Spain's 100% Non-EU Property Tax: What Is Actually Happening

A year of headlines made it sound inevitable: Spain was going to double the cost of buying a home if you hold a non-EU passport and do not live in Spain. As of March 2026, that bill has not moved. Here is a clear account of where things stand and what it means if you are considering a Spanish property purchase today.

What the proposal actually says

In January 2025, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a plan to impose a surcharge on residential property purchases by non-EU, non-resident buyers. The mechanism was a new national levy equal to 100% of the property's ITP (Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales) base. In practice, a buyer purchasing a resale home for €300,000 would pay the region's standard ITP rate (typically 6 to 10% depending on the autonomous community) plus an additional amount equal to the full purchase price. The total acquisition cost could approach €600,000 before notary fees and other expenses.

The proposal was framed as a response to Spain's housing shortage and the government's view that high-income foreign buyers push prices beyond the reach of local residents, particularly in coastal and urban markets where foreign demand is concentrated.

Why it has not become law

As reported in March 2026, the bill had not been debated in Congress despite being announced fourteen months earlier. Spain's Socialist-led minority government depends on a shifting coalition of smaller parties that support legislation case by case. The right-wing Catalan separatist party Junts, which withdrew its support from the government on other issues, opposes the tax. Without a stable majority, the bill cannot advance.

A second, more moderate housing bill covering short-term rental regulation was put before Congress last year. The 100% non-EU property tax was not included in that bill. The government has said it will continue to raise the measure, but that is a political statement, not a legislative schedule.

What the current tax picture looks like for non-EU buyers

Nothing in the existing tax framework has changed. Non-EU, non-resident buyers currently pay the same ITP rates as everyone else on resale homes, which range from 6% in Madrid to 10% in several regions including Catalonia and Andalusia. On new-build properties, VAT (IVA) applies instead of ITP, at a standard rate of 10% for residential property.

Non-EU buyers who purchase but do not rent out their Spanish property still owe an annual deemed-income tax under Spain's non-resident income tax rules (IRNR). This is calculated on a small percentage of the property's cadastral value (valor catastral) and typically amounts to a few hundred euros per year. It is often overlooked and is the kind of charge that can accumulate penalties if missed.

The Nota Simple from the Registro de la Propiedad remains the single most important document before any purchase. It shows current ownership, any charges (cargas), mortgages, and encumbrances registered against the property. Neither the proposed tax nor any other measure affects the need to obtain and read this document carefully before signing anything.

What this means for buyers

The practical position for non-EU buyers in April 2026 is this: the 100% surcharge is not law, has not been debated, and faces significant parliamentary obstacles. The current tax rules are unchanged. Foreign buyers still made up 20% of all Spanish property transactions last year, according to data cited in the congressional debate, a figure unchanged from the year before.

That does not mean the proposal is dead. A government that needs a housing headline can revive it. Any buyer with a long timeline should monitor whether the bill progresses. Before committing to a property, request the Nota Simple, confirm the cadastral reference, and run the listing through AiMYNDi to surface any registered charges or discrepancies between the listing and the official registry record.