Property sale in Spain
There is a huge difference between property purchases and sales between Spain and the UK.
The local way of operating is to put the property on sale with as many real estates agents as the vendor wishes. There is a lot of agencies wanting to sign a sales contract with exclusivity but normally the local agents will not accept such contracts because it has never been the normal procedure.
The comission
The normal procedure in Spain is the following: The vendor gives the agent the price he wants for the sale on top of which price the agent adds his own comission.
The amount of the comission depends always on the agent. Depending on the contents of the contract the sales price given by the vendor can include the comission but this normally happens only if the vendor and the agent are foreigners.
The costs of the sale
According to Spanish Law the major part of the property purchase costs is paid by the purchaser (see the list of property purchase costs).
The vendor is liable to pay the Added Value Tax and the capital gains tax. The amount of the Added Value Tax depends on the location of the property and the years of ownership.
The capital gains tax when the vendor is a non Resident
If the vendor is a non Resident in Spain the purchaser has the obligation of retaining 3 % of the purchase price as a guarantee for the payment of the capital gains tax. The purchaser or his representative has to deposit this amount to the Spanish Tax Authorities. Using the payment slip as a reference the paid amount is asked to be refunded. After approximately 0,5-1 year the surplus of the guarantee money is refunded on the vendor's or his representavtive's bank account.
On the Spanish real estate market there is a lot of misleading information saying that the 3 % deposit is entirely refunded. The amount is refunded with the above mentioned conditions and seldom entirely.
Capìtal gains tax if the vendor is a foreigner resident in Spain
If the vendor is a resident in Spain the capital gains tax is 18 %. He has to declare the property sale in his tax declaration and pay the taxes. If the vendor is thinking of buying a property which will be used as a permenent home, he is not tax liable for the capital gains tax. Unless the vendor hasn't bought a new property for permanent living within two years, he is tax liable for the capital gains tax.
