Buying a flat in Spain as a foreigner (2026): what it costs in Barcelona, Madrid and elsewhere, and what to check

About one in four flats sold in Barcelona in 2025 went to a foreign buyer, and in Barceloneta it was almost half (3CatInfo). Experts link it to the city's large foreign-resident population rather than to investors. The process is no harder for you than for a local, and most of it is the same across Spain. What changes from region to region is the tax, and in Catalonia a few civil-law rules. In Barcelona, half the documents are also in Catalan, and most guides online describe Spanish rules that Catalonia does differently.

Can I buy, and what do I need?

• You need an NIE, your personal tax and identity number as a foreigner in Spain. It's the same number wherever you buy. Apply in Spain at an immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) or police station, or abroad through a Spanish consulate (Interior Ministry).
• In practice you'll need a Spanish bank account for the payments and any mortgage.
• You don't need to live in Spain to buy.
• Buying no longer gets you a visa. Spain stopped accepting new property-investment ("golden") visa applications on 3 April 2025. Visas already granted stay valid until they expire (Government of Spain).
• One political risk: in 2025 the government proposed a 100% tax on property bought by non-EU non-residents. The bill was published in Congress in May 2025, and as of April 2026 it hadn't been debated or passed (Congreso). EU citizens and residents aren't affected either way.

What it costs

Transfer tax (ITP) on a resale flat is set by each region, so the same flat costs very different amounts in tax depending on where it is. General rates in 2026, from the Ministry of Finance's summary of regional taxes (Hacienda):

Region	ITP on a resale flat
Madrid	6%
Andalucía	7%
Comunitat Valenciana	9% since 1 June 2026, or 11% if the price is over €1 million
Catalonia	10% up to €600.000, rising in bands to 13% (below)

Every region also has reduced rates for some buyers (young people, large families, people with disabilities), each with its own conditions.

Catalonia's bands, for sales from 27 June 2025 (Decret llei 5/2025, BOE):

Price band	Rate
Up to €600.000	10%
€600.000 – €900.000	11%
€900.000 – €1,5 million	12%
Over €1,5 million	13%
Buyer is a "large holder" (more than 10 homes)	20%
Under 35, buying a main home, income up to €36.000	5%

The rates rise by band, so the higher rate applies to the part of the price above each threshold. Many English-language guides still quote a flat 10%.

New builds pay VAT (IVA) at 10% instead, plus stamp duty (AJD) set by the region: 1,5% in Catalonia, 0,75% in Madrid, with lower rates in Madrid for homes up to €180.000 bought by individuals (Agencia Tributaria, Hacienda, CaixaBank).

Notary and registry fees follow national fee scales, so they don't depend on the region (notaries' scale, BOE, registrars' scale, BOE). Typical amounts (Tinsa):

• notary: €250–600+
• Land Registry: €100–400
• gestoría: €300–500
• your own lawyer on top, which you should have

For example, a €450.000 resale flat pays €45.000 of transfer tax in Barcelona and €27.000 in Madrid, plus roughly €650–1.500 of fees in either city. Budget about €46.000 on top of the price in Barcelona, or about €28.000 in Madrid, before any mortgage costs or a lawyer.

The steps

1. Get your NIE and bank account. Start early, because appointments can take a while.
2. If you need a mortgage, get a pre-approval. Banks often lend non-residents less. Bankinter, for example, caps foreign buyers at 70% of the price, against 80% for Spanish customers (Bankinter).
3. Search, and check buildings before you fall in love. Use the full checklist guide.
4. Make an offer, then sign an arras contract with a deposit. Read the next section first.
5. Do the due diligence: nota simple, the community-debt certificate, the ITE report, the energy certificate, and in Catalonia the cèdula.
6. Sign the deed (escritura) at the notary and pay the rest. The notary is a public official who checks the deed is legal. The notary doesn't advise you on whether it's a good deal.
7. Pay the taxes and register. Your gestoría or lawyer usually handles this.

Arras: the Catalan difference

Most guides describe Spain's Civil Code (art. 1454), which applies in Madrid and most of Spain. Under it, arras penitenciales let the buyer walk away by losing the deposit, and the seller by paying it back double. Deposits of 5–15% are common, most often 10% (BBVA).

Catalonia has its own civil code:

• Money paid to the seller counts by default as a confirmatory deposit, a part-payment of the price, unless the contract says otherwise.
• Penitential arras must be agreed expressly (art. 621-8).
• A justified withdrawal keeps your deposit. If your mortgage is refused or the flat doesn't match what was promised, the Catalan rules protect you better (art. 621-49) (BOE).

Wherever you buy, have your own lawyer read the arras before you sign. Make the deposit conditional on the mortgage and on the documents in step 5.

The checks internationals miss most

• The cèdula d'habitabilitat, in Catalonia. Without a valid one, the sale is stuck.
• The ITE report. Catalonia's rule is 45 years, not 50, and the seller must hand it over. Madrid city asks for the first inspection the year after a building turns 30 (Ayuntamiento de Madrid).
• Community debts. The flat answers for the current year plus the four before in Catalonia, or the three before in Madrid and most of Spain (BOE).
• Tourist flats in the building, and what 2028 means for them in Catalonia.
• Real size: listing m² vs cadastre m² vs useful m².
• Winter sun. September viewings flatter everything.