Selling a property in Spain as a non-resident
A sale produces a capital gain taxed at 19%, the same for EU residents and everyone else. The buyer is obliged to withhold 3% of the price and pay it over on Modelo 211: that withholding is credited against your bill, and it very often exceeds it.
How the gain is calculated
Transfer value minus acquisition value. The transfer value is the agreed price less the costs and taxes of the sale borne by the seller. The acquisition value is what you originally paid, plus the costs and taxes of the purchase, plus capitalised improvements, minus any depreciation you deducted. If the result is a loss, you still have to declare it: it almost always means a refund, because the 3% was withheld on the sale price regardless of the outcome.
Who declares it
The non-resident seller, for their share. If the property was owned by two people, each files their own return for their half. The buyer separately files Modelo 211 with the 3% withholding. Two different forms with two different obligations.
The 3% withholding and Modelo 211
The buyer withholds 3% of the agreed price and pays it to the tax agency on account of your tax within one month of the transfer. You need their copy of Modelo 211 in order to claim it. It is a payment on account, not a final tax. Where your actual liability is less than the 3% withheld — and on a sale with little or no gain it is — the difference is refunded.
The depreciation you deducted before
If the property was let and you deducted depreciation in those returns, that depreciation now reduces the acquisition value and therefore increases the gain. It was relieved once; it cannot be relieved twice. Leaving it out is the commonest way a sale return understates the tax, and it is exactly the kind of error that surfaces years later in an audit.
When to file
The deadline does not follow the tax year but the date on the deed: three months, starting one month after the transfer.
Common mistakes
Not filing because the sale made a loss, and so forfeiting the refund of the 3%. Forgetting the depreciation deducted while the flat was let. Not getting the buyer's copy of Modelo 211. Counting the deadline from 1 January instead of from the deed. And filing one return where there were two owners.
The rate that applies
Unlike rental income, residence makes no difference here: the rate is the same for everyone.
Residents of the EU, Iceland or Norway
19%
Everyone else
19%
These are Spain's domestic rates. The double-taxation treaty between Spain and your country of residence may cap them lower, particularly on dividends, interest, royalties and pensions. miDeclaro does not apply a treaty rate automatically: it flags the case and routes it to a human rather than overcharging you.
A worked example with real figures
A flat bought for €210.000 and sold for €320.000, with purchase and sale costs, improvements, and depreciation deducted over the years it was let, plus the 3% withheld by the buyer.
- Gross income
- €87,200.00
- Taxable base
- €87,200.00
- Rate applied
- 19%
- Tax due
- €16,568.00
- Tax already withheld
- − €9,600.00
- To pay
- €6,968.00
Computed with rate table 2025.1 — the same one miDeclaro uses to generate your return. Not a rounded estimate.
Deadlines
Three months from the deed
14 June 2025 — 14 September 2025
The window opens one month after the transfer date and runs for three months. The dates shown are for a deed dated mid-May; a different date shifts the window the same way.
The income code 28 used for this income is not stated verbatim in the Spanish tax agency's manual. miDeclaro marks it as unconfirmed and will not file any return under an unverified code — it goes to review first. A return filed under the wrong income code is arithmetically right and legally wrong.
Work out the gain on your sale
With the purchase deed, the sale deed and the costs of both, miDeclaro calculates the gain, credits the 3% withholding and tells you whether you pay or get money back.
Calculate my returnRates and deadlines for the 2025 tax year. Source: AEAT Non-Resident Taxation Manual (May 2025); docs/non_resident_tax_rates_spain.xlsx.