Is there a 100% tax on foreigners buying property in Spain? Status in October 2026
It is not in force. It is a bill from the Socialist Parliamentary Group (122/000196), published on 30 May 2025, which as of 5 October 2026 is still awaiting its first plenary debate (“toma en consideración”) in the Spanish Congress. Moreover, as drafted, it would not apply to buying a new home from a development company, because that sale is subject to VAT.
What the bill proposes
Article 4 of the bill creates a “Complementary State Tax on the Transfer of Real Estate to Non-Residents of the European Union”. Its taxable event is:
“the transfer of real estate and the creation and assignment of rights in rem over it, except security rights, in favour of natural persons and entities not resident in the European Union.”Proposición de Ley 122/000196, art. 4, section Fifth.1
The rate is 100%, but the property transfer tax and stamp duty (ITP-AJD) actually paid is deducted from the amount due:
“The gross tax liability shall be obtained by applying the tax rate of one hundred per cent to the tax base.”Section Tenth
“The net tax liability shall be the result of deducting from the gross tax liability the Property Transfer Tax and Stamp Duty actually paid on the transaction being assessed.”Section Eleventh
What counts is residence, not nationality: the text refers to “non-residents of the European Union”. The tax base would be the cadastral reference value, or the price if higher (section Eighth).
Why it would not tax a new home bought from the developer
The text itself excludes transactions subject to VAT:
“The transactions listed in the previous section shall not be subject to this tax when the transferors are entrepreneurs or professionals acting in the course of their economic activity and, in any case, when they constitute supplies of goods or services subject to Value Added Tax. However, such transactions shall be subject to this tax when they are exempt from Value Added Tax.”Proposición de Ley 122/000196, art. 4, section Fifth.2
The first sale of a home by its developer is subject to VAT and not exempt, so it would be excluded. Resales between private individuals and second deliveries, which are VAT-exempt, would be caught. It is the same rule that already separates VAT from ITP today (ITP and AJD Act, art. 7.5).
Where it stands
- Filed on 22 May 2025 and admitted by the Bureau of Congress on 27 May.
- Published in the Official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament on 30 May 2025.
- Since 5 September 2025, awaiting “toma en consideración” by the plenary, the first debate. This is how it appears on the Congress website as of 5 October 2026.
If it passes that first debate, the text can still change through amendments in Congress and the Senate before becoming law. Until it is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), it binds no one.
We will update this article when its status changes. The date of the last review is shown above.
Sources
- Proposición de Ley 122/000196 para impulsar el alquiler de viviendas a precios asequibles (BOCG, Congreso, series B, no. 229-1, 30-5-2025) — article 4
- Congreso de los Diputados: progress of initiative 122/000196 — checked on 5-10-2026
- Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1993, Ley del ITP y AJD (BOE) — art. 7.5
Informative article, written on the basis of the regulations in force on the review date. It does not replace advice from a lawyer or tax adviser on your specific case. Quotations from Spanish legislation are unofficial translations: only the Spanish text published in the official gazettes is authentic.
