall back to the standard 7 per cent. Private buyers keep paying 7 per cent as before, so the change is narrower than some headlines have made it sound.

Resale against new build

The tax you pay depends on whether the home has been lived in before. A resale attracts the 7 per cent transfer tax and nothing further on the purchase itself. A new build bought from a developer is a different calculation, carrying 10 per cent IVA, the Spanish equivalent of VAT, plus Stamp Duty, known as Actos Juridicos Documentados, at 1.2 per cent in Andalucia. That takes the tax on a new build to 11.2 per cent against 7 per cent on a comparable resale. Neither figure is recoverable for a private owner, so it belongs in your budget from the first viewing rather than at the closing table. The trade off is worth thinking through, because a new build spreads its cost across staged payments during construction while a resale settles in one completion, and the two profiles suit different buyers.

What the price does not tell you

Beyond the transfer tax, expect notary fees, land registry fees and legal costs to add roughly 1 to 2 per cent between them. All in, a resale purchase tends to land near 8 to 9 per cent above the price, and a new build closer to 12 per cent. Two community items deserve a mention because buyers often miss them. Every community of owners in Spain must hold a reserve fund, the fondo de reserva, of at least 10 per cent of its last ordinary annual budget under Royal Decree 7/2019. When you buy an apartment or townhouse inside a community, you also inherit any unpaid community charges the seller left behind for the current year and the three preceding natural years. A lawyer checks both before completion, and that due diligence sits with your own legal adviser.

The cost of holding a home here

Ownership carries its own annual bill. Local property tax, the IBI, is charged by the town hall on the cadastral value of the home. If you let the property, rental income is declared through Modelo 210 to the Spanish Tax Agency. Residents of the EU or the EEA are taxed at 19 per cent on net income and can deduct running costs, while non-EU owners, which since Brexit includes British buyers, pay 24 per cent on the gross rent with no deductions. Wealth taxation is the last piece for higher value purchases. Andalucia applies a 100 per cent rebate on its regional Wealth Tax, but the national Solidarity Tax still reaches net assets above 3 million Euros per person, running at 1.7 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 3.5 per cent across its bands.

Where prices sit in 2026

Against that cost base, values have kept climbing. idealista price data put the Marbella median asking price at 5,956 Euros per square metre in August 2026, up 4 per cent on the year. As the agency reads the sub-markets, the Golden Mile around Nagueles sits near 8,336 Euros per square metre, Nueva Andalucia near 6,239 and San Pedro de Alcantara near 4,600, so the spread inside one municipality is wide. Estepona has run harder, near 4,961 Euros per square metre in August 2026 and up more than 17 per cent year on year as the New Golden Mile matures. Buyers comparing marbella property for sale with estepona property for sale often weigh that price gap against lifestyle, space and travel time to the airport.

Borrowing as a non-resident

Most non-resident buyers who borrow find Spanish banks lending around 60 to 70 per cent of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is lower. That means a larger cash deposit than many people plan for, once the tax and fees above are added on top of it. Under Law 5/2019 the lender pays the Stamp Duty on the mortgage deed itself, which takes one cost off the borrower’s side of the ledger. Rates and terms vary by bank and by borrower profile, so it pays to have a decision in principle in hand before you commit to a specific property.

The sensible order is to fix your all-in budget first and then shop. A home at 1.5 million Euros can carry 120,000 to 180,000 Euros of tax, fees and reserve contributions before you hold the keys, and the holding costs follow every year after that. We help buyers across Marbella, Nueva Andalucia, Estepona and Benahavis map those figures against the right property and neighbourhood, so the number you offer is the number you have already planned for. Start with a clear brief of budget, location and timing, and a realistic shortlist follows from there.