Plusvalía is a municipal tax on the increase in the value of urban land, charged every time a property changes hands through a sale, an inheritance or a gift. Since 10 November 2021 there are two ways to calculate it, and you are entitled to pay whichever produces the lower bill. If the land did not gain value while you owned it, no tax is due, although you still have to file the declaration.
This guide explains how the tax works after the 2021 reform, which coefficients apply in 2026, who pays when the seller lives outside Spain, and how long you have to file. If you are in the middle of buying property in Spain, the section on non-resident sellers is the one to read first, because it decides who the town hall will chase.
What is the plusvalía tax in Spain?
Its official name is the Impuesto sobre el Incremento de Valor de los Terrenos de Naturaleza Urbana (IIVTNU), usually shortened to plusvalía municipal. In English it is often called the land value tax or the municipal capital gains tax.
The land value tax or plusvalía tax in Spain is applied to the increase of the value of the urban land once a property changes the owner’s name. Either is inherited, sold, transferred, or received as a donation.
This tax is paid by the seller in most cases
Three features define it.
- It is municipal. Your town hall sets the rate and collects the money, not the national tax office. Two identical flats in neighbouring towns can produce different bills.
- It taxes the land only. The building is ignored. What matters is the cadastral value of the land (valor catastral del suelo), which appears on your IBI receipt as a separate figure from the construction value.
- It applies to urban land only. Land classed as rural (rústico) falls outside the tax. Classification can change over the years, so check the current status rather than assuming.
Plusvalía municipal and capital gains tax are two separate bills
Selling a property in Spain can trigger two different taxes, and they are frequently confused.
- Plusvalía municipal (IIVTNU) is paid to the town hall and is based on the increase in the value of the land.
- Capital gains tax is paid to the national tax office and is based on your total profit on the whole property. Non-resident sellers pay it through the non-resident income tax, and buyers normally withhold 3% of the price on account of it.
Paying one does not exempt you from the other.
Who pays plusvalía tax when a property changes hands
The answer depends on the type of transfer.
- In a sale, the seller is the taxpayer.
- In an inheritance, the heirs pay.
- In a gift or donation, the person receiving the property pays.
Buyer and seller sometimes agree privately that the buyer will cover the cost. That agreement is valid between the two of them, but it does not change who the town hall will pursue if the tax goes unpaid.
If the seller is a non-resident, the buyer becomes liable for the plusvalía
Under article 106.2 of the Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales, when the seller is an individual who is not resident in Spain, the buyer becomes the sustituto del contribuyente, the substitute taxpayer. In plain terms, the town hall will claim the plusvalía from the buyer, not from the seller who made the gain. Most councils write this into their own fiscal ordinances and will only accept a filing made by the buyer. It catches people out regularly.
The buyer therefore carries the filing and payment obligation, including any later inspection, even though the seller's circumstances still determine how much is owed and whether any relief applies.
The buyer can recover the money from the seller under article 36.3 of the Ley General Tributaria. In practice this is handled at the notary by retaining an estimated amount from the sale price, rather than chasing the seller afterwards, which is far harder once they have left the country. If you are buying from a non-resident owner, agree the retention before the signing date.
How much is plusvalía tax in Spain?
The Constitutional Court struck down the old calculation formula in October 2021. The system that replaced it, in force since 10 November 2021, gives you two methods and the right to apply the one that produces the smaller taxable base.
The objective method multiplies the cadastral land value by a coefficient
Take the cadastral value of the land at the date of transfer and multiply it by the coefficient for the number of years you owned the property. The result is the taxable base, to which the council applies its rate.
The coefficients are national maximums. Each council may apply the maximum or anything below it.
| Years of ownership | Maximum coefficient | Years of ownership | Maximum coefficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 0.15 | 11 years | 0.10 |
| 1 year | 0.15 | 12 years | 0.09 |
| 2 years | 0.14 | 13 years | 0.09 |
| 3 years | 0.14 | 14 years | 0.09 |
| 4 years | 0.16 | 15 years | 0.09 |
| 5 years | 0.18 | 16 years | 0.10 |
| 6 years | 0.19 | 17 years | 0.13 |
| 7 years | 0.20 | 18 years | 0.17 |
| 8 years | 0.19 | 19 years | 0.23 |
| 9 years | 0.15 | 20 years or more | 0.40 |
| 10 years | 0.12 |
Ownership is counted in complete years, capped at 20. A sale at 9 years and 11 months counts as 9 years. For periods under a year, the coefficient is pro-rated by complete months.
The tax rate is set by each council and cannot exceed 30%. Rates close to that ceiling are common.
The real method uses the actual gain on the land
If you can prove the real increase was smaller, you can use it instead. Take the difference between the purchase price and the sale price shown in the two deeds, then apply the land's percentage share of the total cadastral value to isolate the land element. The council's rate applies to that figure.
