Selling in Spain as a non-resident

Yes, you can sell your Spanish home from abroad, and the tax side is simpler than it looks: the buyer holds back 3% of the price and pays it to the tax office on your behalf, you file one return within four months, and if that 3% was more than the tax you actually owe, the difference comes back to you. The rate on the gain is 19% for every non-resident in 2026, British owners included.

This guide covers the retention, the two forms, the municipal plusvalía, the documents and a worked example, for the owner who lives in the UK, Ireland, the Nordics or central Europe and sells on the Costa del Sol. Figures are those in force in October 2026; your lawyer or gestor should confirm them for your case, because every sale is different.

What is the 3% retention and who pays it?

When a non-resident sells a property in Spain, the buyer is obliged by law to withhold 3% of the agreed price and pay it to the Agencia Tributaria within one month of the deed (article 25.2 of the Ley del IRNR, the Non-Resident Income Tax Act). The buyer does this on form 211 and must give you a copy of the receipt. Keep it: without it you cannot claim the 3% back.

• It is not a tax but a payment on account of your capital gains tax. If you owe less, you get the difference back; if you owe more, you pay the rest.
• It is calculated on the full price, not on your profit. On a sale at 400,000 euros the buyer holds back 12,000 euros whatever you paid for the property.
• If the buyer fails to pay it in, the property itself remains liable for the amount.

The only way to avoid the retention is to prove Spanish tax residence with a certificate from the Agencia Tributaria. A genuine non-resident has no exemption.

Which form do you file, and when?

You file form 210 (Modelo 210) declaring the actual gain. The Agencia Tributaria sets the deadline as three months counted from the end of the buyer's one-month period, so in practice you have four months from the deed. The return is compulsory whatever the result: a refund, a top-up or zero.

The gain is the difference between two figures:

Keep every invoice. A new kitchen or a glazed terrace with a proper invoice reduces the taxable gain; a bank statement alone usually does not.

How much tax does a non-resident pay on the gain in 2026?

19% of the gain, whatever country you live in. The Agencia Tributaria states it on its page on gains from property sales, and it comes from article 25.1.f of the Ley del IRNR, which applies 19% to capital gains from the transfer of assets without distinguishing by residence.

You will read elsewhere that British sellers pay 24% since Brexit. That mixes up two rates. The 24% is the general rate for other income, such as rent, when the owner lives outside the EU or the EEA; EU and EEA residents pay 19% on that income and can deduct expenses. On the sale of the property itself the rate is 19% for everyone. Where Brexit does bite is the reinvestment exemption: an EU or EEA resident who sells their main home and reinvests the full amount in a new main home can exclude the gain; a UK resident no longer can.

The 2026 rule changes (Orden HAC/623/2026) touched neither the sale deadline nor the rate; only the annual return for imputed and rental income.

How do you get the excess retention back, and how long does it take?

You claim it on the same form 210: if 19% of your gain is less than the 3% withheld, the return comes out as a refund and you give the account it should be paid into. If you sold at a loss, you claim the whole 3%.

By law the tax office has six months to pay, counted from the end of the filing period; beyond that, if the delay is its fault, late-payment interest is added automatically (article 31 of the Ley General Tributaria, the General Tax Act). In practice lawyers on the coast report refunds arriving six to twelve months after filing, and the refund is reviewed before it is paid.

The most common problem in that review is the annual non-resident tax. Every non-resident who owns a property in Spain must file a form 210 each year, for the imputed income on a home they use themselves or for rental income, and many owners have never heard of it. When you claim the 3% back, the Agencia Tributaria looks at the last four years (the limitation period under article 66 of the Ley General Tributaria) and can offset what you owe against what it should refund. Ask your gestor to check those years before you sell: regularising them is cheaper than a reduced refund with surcharges.

What about the municipal plusvalía?

The plusvalía municipal is the town hall's tax on the increase in the value of the land since you bought. Normally the seller pays it. When the seller is a non-resident individual, the law makes the buyer the substitute taxpayer (article 106.2 of the Ley de Haciendas Locales, the Local Finance Act): the town hall can demand it from the buyer, who then has the right to recover it from you.

At the notary this plays out in one of two ways:

1. The buyer holds back the estimated plusvalía from the price, pays the town hall within thirty working days and settles up with you with the receipt.
2. You pay it yourself, or your lawyer does under the power of attorney, and show the buyer proof.

Either works; the deed should say which. Since the 2021 reform there are two ways to calculate it (the objective method on cadastral land value, or the real gain shown by the two deeds) and you may choose the lower; if the land has not risen in value, proven with both deeds, nothing is due. Rates vary by town hall. If you bear the plusvalía, it counts as a selling cost and reduces your taxable gain.

Which documents and costs are specific to a non-resident seller?

Most of the list is the same as for any seller (see the documents you need to sell a home). These are the ones that trip up owners who live abroad:

• NIE. Every seller on the title needs one. The number never expires, but some notaries ask for a recent certificate, and the buyer needs your NIE to file form 211. Check it weeks before completion.
• Power of attorney. If you will not fly over to sign, you grant a power to your lawyer: before a Spanish notary, at a Spanish consulate, or before a notary in your own country with a Hague apostille and a sworn Spanish translation. Have it drafted for this sale, naming the property.
• Energy performance certificate. Compulsory before advertising, registered with the Junta de Andalucía and valid for ten years. Guides put the cost at roughly 60 to 140 euros.
• Community of owners certificate. Under article 9.1.e of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (the Horizontal Property Act) the notary will not authorise the deed without a certificate that you are up to date with community fees, unless the buyer expressly waives it. The administrator must issue it within seven calendar days.
• Debt certificates. The latest IBI receipt, paid utility bills and, if there is a mortgage, the bank's certificate of the outstanding balance so it can be cancelled from the price at completion.
• A Spanish bank account. The price is paid in euros, usually into a Spanish account in your name; the mortgage, the agency fee and the plusvalía are settled from it, and the 210 refund goes to the account you give on the form, so do not close it too soon.
• Currency. Moving the proceeds into pounds, kronor or francs is the last step, and rates and fees differ a lot between a high-street bank and a specialist currency broker: get a quote before the deed.

Who pays the agency fee?

In Spain the seller pays the agency's fee, and on the Costa del Sol the usual figure is 5% of the sale price plus 21% VAT, agreed in writing and settled at completion. It is a cost of the sale, so it reduces your taxable gain, as do your lawyer's fees. Our fee and what it covers are explained on the selling page.

A worked example

A British owner bought an apartment in Estepona in 2012 for 280,000 euros and sells it in 2026 for 400,000 euros.

Without the invoices for the purchase costs and the improvements, the gain would be 90,800 euros and the tax 17,252 euros, so instead of a refund the owner would top up 5,252 euros. None of these figures is a promise: the tax office reviews each return and the final amount depends on what you can document.