British Buyer’s Guide to Spanish Property: Tax, Costs & Legal Steps

Since Brexit, UK nationals are third-country nationals under Schengen rules. You can stay in Spain (and the entire Schengen area) for a maximum of 90 days in any rolling 180-day period without a visa. This is not 90 days per country. It is 90 days total across all 27 Schengen states. If you spend two weeks in France and a week in Italy, those days count against your Spanish allowance. For a holiday home owner, this means you can realistically use your Costa del Sol property for approximately three months per year without any visa.

If you want to spend more time in Spain, you need a visa. The most common options for British property owners are the Non-Lucrative Visa (requires €28,800/year passive income, no work in Spain) or the Digital Nomad Visa (requires remote employment). Both grant residency permits that remove the 90/180 restriction entirely. We see approximately 40% of our British buyers applying for one of these visas within the first year of ownership, having initially planned to use the property as a holiday home and then finding they want to spend more time.

The UK and Spain have a Double Taxation Convention that prevents you from being taxed on the same income in both countries. However, the treaty does not eliminate tax. It allocates taxing rights. As a UK resident owning Spanish property, you will pay Spanish taxes on the property (IBI, deemed rental income via Modelo 210, wealth tax if applicable) and you can credit those Spanish taxes against your UK tax liability on the same income. You do not pay UK tax on top of the Spanish tax (the treaty prevents that) but you do need to declare the property and the income to HMRC.

Where the treaty gets complex is capital gains on sale. Spain taxes capital gains on Spanish property at 19–28% (sliding scale), and the UK taxes worldwide capital gains above your annual allowance at 18–24% (depending on your UK income tax band). The treaty gives Spain primary taxing rights on gains from Spanish immovable property, and the UK gives you a credit for the Spanish tax paid. In practice, the Spanish CGT is usually higher than the UK CGT would have been, so there is no additional UK tax to pay. However, you must still report the gain to HMRC.

Before Brexit, British buyers in Spain were treated the same as any EU citizen: freedom of movement, right to work, access to Spanish public healthcare, and a flat 19% tax rate on deemed rental income. After Brexit, UK nationals became third-country nationals, and several things changed. The non-resident tax rate on deemed rental income increased from 19% to 24% because the lower rate is reserved for EU/EEA nationals. The 3% retention on resale (where the buyer withholds 3% of the sale price and pays it to the Spanish tax office) now applies to all non-EU sellers, including British nationals.

Access to Spanish public healthcare now requires either residency with social security contributions, a private health insurance policy, or an S1 form (if you receive a UK state pension). The right to work in Spain requires a visa and work permit, which was previously automatic for EU nationals. And the inheritance tax picture became more complex: British nationals can no longer automatically claim Andalucía’s generous regional allowances for inheritance tax, though this is an area where legal advice can still optimise the outcome through careful planning.

Currency conversion is one of the largest hidden costs for British buyers. On a €1.5M purchase, the difference between a good exchange rate and a bad one can be €15,000–30,000, more than the legal fees. Do not use your UK high-street bank for the transfer. They typically add a 2–4% margin to the mid-market exchange rate, which on €1.5M is €30,000–60,000 in hidden costs.

Instead, use a specialist currency broker (Currencies Direct, Wise, Moneycorp, or OFX). They operate on margins of 0.3–0.8%, saving you 1–3% on every transfer. For a large purchase, arrange a forward contract: you lock in today’s exchange rate for a transfer that settles in 4–12 weeks, protecting you against Sterling weakening between offer and completion. This is particularly important because the 8–12 week conveyancing period exposes you to exchange rate fluctuation. You will need to open an account with the broker, provide KYC documentation, and typically pay a small deposit to secure the forward contract.

British buyers have two financing options: remortgage a UK property to release equity and buy in Spain with cash, or take a Spanish mortgage from a Spanish bank. Each has advantages. A UK remortgage gives you Sterling-denominated debt at potentially lower rates and avoids the complexity of Spanish bank bureaucracy. But it concentrates your risk in the UK property market and exposes you to exchange rate fluctuation on every mortgage payment.

A Spanish mortgage spreads your risk across two currencies and two property markets, and Spanish banks offer competitive rates for non-residents (3.5–5% fixed, 60–70% LTV in 2026). The disadvantage is the application process: Spanish banks require extensive documentation (UK tax returns, P60s, bank statements, proof of UK income), the valuation (tasación) must be conducted by a Spanish appraiser, and approval takes 4–6 weeks. Most British buyers in the €500K–1.5M bracket use a Spanish mortgage; above €1.5M, cash purchases from UK equity release are more common.

Spanish succession law requires that a portion of your estate passes to your children (legítima), regardless of what your will says. However, since August 2015 (EU Regulation 650/2012), foreign nationals can elect to have their home country’s inheritance law apply instead. British owners should include a clause in their Spanish will explicitly electing English (or Scottish) law to govern their succession, which allows them to distribute their Spanish property as they wish.

On the tax side, Andalucía offers generous inheritance tax allowances for direct-line heirs (children, spouses): a 99% reduction on the tax base for inheritances up to €1M in value, effectively eliminating inheritance tax for most transfers. Post-Brexit, there is legal debate about whether British nationals can still claim these regional allowances or must pay the (much higher) state rates. The current legal consensus, supported by Spanish Supreme Court rulings, is that EU and non-EU residents of Andalucía are treated equally for regional IHT purposes, but this is an area where professional advice is essential.

The optimal sequence for a British buyer is: first, apply for your NIE through the Spanish Consulate in London (or Manchester, Edinburgh). London processes NIE applications within 2–4 weeks. Second, engage a Spanish lawyer who is independent of the estate agent. Third, open a Spanish bank account. This can be done remotely through some banks, or in person during a viewing trip. Fourth, if you plan to finance with a Spanish mortgage, start the pre-approval process with 2–3 Spanish banks simultaneously. Fifth, fly to Málaga for a focused 3–5 day viewing trip. Sixth, once you have found a property, your agent handles the offer and your lawyer handles the conveyancing, typically 8–12 weeks to completion.

Budget for at least two trips to Spain: one for viewing and one for the notary completion. Some buyers complete via power of attorney and never attend the notary in person, but we recommend being present for the signing. The flight from London to Málaga is 2 hours 45 minutes, with multiple daily services from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, and Manchester.