A worked example of the same sale under both methods
A flat on the Costa Blanca bought in 2016 for €180,000 and sold in 2026 for €230,000, so 10 complete years of ownership. The cadastral value is €70,000, of which €28,000 is land (40%). The council applies a 25% rate.
| Objective method | Real method | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting figure | €28,000 cadastral land value | €50,000 total gain |
| Adjustment | × 0.12 coefficient (10 years) | × 40% land share |
| Taxable base | €3,360 | €20,000 |
| Tax at 25% | €840 | €5,000 |
Here the objective method is far cheaper, so that is what you would pay. The outcome flips when a property is sold after a short ownership period with little or no gain, or when the cadastral value is high relative to the actual profit. Both calculations are worth running before filing, because nobody at the town hall will do it for you.
When you sell at a loss, no plusvalía is due
If there was no increase in the value of the land between the date you acquired the property and the date you transferred it, the transaction is not subject to the tax. That covers a sale below the purchase price, and inherited or gifted property where the comparison between the two deeds shows no gain.
Two conditions apply.
- You have to prove it, normally with the purchase deed and the sale deed. The burden sits with you, not with the council.
- You still have to declare the transfer within the normal deadline. Councils do issue penalties for a missing declaration even when the tax itself comes to zero.
When to pay the land value tax?
Heirs pay plusvalía on inherited property, but councils are allowed to grant a reduction of up to 95% of the bill where the property passes on death to a spouse, descendants or ascendants. It is frequently restricted to the deceased's main home and may carry a condition that the heirs keep the property for a number of years.
The reduction is optional for each council and almost always has to be applied for, within the filing deadline. It is not granted automatically. Check your town hall's fiscal ordinance, and ask for the extension to one year if the estate is going to take time to settle. Planning the succession in advance through a Spanish will makes this stage considerably simpler for the people you leave behind.
So when do you have to pay plusvalia tax?
- Sale, gift or any transfer between living people: 30 working days from the date of the deed
- Inheritance: 6 months from the date of death, extendable to 1 year on request
Please note that these are working days (días hábiles), so weekends and public holidays do not count. Missing the deadline attracts a surcharge, and interest once the delay is substantial.
How to claim a plusvalía tax refund
There are three common situations where money can be recovered.
- You paid despite making no gain. Where the deeds show no increase in land value, the tax was not due in the first place.
- The council applied coefficients from a rejected decree. See the 2026 position above.
- The objective method was applied when the real method gave a lower figure. You are entitled to the lower of the two.
How you proceed depends on how the tax was handled. If it was a self-assessment (autoliquidación), where you calculated and paid it yourself, you request a rectificación de autoliquidación together with a refund of undue payment. If it was an assessment (liquidación), where the council calculated it and sent you a bill, you appeal within the period stated on the notification itself, which is short. Once that period lapses the assessment becomes final and the route to a refund narrows sharply.
Where to calculate and pay your plusvalía
Payment goes to the town hall where the property is located. Across most of the province of Alicante, collection is handled by SUMA Gestión Tributaria, the provincial tax authority, which publishes an online IIVTNU calculator and accepts filings electronically. Other provinces run their own equivalents, and some larger councils collect directly.
To file you will need the purchase deed, the sale or inheritance deed, a recent IBI receipt showing the cadastral land value, and the NIE of everyone involved. If you do not have one yet, start with an NIE number, as nothing can be filed without it.
Why does this plusvalía tax exist?
When you obtained the property you are trying to sell, the land in which it was located had a specific value (X). Since then (until now that you would like to sell it), this value has risen (X + rise of value). And that rise is partly due to improvements the town hall has made to the area and its surroundings.
The services near the property increase the property value. For example, there could be more supermarkets or a hospital nearby, a better school system, better infrastructures, a more efficient public transport system, Airports, etc.
So, the land value or Plusvalia Property Tax in Spain is the town hall’s way to capture that rise in value that is directly related to their public investments and improvements. This obviously poses the problem of lands or properties that have reduced in value and can’t be sold at a price higher than the purchase price.
Frequently asked questions about plusvalía tax in Spain
Is plusvalía the same as capital gains tax?
No. Plusvalía is a municipal tax on the increase in value of the land, paid to the town hall. Capital gains tax is a national tax on your total profit from the property. A sale can trigger both.
How much is plusvalía tax in Spain in practice?
For a typical Costa Blanca flat held for around ten years, with a cadastral land value near €28,000, the bill under the objective method lands in the region of €800 to €1,000. Long ownership periods push it up sharply, because at 20 years or more the coefficient jumps to 0.40, more than three times the ten-year figure.
Can I avoid paying plusvalía tax?
There is no way to opt out of a tax that is legally due. What exists is the right not to pay when no gain was made, the right to use whichever calculation method is lower, and reductions of up to 95% on inherited main homes where the council offers them. All three have to be claimed, with evidence, inside the filing deadline.
What happens if the plusvalía goes unpaid?
The town hall pursues whoever is legally liable, which means the seller, the heir, or the buyer where the seller was a non-resident. Late filing brings a surcharge, then interest, and the debt can end up secured against the property.
Does plusvalía apply to rural property?
No. The tax applies only to urban land. Land classified as rústico is outside its scope, though classification can change over time, so confirm the current status on the IBI receipt rather than relying on how the plot was classed when you bought it.
