04 Nov 2026

What buying a property on the Costa del Sol costs on top of the purchase price

A practical guide from the team at Casa Select for buyers looking in Nerja, Frigiliana, Torrox and the surrounding area.

The asking price is the figure on every listing, but it is not the figure a buyer pays. Taxes, notary and registry fees, a lawyer and, for many buyers, a mortgage valuation all sit on top of it. Once the purchase is complete, owning the property brings yearly costs of its own.

This article goes through each of them for a purchase in Andalucía and ends with a worked example. The figures are the rates in force in autumn 2026.

How much should a buyer budget on top of the purchase price?

For a resale property in Andalucía, the costs of buying usually come to around 9% of the price. For a new build bought from a developer, the figure is closer to 13%, because VAT replaces the transfer tax and stamp duty is added.

We advise buyers to set aside 10% for a resale and 13 to 14% for a new build. That margin covers fees that vary from one purchase to another and leaves room for a mortgage valuation or translation costs.

What tax does a buyer pay on a resale property?

A resale purchase in Andalucía pays the Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP). The standard rate is 7% regardless of the property's price, although reduced rates apply to certain qualifying purchases.

The tax is calculated on the higher of two figures: the price in the deed or the valor de referencia, a reference value set by the Catastro for each property. Where the reference value is higher than the agreed price, the tax is charged on the reference value. A buyer's lawyer can check the reference value before the deed is signed.

There is a reduced rate of 3.5% for certain buyers of a main home, such as young buyers, with a price limit of €150,000. It applies only to a main home, so second-home purchases pay the full 7%.

What changes when the property is a new build?

When a property is bought directly from the developer, it is the first sale of that home and ITP does not apply. The buyer pays VAT (IVA) at 10% instead, plus a stamp duty called Actos Jurídicos Documentados (AJD), which in Andalucía is 1.2% of the price in the deed.

The combined 11.2% is the main reason new builds cost more to buy. It also matters for properties that look new but are not: a home bought from a private owner who bought it from the developer a year earlier is a resale and pays ITP. Buyers' lawyers confirm which regime applies before signing, and we do the same before any cost estimate goes into a listing.

Which fees does a buyer pay?

Notary. The notary's fee is set by a national tariff and depends on the price and the length of the deed. For most purchases in our area, it falls between €600 and €1,500.

Land Registry. Registering the new owner is also charged by tariff, typically between €400 and €900.

Lawyer. A buyer's lawyer is not a legal requirement, but we strongly recommend one. The notary confirms that the sale is valid, while the buyer's own lawyer checks the title, the debts, the licences and the contract on the buyer's behalf. Fees are agreed with each firm and are commonly in the region of 1% of the price plus 21% VAT.

Gestoría. Many lawyers use a gestoría to file the taxes and register the deed. Where it is charged separately, it is usually a few hundred euros.

Smaller costs come before all of this: the NIE, the foreigner's tax identification number that every foreign buyer generally needs, a Spanish bank account, sworn translations where documents are not in Spanish, and a power of attorney if the buyer will not be present at the signing.

The agency commission is not a buyer's cost under our terms. It is paid by the seller.

What does a mortgage add?

Since the 2019 mortgage law (Ley 5/2019), the bank pays the notary, registry and stamp duty on the mortgage deed. The buyer pays the valuation (tasación), which is usually a few hundred euros depending on the size of the property, and any opening fee the bank charges.

The more important figure for non-residents is the size of the loan. Spanish banks typically lend a non-resident 60 to 70% of the value, and that percentage is applied to the lower of the price and the bank's valuation. A buyer financing a €400,000 purchase that is valued at €380,000 borrows against €380,000. The deposit and all the purchase costs come from the buyer's own funds.

Are there extra steps when the seller is not resident in Spain?

Yes, and they fall on the buyer. When the seller is not tax resident in Spain, the buyer must withhold 3% of the price at signing and pay it to the tax authority within a month, using Modelo 211. The amount comes out of the price, so it does not add to the buyer's costs, but the obligation is the buyer's, and the buyer can be held liable if it is not paid.

The municipal plusvalía tax on a sale is the seller's, but where the seller is non-resident the buyer normally retains the amount from the price as well. The buyer's lawyer handles both retentions at the notary.

A worked example: a €350,000 resale property

For a resale apartment in Nerja bought for €350,000, where the price is higher than the reference value and there is no mortgage, the costs come out roughly as follows.

The same price for a new build bought from the developer would carry €35,000 in VAT and €4,200 in AJD instead of the ITP, taking the total to about €45,500, or 13% of the price.

What does owning the property cost each year?

The purchase is a one-off. These costs come back every year.

IBI, the municipal property tax, is calculated on the cadastral value at a rate set by each town hall. The amount is printed on the annual receipt. IBI is charged to whoever owns the property on 1 January, so the purchase contract normally splits that year's bill between seller and buyer.

Rubbish collection (basura) is a separate municipal fee.

Community fees apply to any property in a community of owners and vary widely, depending on whether there is a pool, gardens, a lift or a porter. The current amount and any approved one-off levy (derrama) should be confirmed before signing.

Home insurance is not compulsory for an owner without a mortgage, but almost every owner takes it out, and banks require it when there is a loan.

Non-resident income tax is the cost that surprises most second-home owners. A non-resident who does not rent the property out is taxed on an imputed income of 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value, depending on when the town hall last revised its values. That imputed income is taxed at 19% for residents of the EU and EEA and 24% for everyone else, and is declared on Modelo 210.

For a property with a cadastral value of €150,000 at the 1.1% rate, the imputed income is €1,650. The tax on that is €313.50 for an owner resident in the EU or EEA and €396 for an owner resident elsewhere.

Changes to the way imputed income is calculated from 2027 have been proposed and were awaiting parliamentary approval when this article was written. We will update this section once the outcome is known.

How Casa Select helps buyers plan the full cost

For every property we show, we can prepare an estimate of the purchase costs based on the price, whether it is a resale or a new build, and how the buyer intends to finance it. It is an estimate, and the buyer's lawyer confirms the final figures. It means a buyer knows the full figure before making an offer.

To request an estimate for a property on our website, contact our team or call the office.

The Casa Select team

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