Tax Optimisation & Taxes on the Sale
*How to legally reduce the capital-gains tax (ganancia patrimonial) in Mallorca — the biggest lever is a properly documented acquisition value.*
Legend: ✅ official/multiply documented · 🟡 case-dependent · 🔴 tax adviser required. Not tax advice — for specific sales, consult an asesor fiscal.
Ganancia patrimonial — capital gain ✅#
Gain = disposal value − acquisition value
- Disposal value = sale price minus seller's costs (agent's commission, plusvalía, lawyer).
- Acquisition value (the biggest optimisation lever) = purchase price **+ ITP/IVA+AJD + notary + land registry +
gestoría + value-enhancing investments (mejoras, only with a factura)**.
- Does NOT count: mortgage interest 🔴; pure maintenance/repairs (
conservación) 🟡 — only genuine
mejoras (extension, pool, full refurbishment).
Learning: Every documented euro lowers the later gain. Archive all facturas from day 1.
Tax rates ✅#
Residents (IRPF savings base base del ahorro) 2025/2026 — uniform nationwide, no advance withholding:
| Portion of gain | Rate |
|---|---|
| up to €6,000 | 19 % |
| €6,000–50,000 | 21 % |
| €50,000–200,000 | 23 % |
| €200,000–300,000 | 27 % |
| over €300,000 | 30 % ✅ (since 2025, Ley 7/2024; previously 28 %) |
Non-residents (IRNR): 19 % flat on the gain; Modelo 210 (4-month deadline); the buyer withholds 3 % retención on purchase (→ Ch. 06).
Exemptions (residents / EU-EEA only)#
Reinvestment in the vivienda habitual ✅#
Sale of the main residence + reinvestment in a new main residence → gain tax-free (proportionally for partial reinvestment). Requirements: occupied for 3 years; reinvestment period of 2 years before/after the sale; must be actively claimed in the return.
- ✅ Applies EU-wide — including reinvestment in Germany; what matters is residency in the
year of sale.
- ✅ EU/EEA non-residents can also use it via Modelo 210 (code 33/34) if they sell their
former Spanish main residence. (Does not apply to holiday/second homes.)
Over 65 ✅#
- Main residence: a sale from age 65 is completely tax-free — with no reinvestment obligation.
- Other property: tax-free on reinvestment in a life annuity (
renta vitalicia) —
max. €240,000, deadline 6 months, from age 65 (→ Ch. 33).
- 🟡 Residents only (tied to the
vivienda habitualunder IRPF).
Coeficientes de abatimiento (properties acquired before 1995) ✅#
For properties acquired before 31.12.1994: a reduction of 11.11 %/year on the portion of the gain accrued up to 2006 — capped at €400,000 of cumulative disposal value (since 2015). 🟡 complex → calculate with a tax adviser.
Further taxes (cross-references)#
- Plusvalía municipal (land value increase, seller) → 06
- 3 %
retenciónfor non-residents → 06 - Sale via a company (corporate tax 25 %, no vivienda-habitual exemption) → 18
- Double taxation in your home country (DBA, situs principle) → 14
- Exit Tax (Art. 95 bis LIRPF): concerns shares/securities (> €4m or ≥ 25 %/> €1m),
not directly held real estate; relevant for holdings through a company 🟡.
Worked example (non-resident, Palma)#
Purchase 2015: €400,000 + €32,000 ITP + €4,000 incidental costs = €436,000; refurbishment 2018 (with factura) +€60,000 → acquisition value €496,000. Sale 2025: €700,000 − €25,410 agent − €4,590 plusvalía = €670,000. Gain €174,000 × 19 % = €33,060; less the 3 % withholding (€21,000) → €12,060 to pay. → Without the documented refurbishment + selling costs, roughly €17,100 more tax would have been due.
Common mistakes#
- 🔴 Missing invoices for
mejoras→ optimisation thrown away. - 🔴 "B-money" at purchase backfires: an artificially low acquisition value → higher gain on the
sale, twice as costly + penalty risk.
- 🟡 Reinvestment exemption not claimed (not automatic); non-resident forgets the 3 % refund.
❓ FAQ#
How much tax do I pay on the sale as a foreigner? As a non-resident, 19 % flat on the gain (Modelo 210); 3 % is withheld on the sale.
Can I, as a German, use the reinvestment exemption? Yes, if you sell your former main residence in Spain and (as an EU resident) reinvest in a new main residence — not for holiday homes.
Is there a tax discount after a long holding period? Only via the coeficientes de abatimiento — exclusively for properties bought before 1995.
Sources (selection)#
- Agencia Tributaria (IRPF 2025, ganancia patrimonial; Modelo 210; mayores de 65) · Ley 7/2024 (savings base 30 %)
- DT 9ª LIRPF (abatimiento) · Art. 95 bis LIRPF (Exit Tax) · DGT (reinvestment EU-wide)