The price on the listing is not the price you pay. On the Costa del Sol you should plan for 10 to 15 per cent on top, and the range is that wide because a resale and a new build are taxed completely differently. This is the arithmetic we walk every client through before they view anything.
Resale: 7% transfer tax
Andalucía charges Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales at a flat 7%. The region abandoned the old sliding scale under Law 5/2021 and settled on a single rate — one of the more moderate in mainland Spain, and a genuine reason people buy here rather than further up the coast.
There are reduced rates, though they rarely apply at our end of the market: 6% where the property becomes your home and is worth no more than €150.000, and 3.5% on that same ceiling for buyers under 35, victims of domestic violence or terrorism, or purchases in a municipality classed as depopulated.
New build: 10% VAT plus 1.2% stamp duty
A new build from a developer is not subject to transfer tax. Instead you pay 10% IVA plus 1.2% Actos Jurídicos Documentados — a combined 11.2%. Slightly more than a resale, and worth building into the comparison when a new build and a resale look similarly priced.
The rest of it
Notary, land registry and your lawyer together come to roughly €2.500 to €5.000 on a typical transaction — largely fixed costs, so they weigh far more heavily on a €300.000 apartment than on a €3M villa.
If you are taking a Spanish mortgage, add another 2 to 3 per cent of the loan for valuation, arrangement fee and the stamp duty on the mortgage deed.
And a local convention that surprises northern European buyers: on the Costa del Sol it is common for the buyer to pay an agent commission as well, around 2.5 to 3 per cent plus VAT. We do not, and we will tell you plainly if a seller's agent expects you to.
One deadline people miss
You have two months from signing to file Modelo 600 with the Andalusian tax agency. Not the thirty working days that apply under the state regime — Andalucía runs its own clock, and your lawyer should be handling it, but it is worth knowing the date exists.
Correct as of 21 August 2026. Rates and thresholds change; confirm the current position with a Spanish lawyer before you budget on these numbers.