Spain’s 100% Tax on Non-EU Buyers: 2026 Status | reSELECTA

Short answer: the 100% tax on non-EU property buyers is not law, and never has been. It was announced in January 2025, submitted to Congress as a bill in May 2025, and as of mid-2026 it has never once been debated — no version has been voted on, and the government’s own January 2026 housing package quietly dropped it. Non-EU buyers continue to purchase in Spain under normal rules. Other things did change, and this guide separates them.

Why this article exists

In January 2025 the proposal was reported worldwide — the BBC, Bloomberg, national broadcasters across Europe and North America all carried it. Much of that coverage was accurate at the time. Almost none of it has been updated since.

The result is that a buyer searching today finds a wall of alarmed content describing a measure that has gone nowhere for eighteen months, mixed with agency pages that either amplify the fear or ignore the subject entirely. We are a buyer-side advisory; clients ask us this question every week. This is the answer we give them, with dates.

The timeline

Why it stalled

Three reasons, and they compound. Understanding them matters more than the headline, because they are also the reasons it is unlikely to pass in its original form.

1. The arithmetic in Congress

The government is a minority coalition dependent on a patchwork of smaller regional parties that support legislation case by case. It has become progressively harder to assemble majorities as the term has run on, and a measure this contested was never near the front of the queue. A bill that cannot be passed is generally not brought to debate at all — which is precisely what the parliamentary record shows.

2. Constitutional doubt

A tax set at 100% of transaction value is difficult to characterise as taxation rather than confiscation, and Spanish constitutional doctrine limits confiscatory taxation. Regional governments — several of which hold the competence over property transfer tax — also opposed it, which raises questions about where the power to levy it would even sit.

3. EU law

Free movement of capital under EU treaties applies to movements between member states and third countries. A measure targeting buyers specifically by nationality and residence status invites challenge on that basis. This is not a technicality that disappears with political will; it is the kind of objection that produces years of litigation.

What it would have meant, had it passed

We should be clear that this was not a trivial proposal, and dismissing it as noise would be as misleading as panicking about it.

That is the scale of what was proposed: a doubling of the cost of purchase for an affected buyer. It would not have been a deterrent — it would have been an effective prohibition, which is close to how the Prime Minister described the intent. Anyone who took the news seriously in January 2025 was right to.

It is also worth stating plainly that the proposal responded to a real problem. Spain has a genuine housing affordability crisis, particularly in Madrid, Barcelona, the Balearics and parts of the Mediterranean coast. Whether foreign buyers are a significant cause of it is contested — economists disagree, and the share of foreign purchases varies enormously by municipality. Reasonable people hold different views on the policy. Our point here is narrow and factual: whatever one thinks of the measure, it is not in force.

What did change — the measures that are real

This is the part most coverage misses. Two things genuinely changed for foreign buyers in this period, and neither is the 100% tax.

Golden Visa abolished — 3 April 2025

The residency-by-property-investment route closed to new applicants. Buying property in Spain has conferred no residency right since. Existing holders were not stripped of status, but the pathway is gone. If you encounter an article or an agency still marketing a €500,000 route to Spanish residency, that content is out of date — a useful test of how current any source is. Our pillar guide sets out the routes that do exist.

Royal Decree-Law 2/2026 — in force

Considerably less dramatic and considerably more relevant to an actual purchase:

• The methodology for the minimum tax base on transfers is aligned more closely with the cadastral reference value
• Non-resident reporting obligations are tightened, including Modelo 210 timelines
• Transactions declared significantly below the cadastral reference value may attract automatic review by the Agencia Tributaria
• Anti-money-laundering verification at the notarial deed stage is reinforced
• Tenant protections in long-term rental contracts are expanded

The practical consequence for a buyer is specific and immediate: declaring a price below the cadastral reference value is now materially riskier than it was. We cover this in full in our guide to what Royal Decree-Law 2/2026 changed.

The related proposal — a purchase ban

Separately from the tax, the government has discussed restricting property purchase by non-EU nationals who do not live in Spain, or whose families do not. As of mid-2026 this is discussion, not legislation: no bill in force, no implementation date, and it faces the same three obstacles as the tax.

