Selling a home in Fuengirola while you live outside Spain comes with a twist that catches almost everyone out: you do not receive the full price at the notary. The buyer is required to hold back part of it and pay it to the Spanish tax office on your behalf, and will usually deduct the municipal plusvalía as well. This article explains what is withheld, what tax you actually owe, how to get back any excess and which documents to have ready.
If you are looking for the taxes you pay every year while you own the property, see annual taxes for non-resident owners.
1. The 3% withholding (form 211)
When the seller is not tax resident in Spain, the buyer must withhold 3% of the agreed price and pay it to the Spanish Tax Agency on form 211, within one month of the date of the deed. It is not an extra tax: it is a payment on account of the tax you owe on your gain.
In practice, on completion day you receive the price minus that 3%, and the buyer (or their lawyer) gives you a copy of the form 211 they filed. Keep it: you will need it to declare the sale and, if applicable, to claim a refund.
If the buyer failed to pay the withholding, the property itself would remain liable for that withholding (or for the tax, if lower). That is why no well-advised buyer skips this step.
2. Capital gains tax (form 210)
What the sale is really taxed on is your capital gain, through Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR):
- Transfer value: the sale price, minus the costs and taxes of the sale that you pay (estate agent's commission, municipal plusvalía, etc.).
- Acquisition value: what you paid when you bought, plus the costs and taxes of the purchase (notary, land registry, transfer tax or VAT) and any improvements you can document. Repairs and maintenance do not count.
- Gain = transfer value − acquisition value.
The rate is 19% for all non-residents, including UK residents after Brexit. The 19% / 24% split that applies to rental income does not apply here.
If you have rented the property out, depreciation for those years reduces the acquisition value and increase the gain. It is one of the points your adviser should calculate.
The sale is declared on form 210 within the three months that follow the buyer's one-month window for paying the withholding — in total, about four months from the deed. The deadline is the same whether you owe money or are due a refund:
- If the tax is more than the 3% withheld, you pay the difference.
- If it is less, or if you sell at a loss, you claim the excess back on the same form 210.
There are exceptions, such as the exemption for reinvesting in a main home available to EU and EEA residents, but they only apply if the property you sell was your main residence or was at any point in the two years before the sale — the typical case of someone who has just moved abroad. They do not extend to UK residents.
3. Fuengirola's municipal plusvalía
The tax on the increase in value of urban land — the "plusvalía" — is charged by the Town Hall on the rise in value of the land, not the building. In a sale it falls on the seller, with a special rule for non-residents: when the seller is a non-resident individual, the buyer becomes the substitute taxpayer, under the Local Finances Act (art. 106.2), which Fuengirola's tax ordinance reproduces. That is why the buyer usually withholds this amount at completion too and files it.
Since the November 2021 reform (Royal Decree-law 26/2021) there are two ways to calculate it. The objective method applies by default, and you can ask for the actual-gain method if it gives a lower figure, by providing the deeds:
- Objective method: the cadastral value of the land (shown on the IBI bill) multiplied by a coefficient that depends on how many years you have owned the property. Fuengirola automatically applies the maximum coefficients set by the State, counting only complete years. Until 30 November 2026 the 2024 table applies (Royal Decree-law 8/2023): 0.20 for 7 years, 0.12 for 10 years and 0.40 for 20 years or more. Royal Decree-law 29/2026 sets new ones from 1 December 2026 (0.23, 0.22 and 0.30 respectively), but it still has to be ratified by Congress, with the vote scheduled for 12 November, and the previous decrees that changed the coefficients were revoked. If you complete from December onwards, check which table applies on that date.
- Actual-gain method: the difference between the sale and purchase prices stated in the deeds, in the proportion that the land represents in the cadastral value.
Fuengirola then applies a 25% rate to the resulting base (the legal maximum is 30%). If you sell without a gain according to the deeds, there is no plusvalía to pay, but it still has to be declared and proven.
The return is filed with the Town Hall within 30 working days of the deed. Whatever you pay in plusvalía also reduces your gain on form 210.
4. The documents you will be asked for
- Your purchase deed and invoices for improvements, to calculate the gain.
- NIE and passport.
- Energy performance certificate, mandatory to sell (and to advertise the property).
- Latest IBI bill: the buyer will ask for it to check it is paid and to work out the plusvalía. The whole year's IBI is owed by whoever owns the property on 1 January; how it is split between the parties is agreed between them.
- Community of owners certificate showing you are up to date with fees, signed by the secretary with the president's approval. The Horizontal Property Act requires it to sign the deed, unless the buyer expressly waives it.
- Nota simple from the Land Registry, normally requested by the buyer to confirm there are no charges.
- If you have a mortgage, the bank's statement of the outstanding balance: it is paid off at completion out of the price.
- Andalucía does not require the habitability certificate (cédula de habitabilidad) that other regions ask for when selling a resale home.
5. The seller's costs
- Estate agent's commission, if any, plus 21% VAT.
- Municipal plusvalía (see above).
- Notary: by law the seller pays for the original deed and the buyer for the first copy, although in practice the split is negotiated.
- Mortgage cancellation, if any: notary, land registry and gestoría.
- Energy certificate and a lawyer or tax adviser, who will usually file form 210 as well.
Worked example
An owner resident in the UK bought a flat in Fuengirola in March 2016 for €200,000 and paid €22,000 in purchase taxes and costs. They have never let it out. They sell it in November 2026, after 10 complete years of ownership, for €300,000. The cost figures are assumptions, to illustrate the calculation:
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Sale price | €300,000 |
| Agent's commission (5% + VAT) | −€18,150 |
| Municipal plusvalía (land €40,000 × 0.12 × 25%) | −€1,200 |
| Lawyer, energy certificate and other costs | −€2,500 |
| Transfer value | €278,150 |
| Acquisition value (200,000 + 22,000) | −€222,000 |
| Gain | €56,150 |
| IRNR (19%) | €10,668.50 |
| Withheld by the buyer (3% of 300,000) | −€9,000 |
| To pay on form 210 | €1,668.50 |
On completion day this seller receives €300,000 minus the €9,000 withholding and the €1,200 plusvalía held back by the buyer (and minus any outstanding mortgage). Within the next four months they pay a further €1,668.50 to the tax office.
If they completed from 1 December 2026 and Royal Decree-law 29/2026 is ratified, the coefficient would be 0.22: the plusvalía would rise to €2,200, the gain would fall to €55,150 and €1,478.50 would be left to pay to the tax office.
With the same purchase, if the gain had been below about €47,400, the 3% withheld would have exceeded the tax and the tax office would refund the difference. If they sold at a loss, they would get the full €9,000 back, provided they file form 210; filing on time avoids surcharges and penalties.
Your own country counts too
The country where you live may also tax the gain. Double taxation treaties usually let you deduct the tax paid in Spain, but each country applies this in its own way: check with your adviser before you set the price.
If you are thinking of selling and want to know what your home is worth today, see indicative prices for each neighbourhood in our area comparison or get in touch.
Figures reviewed in October 2026. Plusvalía coefficients change with the law and your personal circumstances can change the result: confirm your case with a lawyer or tax adviser. This article is general information, not tax advice.