Purchase incidental costs in Mallorca

How high are the purchase incidental costs on Mallorca?

The purchase incidental costs Mallorca depend on whether you buy an existing property or a new build: existing property costs you the progressive property transfer tax (ITP) with a rate between 8% and 13% of the value, new build from the developer 10% VAT (IVA) plus 1.5% to 2% stamp duty (AJD), depending on the purchase price. On top of that come notary, land registry, the gestoría — a Spanish administrative office that handles the official procedures for you — and usually a lawyer. The exact amount for your purchase price is shown by the calculator above.

How the purchase incidental costs on Mallorca are calculated

Behind the incidental costs of a property purchase lies a clear system that differs between existing property and new build — both types of tax are mutually exclusive within the same purchase. Which of the two applies is not decided by the year the property was built, but by who is selling: a private individual (second transmission) or a developer in a first sale.

For an existing property (second transmission, usually between private individuals) the property transfer tax (ITP) applies, in Spanish Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales. In the Balearics it is staggered progressively: the value is broken down into tiers, and the rates rise from the entry rate to the top rate. Unlike in Germany, this does not result in a marginal tax rate on the last euro, but rather an average rate (tipo medio) that is applied to the entire value. Which average rate applies to your purchase price and which individual tier thresholds lie behind it is shown by the calculator above.

For a new build, which you buy directly from the developer as a first sale, no ITP is charged; instead, VAT (IVA) is due on the purchase price plus stamp duty (AJD, Actos Jurídicos Documentados) on the notarisation (escritura). From a certain value threshold — the calculator shows you exactly where — the AJD rises from the standard rate to an increased rate.

A common mistake arises even at this classification stage: anyone who wrongly calculates an existing property as if it were a new build, or vice versa, miscalculates by several tens of thousands of euros. A second, equally common mistake is applying the top rate of the ITP tier structure to the entire purchase price instead of just to the average rate — this is exactly what the calculator above avoids, by correctly replicating the tier structure.

Alongside the taxes, the calculator also includes the non-tax items, all of which are pre-set but editable:

• Notary (escritura): Notaries charge according to the official fee schedule (Arancel) of 1989, enshrined in Real Decreto 1426/1989. The base fee itself is low, with additional charges for copies, written pages, and on top of that the general VAT rate. The default value in the calculator is an order of magnitude, not an offer from your notary.
• Land registry (Registro de la Propiedad): The Land Registry also has its own official fee schedule, the Real Decreto 1427/1989, likewise plus IVA.
• Gestoría (administrative agency) and lawyer: The gestoría handles the administrative procedures for the buyer: the tax filing (Modelo 600), the registration in the Land Registry, and the transfer of electricity and water accounts. It is optional if a lawyer or the notary takes this on instead. Neither has an official fee schedule — their fees are freely negotiable. For purchase support by a lawyer, one percent of the purchase price is the usual approach, which is why the calculator sets this as the default.
• Estate agent's commission: In Mallorca, it is usually the seller who pays the estate agent's commission, not the buyer. That's why this item is switched off by default in the calculator.

Notary and Land Registry fees can be calculated exactly according to the Arancel, not just as a rough estimate — that's what the calculator for notary and land registry costs is for, which reproduces the fee schedule step by step and also factors in the statutory reductions for residential properties. The values preset here are the order of magnitude that results from this for a residential property; they are suitable for initial budget planning and do not replace an invoice from your notary or your gestoría.

Worked examples

The calculator above contains three example cases with which you can follow the underlying system: an existing property at a medium purchase price, the same purchase price again as a new build — so you can immediately see how much ITP on the one hand and IVA plus AJD on the other differ — and a high-priced existing property case, which shows how strongly the average rate rises with the purchase price. Enter your own purchase price to see the exact amounts and the effective average rate for your case; the specific figures are provided solely by the calculator, not by this text.

The high-priced existing property case also makes it easy to observe why the average rate never reaches the highest bracket rate applied: the lower brackets remain in effect up to their respective upper limit, and only the portion of value above that is taxed at the next higher rate. The new-build comparison case additionally shows at what point the increased AJD rate kicks in and how much more expensive it makes the new-build option compared with the existing property case.

