3% Withholding Spain

How do I reclaim the 3 percent withholding in Spain?

Anyone who sells a property in Spain as a non-resident does not receive the full purchase price at the notary: the buyer withholds 3% of the agreed consideration and pays it to the Agencia Tributaria using Modelo 211. This is not an additional tax, but an advance payment (Spanish retención) on the tax you owe on your capital gain — and for non-residents that amounts to 19% of the gain. Because the withholding is based on the purchase price while the tax is based on the gain, the amount withheld very often exceeds the actual tax due. You get the difference back — but only if you declare it in time using Modelo 210. No one pays it out automatically.

How it's calculated

The calculation consists of two multiplications on two different bases. This is precisely why most sellers overpay in advance:

1. Withholding = rate under Art. 25.2 TRLIRNR × agreed consideration. The basis is the agreed consideration stated in the deed, not the cadastral value and not the reference value (valor de referencia). If several owners sell jointly, the buyer withholds the amount once — in the case of mixed ownership only on the share of the non-residents (see special cases); each non-resident seller is credited with their own share of it.
2. Tax = rate under Art. 25.1.f).3º TRLIRNR × capital gain. The gain is the transfer value minus the selling costs you bore and minus the acquisition value including incidental acquisition costs and the taxes paid at the time, excluding interest, and reduced by any depreciation taken (amortizaciones), if the property was rented out (Art. 35 of Ley 35/2006, applicable to non-residents via Art. 24.4 TRLIRNR). This rate applies to every non-resident without a permanent establishment — the reservation in favour of EU and EEA residents is set out in letter a) of the same paragraph and concerns other types of income, not the capital gain from a sale.
3. Result = credited withholding − tax. If the difference is positive, you are entitled to a refund; if it is negative, you must pay the remainder with the same tax return.

The calculator above works through both steps using the rates that applied on the day of signing the deed, and also states the gain at which the withholding and the tax exactly balance out. How to determine the gain yourself — which costs are deductible and what applies to older properties acquired before 1995 — is explained in the guide Taxes when selling property in Spain.

Why you almost always pay more in advance than you owe

The withholding is based on the purchase price, the tax on the gain — and the gain is almost always a fraction of the price. On top of that, the selling costs you bore are deducted from the sale proceeds, and the acquisition value is increased by incidental acquisition costs and the taxes paid at the time: property transfer tax or VAT, notary, land registry, and documented value-enhancing investments. The longer you have held the property and the more you have documented, the smaller the taxable gain.

That's why beneath the calculator's result you'll find the threshold at which things tip over: up to this profit, the withholding covers your tax; above it, you owe additional tax. Anyone below that threshold has given the tax office an interest-free advance — and only gets it back if they claim it.

Who does what: buyer and seller obligations

The process is split across two forms with two deadlines and two responsible parties. The second deadline only begins once the first has expired — this is the point where the common rule of thumb of "four months from the sale" becomes imprecise.

Without the copy of Modelo 211, you're missing proof of the amount paid. Actively request it from the buyer or their gestoría — a Spanish administrative office that handles such official procedures — rather than waiting for it to arrive on its own.

The three possible outcomes

Important: The declaration must be submitted regardless of the outcome (“con independencia del resultado de la autoliquidación”, Art. 5.a) of the Orden EHA/3316/2010) — even in the case of a loss and even when there is nothing to pay. Anyone who files nothing gets nothing refunded.

Special cases and common misconceptions

• Two cases without withholding. Art. 14.2 RD 1776/2004 lists them exhaustively: when the seller proves liability to Spanish income tax (IRPF) or corporate tax by means of a certificate from the tax authorities, and when the property is contributed to the incorporation or capital increase of a company resident in Spain. A German passport alone changes nothing; a certificate does.
• The ten-year exception no longer exists. Until the end of 2006, the withholding did not apply if the property had been held in private assets without improvements for more than ten years as of 31.12.1996. This provision was abolished when the rate dropped from five to three percent; anyone still citing it today is citing repealed law.
• Multiple sellers. The buyer withholds only once; each non-resident co-owner files their own declaration, declares their own gain, and credits only their own share of the withholding. Anyone who offsets the total withholding against their own share of the gain mistakes a repayment for a refund. So enter your ownership share in the calculator.
• Mixed ownership: residents and non-residents. If part of the property belongs to persons with tax residence in Spain, the buyer withholds only on the share of the non-residents — this is how the AEAT works it out in its guidance on the Modelo 211, using an example of four siblings, two of whom are residents. This does not change the amount credited to each individual non-resident: in every case, they enter their own share of the purchase price multiplied by the withholding rate.
• If the buyer fails to remit anything, the property is liable. Under Art. 25.2 TRLIRNR, the transferred property remains liable for the lesser of the two amounts — withholding or tax; the Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) notes this in the margin of the entry. This then affects the buyer, not the seller, but it is the reason why a buyer insists on the withholding.
• The withholding is not a final settlement. Anyone who declares nothing has not settled the matter, but has an open declaration.

