For a foreign buyer looking at Andalucia in 2026, the single figure that most often gets miscalculated is the purchase tax. It is not one rate. The amount owed depends on whether the property is a resale or a new build, and the two paths follow entirely separate parts of the Spanish tax code. Getting the distinction right at the offer stage, rather than at completion, is what keeps a budget honest.

Resale property and the transfer tax

A resale home, meaning any property that has been sold at least once before, attracts Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales, the property transfer tax known as ITP. Andalucia holds its general ITP rate at a flat 7 per cent for 2026, applied to the declared purchase price. On a resale apartment at 850,000 euros, that is 59,500 euros in transfer tax alone, payable within thirty days of signing the title deed at the notary.

The flat structure matters. Some Spanish regions still operate sliding scales that push the marginal rate higher on more expensive homes. Andalucia does not, which is one reason the western Costa del Sol has stayed competitive against comparable coastal markets. A buyer comparing a resale in the Marbella area against one elsewhere in Spain should confirm the applicable regional rate rather than assume a national figure.

New build property and VAT

A new build bought directly from a developer follows a different route. There is no ITP. Instead the buyer pays IVA, Spanish VAT, at 10 per cent on residential property, plus Actos Juridicos Documentados, the stamp duty on the deed, which Andalucia currently sets at 1.2 per cent. Combined, that is 11.2 per cent on a new build against 7 per cent on an equivalent resale.

The gap is real money at the price points common in this market. On a 1.2 million euro purchase, the new build tax load is roughly 134,400 euros, compared with 84,000 euros on a resale at the same price. That does not make one option better than the other, because a new build and a resale are rarely like for like on specification, warranty or location. It does mean the tax line has to be modelled separately for each shortlisted property rather than carried across as a single assumption. Anyone weighing both routes while browsing marbella property for sale will want the tax comparison drawn up before, not after, an offer is agreed.

The costs that sit alongside the headline tax

Purchase tax is the largest single line, but it is not the whole picture. Buyers should also budget for:

• Notary fees, set on a regulated scale and typically a few thousand euros on a mid to high value purchase.
• Land Registry fees, again regulated and modest relative to the tax.
• Legal fees, commonly around 1 per cent plus IVA for independent conveyancing, which is standard practice and strongly advisable for a non resident.

Taken together, transaction costs on a resale in Andalucia usually land between 9 and 11 per cent of the purchase price, and on a new build between 12 and 14 per cent. A buyer who models the full figure early avoids the common error of stretching to a headline price and then finding the completion funds short by six figures.

What this means for a 2026 purchase

The practical takeaway is simple. Decide whether you are buying new or resale before you fix your top line, because the tax structure changes the true cost by four to five percentage points. Confirm the current Andalucia rates with your lawyer at the point of purchase, since regional rates are set locally and can be revised. And treat the tax as part of the acquisition price, not an afterthought settled at the notary. In a market where individual homes run well into seven figures, that discipline is the difference between a clean completion and an uncomfortable one.