Special cases

The basic calculation in the calculator above covers the standard case — purchase of a residential property between private individuals or as a new build from a developer, without any discount. Several situations differ from this and are not included in it:

• Discounts: Reduced rates apply for a first owner-occupied home, for young buyers, for large families or single-parent families, and for people with disabilities, subject to value limits and further conditions. Whether you can make use of one of these discounts is best checked with a gestoría or tax adviser before signing the deed.
• Cadastral reference value (valor de referencia): The tax is not necessarily based on the purchase price, but on the higher of the purchase price and the official cadastral reference value. If the reference value exceeds your negotiated price, it becomes the tax base — this is the most common reason for subsequent claims from the ATIB, the Balearic tax authority, after signing the escritura.
• Land and garages: For undeveloped plots of land and for garage spaces acquired separately, somewhat different assessment rules apply than for residential properties.
• Mortgage: If you finance the purchase with a mortgage, additional costs arise for setting up the mortgage charge, which the basic calculation likewise does not include.

None of these special cases is automatically built into the calculator above — the respective conditions are simply too individual for that. It gives you the basic calculation as a reliable starting point, which you can supplement as needed with a gestoría or tax adviser to cover your specific case.

Deadlines and forms

The tax on the purchase — ITP for existing properties, AJD for new builds — is not automatically assessed, but is self-assessed and filed with the ATIB, the Balearic tax authority, using Modelo 600. The deadline for this is one month from the day the escritura is signed before the notary. In practice, the gestoría usually handles the filing for you. Anyone who misses the deadline risks a late-filing surcharge as well as default interest on the tax owed. The longer the delay lasts, the higher the surcharge becomes — one more reason to have the deadline in your calendar from the outset and to clarify, even before the escritura is signed, who is monitoring it.

Who pays what?

Up to this point, the focus has been on how much each item costs. Just as important is the second question: who actually bears it? Because by no means does every item fall to the buyer. The following allocation reflects the basic legal rule — deviating agreements are sometimes possible, but not enforceable against the tax office.

Two points are particularly relevant for buyers on Mallorca. The estate agent's commission is usually borne by the seller here — unlike in many other EU countries. The market-standard rate is in the mid-single-digit percentage range of the sale price; there is no officially set amount, the commission is freely negotiable and is set out in the agency agreement. For you as a buyer, this mainly means: clarify in writing who owes it before you make an offer.

The second point is the plusvalía municipal (officially IIVTNU, Impuesto sobre el Incremento de Valor de los Terrenos de Naturaleza Urbana) — the municipal tax on the increase in value of the land since the last change of ownership. It is legally owed by the seller. A contractual transfer of this liability to a consumer-buyer can be challenged as an abusive clause, and towards the town hall the seller remains the debtor in any case. If such a clause appears in your draft contract, that's a matter for your lawyer, not for your budget planning.

Ongoing costs after the purchase

The notarised deed is not the end of it. As an owner, you have recurring annual costs — and as an owner not resident in Spain, your own tax return obligation. Anyone who only calculates the purchase-related ancillary costs overlooks exactly the part that comes back every year.

IBI: The property tax is calculated from the cadastral value (not the market value) multiplied by the municipal tax rate. For urban properties, the law sets a range from 0.4% to 1.1%; within these limits, each municipality sets its own rate — so your actual burden depends on which municipality you buy in. The cadastral value is often significantly below the purchase price, which is why the IBI turns out more moderate than the market value might suggest. The key date is 1 January: whoever is the owner on that date owes the IBI for the whole year — when buying, the current year is often split proportionally between the parties.

Waste: In Mallorca, in addition to the municipal waste fee, there is the incineration tariff of the Consell de Mallorca, the island council. Both components are newly decided each year; so don't rely on last year's figure, but check the current tariff with your town hall.

