31 · Selling Smart: What the ganancia patrimonial (Capital Gains Tax) Really Costs You
*When you sell on Mallorca, you pay ganancia patrimonial (capital gains tax) on your profit. It can be reduced legally — and by far the most powerful lever is a cleanly documented acquisition cost.*
Key: ✅ official / multiply documented · 🟡 case-by-case · 🔴 tax adviser required. None of this replaces tax advice — for any actual sale, bring in an asesor fiscal (tax adviser).
What the ganancia patrimonial Actually Is ✅#
Gain = Transfer value − Acquisition cost
Both sides of this equation can be influenced — and that is exactly where it's decided how much ends up with the tax authority.
- Transfer value (
valor de transmisión): the sale price, from which you deduct your seller costs — agent commission, Plusvalía and lawyer. - Acquisition cost (
valor de adquisición): the single biggest optimisation lever. Here you count the purchase price plus ITP/IVA + AJD (transfer/stamp duties), notary, Land Registry,gestoría(paperwork agency) and value-enhancing improvements (mejoras) — the latter, however, only if you have afactura(formal VAT invoice) on file. - What you CANNOT deduct: mortgage interest 🔴 as well as pure maintenance and repairs (
conservación) 🟡. Only genuinemejorascount — that is, extensions, a pool, a full renovation.
What this means for you as a buyer: every documented euro reduces the gain you'll be taxed on years later. Archive every factura from day one — anything missing here cannot be recovered when you sell.
The Tax Rates ✅#
Residents — IRPF savings base (base del ahorro), 2025/2026. This banding applies nationwide, and there is no withholding upfront:
| 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): for them the gain is taxed at a flat 19 %, declared via Modelo 210 (deadline 4 months). Already at purchase, the buyer withholds 3 % retención (withholding) (→ Ch. 06).
Exemptions — Residents and EU/EEA Residents Only#
Reinvestment in the vivienda habitual (Main Residence) ✅#
If you sell your main residence and put the proceeds into a new main residence, the gain remains tax-free — with only partial reinvestment, exempt on a pro-rata basis. For this to apply, three conditions must be met: lived in for three years, a reinvestment window of 2 years before or after the sale, and the claim must be actively made in your tax return — nothing happens automatically.
- ✅ The exemption works EU-wide — so you may also reinvest in Germany (or another EU country). The only thing that matters is where you are resident in the year of sale.
- ✅ EU/EEA non-residents can also access it via Modelo 210 (Code 33/34), provided they sell their former Spanish main residence. For holiday or second homes this expressly does not apply.
From Age 65 ✅#
- Main residence: anyone aged 65 or over who sells their main residence remains completely tax-free — and with no reinvestment requirement.
- Other property: tax-free if you reinvest into a life annuity (
renta vitalicia) — capped at €240,000, deadline 6 months, from age 65 (→ Ch. 33). - 🟡 Both apply only to residents, because they hinge on the
vivienda habitualunder IRPF.
Coeficientes de abatimiento — Legacy Holdings Before 1995 ✅#
If the property was acquired before 31.12.1994, the portion of the gain accrued up to 2006 is reduced by 11.11 % per year — but only up to a cumulative transfer value of €400,000 (cap since 2015). 🟡 The calculation is complex, so work it through with a tax adviser.
Related Taxes at a Glance (Cross-References)#
- Plusvalía municipal (local land-value increase tax) — increase in land value, borne by the seller → 06
- 3 %
retenciónfor non-residents → 06 - Selling through a company — 25 % corporate income tax, no vivienda-habitual exemption → 18
- Double taxation in your home country — DTA (double tax treaty), situs principle → 14
- Exit Tax (Art. 95 bis LIRPF): hits shares/securities (> €4m, or ≥ 25 % / > €1m), but not directly held real estate — it only becomes relevant where the property is held through a company 🟡.
Worked Example: Non-Resident, Palma#
Picture the following case.
Purchase 2015: €400,000 purchase price + €32,000 ITP + €4,000 incidental costs = €436,000. Add a 2018 renovation, cleanly documented with a factura, of +€60,000 → the acquisition cost rises to €496,000.
Sale 2025: €700,000 sale price − €25,410 agent − €4,590 Plusvalía = €670,000 transfer value.
This produces a gain of €174,000, taxed at 19 % = €33,060. After deducting the 3 % already withheld (€21,000), a balancing payment of €12,060 remains.
The punchline: had he been unable to document the renovation and the selling costs, roughly €17,100 more in tax would have been due — for the exact same transaction.
The Mistakes That Cost Money#
- 🔴 Missing invoices for
mejoras: without afactura, the optimisation is simply thrown away. - 🔴 "B-money" (undeclared cash) at purchase comes back to bite you: an artificially depressed acquisition cost pushes up the gain when you sell — so you pay double, plus you carry the penalty risk.
- 🟡 Reinvestment exemption not claimed (there is no automatic mechanism); or the non-resident forgets to reclaim the 3 %.
❓ FAQ#
How much tax do I pay as a foreigner when I sell? As a non-resident it's 19 % flat on the gain (Modelo 210); 3 % is already withheld at the sale.
Can I, as a German (or other EU resident), use the reinvestment exemption? Yes — if you sell your former main residence in Spain and (as an EU resident) reinvest into a new main residence. It does not apply to holiday homes.
Is there a tax discount after a long holding period? Only via the coeficientes de abatimiento — and those apply exclusively to 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)