We flag it because it is live and because you will encounter it. We are not going to forecast its chances — anyone claiming to know how Spanish coalition politics resolves over the next two years is guessing. What we would say is that the pattern of the last eighteen months is instructive: announcement, headline, bill, silence.

What this means for you now

How to think about political risk when buying

The honest position is not “nothing will change” — Spain has changed the rules for foreign buyers once already in this period, when it abolished the Golden Visa. The honest position is that political risk is real, slow-moving, and manageable if you separate three things:

• Announcements generate headlines and nothing else. A press conference is not a law.
• Bills matter only once they are debated and voted. Check the parliamentary record, not the news archive.
• Laws in force are what your lawyer works with. Royal Decree-Law 2/2026 is in this category; the 100% tax is not.

Two practical points follow. First, measures of this kind, where they have been introduced in other European jurisdictions, have generally applied prospectively rather than retroactively — they change what future purchases cost, not what existing owners hold. Second, the cost of waiting is not zero: eighteen months of “waiting to see” on the Costa Blanca has, in most zones, meant paying more for the same property. Neither observation is advice about your specific situation, and we would not pretend otherwise — but both belong in the calculation.

If a specific measure would genuinely change your decision, that is a conversation to have with a Spanish tax adviser about your circumstances, before you commit. We are property advisers, not tax lawyers, and we say so to clients.

FAQ

Is there a 100% tax on non-EU buyers in Spain?

No. The measure was announced in January 2025 and submitted to Congress as a bill in May 2025, but as of July 2026 it has never been debated, no version has been voted on, and it was dropped from the government’s January 2026 housing package. There is no 100% tax and no non-EU purchase surcharge in Spanish law.

Can Americans and Britons still buy property in Spain in 2026?

Yes, without restriction. Nationality places no limit on the right to buy Spanish property. Non-EU buyers pay the same transfer tax as everyone else — 10% ITP on resale in the Comunidad Valenciana. What changed is that buying no longer provides a residency route, following the abolition of the Golden Visa in April 2025.

Will the 100% tax pass in the future?

Nobody can say honestly, and be sceptical of anyone who claims to. What can be said is that it faces three compounding obstacles: a minority government without the votes, serious constitutional doubt about a tax at 100% of value, and EU free-movement-of-capital objections. It has not moved in eighteen months. We review this page quarterly and will update it if the position changes.

What about the proposed ban on non-EU buyers?

It has been discussed but is not law, has no implementation date, and faces the same obstacles. It is a separate idea from the tax, and as of mid-2026 it remains at the discussion stage.

Did anything actually change for foreign buyers in 2025 and 2026?

Two things. The Golden Visa closed to new applicants on 3 April 2025, ending the €500,000 property route to residency. And Royal Decree-Law 2/2026 came into force, tightening the minimum tax base on transfers toward cadastral reference values, tightening non-resident reporting including Modelo 210 timelines, and reinforcing anti-money-laundering checks at the notary.

Should I delay buying in Spain until this is resolved?

That depends on facts we do not know about your situation, and we will not pretend otherwise. What we would put on the table: the measure has not moved in eighteen months, comparable measures elsewhere have generally applied to future purchases rather than existing owners, and prices in most Valencia and Costa Blanca zones have risen over the period spent waiting. If a specific scenario would change your decision materially, take Spanish tax advice on your own circumstances before committing.

Does buying property in Spain give me residency?

No, and it has not since 3 April 2025. The Golden Visa route is closed. The practical routes for most foreign buyers are the non-lucrative visa for those with passive income and the digital nomad visa for remote workers — compared in detail in our visa guide.

Sources and further reading

• Congreso de los Diputados — the parliamentary register, where the progress of any bill can be verified directly
• Boletín Oficial del Estado — the official state gazette; if a measure is not published here, it is not law
• Agencia Tributaria — Spanish tax authority, current rates and Modelo 210 obligations
• Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana — housing ministry, policy packages and statistics

Where to start

If this question was the thing holding up your decision, the useful next step is to look at what buying actually costs under the rules that exist — which is a far more consequential number than the one in the headlines.

Read the purchase cost breakdown · Read what RDL 2/2026 changed · Read the full buying guide · Ask us directly.