Buying a €3 million home in Marbella: taxes and purchase budget

Define the budget and the transaction before using a percentage

Write down four separate amounts: the property price, acquisition taxes, other purchase costs and the reserve you want available after completion. If financing is involved, show the loan and your own cash separately. This gives everyone working on the search the same definition of affordable, without confusing the price ceiling with the money available to complete.

Our main examples concern an individual buying ordinary residential property, with no reduced rate, exemption or VAT recovery. They exclude a company acquisition, development land, commercial premises and unusual ownership arrangements. The assumed price is before taxes, and the relevant tax bases equal that price unless a different value is explicitly stated. These assumptions matter as much as the percentages.

Ask for the seller's status, the property's transfer history and a description of everything included. A newly renovated house is not automatically a first delivery for VAT purposes. Equally, the word new in a brochure cannot settle the treatment. Have the tax route confirmed before comparing two homes using an estimated final budget.

The standard resale example: €210,000 in ITP

The Junta de Andalucía publishes a general 7% rate for the transfer-tax branch known as Transmisiones Patrimoniales Onerosas, commonly called ITP in a home purchase. With an assumed taxable base of €3,000,000, the calculation is €3,000,000 × 7% = €210,000. The price plus this tax is therefore €3,210,000.

That figure stops at the tax subtotal. It leaves professional fees, transaction expenses, any financing and preparation of the home to be added. Keep those lines visible even if they have not yet been quoted. A blank cost is unresolved, rather than zero, and should remain visible when you decide how much to offer.

Do not add the new-home percentage-based AJD charge to this ordinary ITP resale model as though both routes applied together. The statutory conditions for that AJD charge distinguish it from a transfer subject to TPO. This does not mean the sale has no documentary or notarial expenses. Ask the adviser to identify the actual items in the completion estimate.

The first-delivery example: €300,000 VAT and €36,000 AJD

AEAT states the general 10% VAT rate for qualifying residential sales. Andalusia's general percentage-based AJD rate is 1.2%. Assuming a qualifying first delivery subject to both, a €3,000,000 price and €3,000,000 bases give €300,000 VAT plus €36,000 AJD: €336,000 in these taxes and a €3,336,000 subtotal including the price.

The difference from the standard resale illustration is €126,000 before other costs. This is a comparison of two tax models, not a claim that one property is better value. A finished specification, the layout you need and the work required after purchase can change the wider decision. Compare those matters alongside a correctly identified tax route.

Request a written price breakdown that makes clear whether VAT is included in any figure you have been shown. Have separately supplied furniture, parking, storage and other elements assessed on their actual terms; do not apply the headline residential rate indiscriminately to everything in a package. The €36,000 AJD figure also depends on the assumed base, which needs its own check.

Check the taxable value before treating a discount as a tax saving

Catastro explains that the reference value affects the tax base, with a higher declared value or agreed price taking precedence for ITP. It also distinguishes this reference value from the cadastral value used for IBI. Ask your adviser to obtain the relevant information for the property and transaction date.

Suppose the agreed resale price is €3,000,000 but the applicable reference value and ITP base are €3,200,000. At 7%, the illustrative tax becomes €224,000. The price-plus-tax subtotal is €3,224,000, or €14,000 above the first resale example. This invented scenario demonstrates the calculation; it is not a valuation of any home in our catalogue.

The ITP legislation also addresses cases without a certifiable reference value and sets a value floor for property-based AJD calculations. Absence of a reference value should not be read as permission to choose any tax base. Ask for a documented assessment, and seek advice on the applicable procedure if a value is disputed. Do not assume that an eventual challenge will finance completion.

Replace a generic allowance with a list of actual quotations

Build the next part of the budget from services and transaction items: legal and tax advice, technical inspection, notarial and registry expenses, administrative processing, translations and any power of attorney. Confirm which items are needed, who bears them and what each quotation includes. For professional services, ask whether the quoted total includes applicable VAT and outside expenses.

If an adviser quotes a percentage, record both the percentage and the resulting euro amount, together with its scope. Does the service end at signing, or include tax filings and registration follow-up? What would generate an additional charge? A written scope makes two fee proposals easier to compare than a headline number alone.

Ask separately about any buyer-side agency arrangement, bank transfer charges and currency conversion. Do not import a standard fee assumption from another buyer's transaction. Once quotations arrive, replace placeholders rather than adding the quoted amount on top of the same allowance. Keep a modest planning margin of your own choosing, clearly labelled, instead of presenting it as an official charge.

Separate mortgage expenses from the costs of buying the home

Banco de España stresses that the statutory allocation of mortgage-formalisation expenses concerns the loan, not the purchase itself. Its guidance places valuation costs with the borrower and specified loan-documentation expenses with the lender. Confirm how the rules and the bank's offer apply to your borrowing arrangement.

Prepare two schedules if you intend to borrow: the overall acquisition budget and the cash you must provide at each stage. Record the proposed loan amount, conditions for drawdown and the remaining funds needed for taxes and other costs. A possible mortgage does not eliminate the need to establish when money will actually be available.

Keep valuation, lender approval and property condition as separate questions. Ask the bank and your advisers what remains outstanding before you rely on funding in a contractual deadline. If your savings are held in another currency, request the conversion terms and an estimate of the euros that would arrive. Avoid counting an indicative exchange rate as a confirmed amount in the completion account.