The trap: offsetting against old tax debts

One point is often overlooked: the tax authorities are not obliged to pay out a legitimate refund if the same taxpayer still has outstanding tax debts. According to Art. 73 of the Ley General Tributaria (Ley 58/2003) it can offset outstanding refund claims ex officio against existing debts (compensación de oficio), specified further by Art. 58 of the Real Decreto 939/2005.

This becomes relevant above all if you used the property yourself in previous years and did not submit the corresponding Modelo 210 declarations that were due. These gaps become apparent when the refund application is reviewed. The review period is based on the four-year limitation period set out in Art. 66 LGT. Whether anything is still outstanding for your property is calculated year by year by the calculator for the self-use tax.

Deadlines and forms

Both deadlines run from date to date: a notarisation on 15 March leads to 15 April, not to “30 days”. If the day is missing in the target month, the deadline ends on the last day of that month — 31 January leads to 28 February. The three months for the Modelo 210 are attached to the end of this first month (“a partir del término del plazo establecido para el ingreso de la retención”, Art. 14.4 RD 1776/2004). That’s why “four months from notarisation” is only an approximation: it holds true in most months and, in the borderline cases, overshoots by a few days. The calculator above states both deadline dates precisely for your date.

If a deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it ends on the next working day; local and regional public holidays in Mallorca can shift it further. In case of doubt, the earlier date applies.

Most common mistakes

• Not requesting the copy of Modelo 211 — without this receipt, proof of the amount paid over is missing.
• Calculating the filing deadline from the wrong day, because it only begins once the first month has elapsed.
• Declaring nothing at all in the case of a loss-making sale, on the assumption that without a profit there is no obligation. It is precisely in this case that the full withholding is lost.
• Calculating as a co-owner using the total withholding amount and therefore expecting a refund where a further payment is actually due.
• Deductible costs not documented, which results in a declared profit higher than necessary.
• Overlooking outstanding Modelo 210 declarations from years of personal use, which surface during the review and reduce the refund.

What still needs to be dealt with after settlement

With the refund or additional payment, the tax side of the sale is not yet complete. In parallel, the municipal capital gains tax Plusvalía Municipal generally falls due, independent of the withholding; the current property tax IBI for the year of sale is in practice often split between buyer and seller, though this must be agreed contractually. A full overview is given in the guide Taxes on property sales in Spain, and details on the capital gains tax in the guide Plusvalía Municipal.

Step by step: how to get the difference back

1. Request the copy of Modelo 211 from the buyer. Without this receipt, proof of the amount paid over is missing. Actively ask for it, ideally already at the notary appointment.
2. Determine the profit or loss. Sale value less your selling costs, minus the acquisition value including acquisition-related costs and taxes at the time, reduced by depreciation from rental years.
3. Gather the supporting documents. Purchase deed, sale deed, invoices for investments, and proof of notary, land registry and tax costs at the time of acquisition.
4. Complete Modelo 210, income type 28, offset the withholding from Modelo 211 and register the surplus for a refund.
5. Meet the deadlines: Filing runs for three months from the end of the buyer's withholding period. The calculator above shows both dates for your notarisation day.
6. Provide a Spanish bank account and keep an eye on the processing status. Six months after the end of the filing deadline, default interest starts to accrue in your favour.

There's a dedicated guide for determining the profit itself: Taxes on property sales in Spain.

Checklist before filing

• Received a copy of Modelo 211 from the buyer
• Purchase and sale price as well as all deductible costs documented
• For multiple owners: own share and own profit determined separately
• Checked whether Modelo 210 declarations from years of personal use are outstanding
• Both deadlines noted, calculated from the day of notarisation
• Modelo 210 filed — even in case of a loss and even with a result of zero
• Bank account for the refund entered

Conclusion

The withholding is not a final tax, but an advance on a tax calculated on a different basis. Anyone who knows the difference, documents their costs, and calculates the two deadlines from the correct day gets the difference back — in the case of a sale at a loss, the entire amount. Anyone who declares nothing lets the tax office keep it.

Legal basis and status

• Withholding and liability of the property: Art. 25.2 of the Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2004 (TRLIRNR), consolidated version — boe.es
• Rate applied to the capital gain: Art. 25.1.f).3º TRLIRNR, ibid.
• Procedure, deadlines and the two exceptions: Art. 14 of the Real Decreto 1776/2004 (Reglamento IRNR) as amended by Real Decreto 1576/2006, in force since 01.01.2007 — boe.es
• Refund and default interest: Art. 16 RD 1776/2004 in conjunction with Art. 103 of the Ley 35/2006
• Filing deadline for Modelo 210: Art. 5.a) of the Orden EHA/3316/2010, consolidated version — boe.es
• Forms: AEAT — Modelo 210 and Modelo 211
• Limitation period and offsetting: Art. 66 and Art. 73 of the Ley 58/2003 (LGT) — boe.es; Art. 58 of the Real Decreto 939/2005 — boe.es

The current tax rates used by the calculator are stated by it itself below the result; they come from this page's facts register and not from this text.