Modelo 210 — the most expensive thing to forget: If you own as a non-resident a self-used (non-rented) property, you must pay an annual notional income tax on an assumed rental value — even if the flat is empty:

The reduced rate of 19% applies to residents of the EU as well as the EEA (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein); for non-EU countries — since Brexit this also includes the United Kingdom — it is 24%, and only EU/EEA residents are allowed to deduct costs when renting out. The imputed self-use taxation (referred to in the guidance of the Spanish tax authority AEAT as renta inmobiliaria imputada, Tipo de renta 02) is declared once a year, always in the following year. Anyone who ignores this risks back payments, late-filing surcharges and penalties.

The most common mistakes

Almost all costly miscalculations can be traced back to a handful of thinking errors. The good news: each one is avoidable once you know about it.

1. Applying the top rate to the entire price. ITP is staggered progressively. The highest rate only applies to the topmost portion of the value; what matters for your calculation is the average rate shown by the calculator above.
2. Calculating only with the purchase price. The tax base for ITP is the higher of the price and the valor de referencia of the cadastre. If the reference value is higher, you pay more.
3. Confusing ITP and IVA. Resale means ITP, new build from a developer means IVA plus AJD. Both never apply at the same time — a misclassification massively distorts the budget.
4. Overlooking the increased AJD rate. Above a certain value threshold, stamp duty on new builds rises from the standard rate to the increased rate. In the premium segment, this is more the rule than the exception; the calculator shows you exactly where that threshold lies.
5. Missing the deadline. The ITP or AJD is self-assessed with the ATIB via Modelo 600 — the deadline binding for the Balearics is one month from the date of notarisation. Being late costs surcharges and default interest.
6. Forgetting Modelo 210. As a non-resident, there is an annual declaration obligation — paying the local IBI does not replace it.

Checklist before notarisation

You should have ticked off these points before sitting down with the notary:

• Resale or new build clarified → correct tax (ITP vs. IVA+AJD) planned for
• Valor de referencia of the cadastre checked (higher than the purchase price?)
• ITP calculated using the average rate — not simply at the top rate across the board
• For new builds above the value threshold: increased AJD rate taken into account instead of the standard rate
• Budget reserved for notary + land registry + gestoría
• Lawyer/due diligence commissioned
• Who bears the estate agent's commission — fixed contractually
• Modelo 600 deadline noted in the calendar (one month from the notary appointment, ATIB)
• Ongoing costs (IBI, waste collection, comunidad, Modelo 210) included in the budget

What comes next?

After the purchase come the operational matters: the annual Modelo 210 obligation as a non-resident, the NIE number (Número de Identidad de Extranjero, the Spanish identification number for foreigners) for all tax and administrative matters, as well as — if you don't use it yourself — the rental. If you're still in the middle of your property search, you can get started via the property listings on Mallorca; the other topics relating to property ownership and administrative matters are gathered in the Property Guide. Specific starting points:

• Emigration Guide — authorities, taxes, registration
• Applying for a NIE number on Mallorca — a prerequisite for any purchase
• Long-term rental on Mallorca — if you want to rent out rather than use the property yourself
• Current market report — assessing price levels and locations

Legal basis and status

The Balearic property transfer tax ITP is regulated in the Decreto Legislativo 1/2014 of the Balearics (Article 10), and the stamp duty AJD is likewise regulated there (Article 15 and Article 17 bis). The VAT (IVA) on new-build properties is governed by the national Ley 37/1992. Below the result in the calculator above you'll find the exact legal status as well as linked original sources — a separate source list at this point would only become outdated, whereas the calculator stays current.

These regulations are subject to change: the ITP scale currently in force and the increased AJD rate both derive from the Balearic budget law Ley 11/2022 and have applied since 1 January 2023; the wording of the increased AJD rate was revised once more by Ley 12/2023. So don't rely on older articles or rules of thumb, but on the status that the calculator tracks with every change in the law.

Frequently asked questions

Related topics

• ITP in the Balearics 2026
• The legal process of buying property
• Notary in the property purchase process in Spain
• Lawyer in the property purchase process in Spain