Put deposits, completion and tax filing on one calendar

A payment made on account of the agreed price normally needs to be credited within that price in your budget, rather than added a second time. Have the lawyer confirm the treatment of every reservation or deposit under the actual agreement. Show any separate fee on its own line, with its recipient and purpose.

The Junta's model 600 guidance gives a general two-month period from the day after tax accrual for filing and payment. Ask the professional handling the transaction to establish the applicable accrual date and deadline; do not assume that every relevant clock starts when you collect the keys. VAT payments and any staged purchase payments require their own calendar.

For each transfer, record the amount, recipient, due date and evidence you expect afterwards. Reconcile provisions of funds against final invoices and tax-payment receipts. This practical list helps you see whether all necessary cash is available at the right time, even where part of the paperwork will be completed after the day of signing.

A non-resident seller can change the payment instructions

AEAT explains the buyer's obligation to retain and pay 3% of the agreed consideration on a covered purchase from a non-resident seller, using model 211 as a payment on account of the seller's tax. Have your adviser establish the seller's tax status and any applicable exception before preparing the completion statement.

For a simple hypothetical €3,000,000 transaction fully subject to that retention, 3% is €90,000. This is an amount retained from the agreed consideration for payment to the tax authority, rather than another €90,000 added to the purchase price. The actual distribution must also account for deposits, charges and any other agreed adjustments, so it belongs in the lawyer's completion calculation.

The relevant question here concerns the seller's status, not merely the buyer's passport. Ask who will prepare the filing, arrange payment and provide the evidence. Do not treat the retention as a discount or available spending money. Your adviser should also assess any separate municipal or other completion obligations rather than treating this single percentage as the whole non-resident-seller review.

If €3 million is the total ceiling, search below it

Work backwards from the sum you can commit. In the illustrative resale route, a €2,750,000 price and equal taxable base produce €192,500 ITP and a €2,942,500 subtotal. That leaves €57,500 within a €3 million ceiling for every other purchase cost and any reserve you want included. It does not establish that this remainder will be sufficient.

For another purely hypothetical comparison, a qualifying first delivery at €2,650,000, with equal VAT and AJD bases, gives €265,000 VAT and €31,800 AJD. The subtotal is €2,946,800, leaving €53,200 before the other items. Neither illustration is a recommended offer or a forecast of fees; both show why the same total budget can imply different search-price limits.

Once you have actual quotations, revise the ceiling and the shortlist together. Decide whether furniture, immediate repairs, financing costs and the first year's running reserve belong inside the available sum. Keeping that choice explicit helps prevent a seemingly affordable price from consuming money already needed for another part of the move.

Three catalogue examples around the search range

Monte Paraiso 10D is advertised at €2,500,000 on Marbella's Golden Mile, with four bedrooms, 275 m² built and 80 m² of terraces. Its apartment format suggests questions about shared services and community budgeting alongside the acquisition calculation.

Villa Riva in Nueva Andalucía is listed at €2,775,000, with four bedrooms, 264 m² built, 151 m² of terraces and a 390 m² plot. Compare the private outdoor space and equipment with the services you would arrange after purchase.

La Quinta 193 is offered at €2,950,000 in Benahavís, a separate municipality near Marbella. The catalogue states four bedrooms, 373 m² built, 122 m² of terraces and a 1,035 m² plot. These are asking-price examples, not €3 million all-inclusive offers. Their actual tax classification, taxable values, availability and final transaction costs must be confirmed individually; the hypothetical tax table above is not a quotation for these homes.

Keep the first year of ownership visible

The acquisition budget should connect to a separate ownership plan. Request current information about community payments, local bills, insurance, utilities and maintenance arrangements. Ask for the relevant period and what each figure includes. A monthly service quotation, an annual charge and a one-off replacement should not sit in one column without explanation.

Write a first-year brief based on your use of the house. A home occupied throughout the year, a seasonal base and a property undergoing work require different arrangements. Identify who will care for the garden, pool and equipment between visits, and obtain quotations for the services you would actually commission. Furnishing and changes to the house need their own scope and estimates.

Discuss ongoing personal tax obligations with a qualified adviser using your residence and ownership circumstances. Do not extrapolate them from this acquisition-tax comparison. Keeping recurring obligations separate allows you to judge whether the property remains comfortable to own after the excitement of completion, and whether the reserve you planned is appropriate for your own situation.

Ask for one reconciled budget before committing

Bring the information together in a dated budget showing assumptions, confirmed amounts and unresolved items. Ask your advisers to identify the tax route and bases, explain the treatment of payments already made and confirm who handles each outstanding action. Keep the underlying quotations and documents available so a later change can be traced.

Then compare the homes using the same definition of total cost. A lower asking price does not settle the choice, and a higher tax subtotal does not describe the quality of the home. The decision should connect your intended life in Marbella with a purchase you understand and can fund on the agreed schedule. Update the budget when the property, price, structure or relevant rules change.

1. The price ceiling and total available budget are stated separately.
2. The applicable taxes, bases and assumptions have been confirmed for the transaction.
3. Fees, deposits and retained amounts are counted once and assigned to the correct recipient.
4. Payment dates and the reserve for the home after completion are included.