Buyers and sellers living abroad
Buying or selling a home in Spain from abroad
The deed is signed in person before a notary in Spain, but you do not have to go: you grant us a special power of attorney and our representative signs on your behalf. We advise you with our partner lawyers, apply for the NIE if you need one and file the taxes on the transaction.
Buying or selling from abroad?
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- Our representative signs for you
- Coordinated with a registered notary
- Taxes filed by us
You can buy or sell a home in Spain without travelling, but the deed is not signed by video conference: with Notaría Online, the client grants a special power of attorney for that sale and our representative signs it in person, on their behalf, before a notary in Spain. That power of attorney can be granted from abroad, at the Spanish consulate or before a local notary with an apostille. Foreign buyers and sellers need an NIE. If the seller is not resident in Spain, the buyer withholds 3% of the price and pays it to the tax office within one month with form 211, and the seller later declares the gain with form 210. We prepare and file whichever one applies to our client.
What do you need to buy or sell from abroad?
The first three pieces apply to buyer and seller alike. The others depend on which side you are on.
- The special power of attorney
- This is the document with which our representative signs the deed on your behalf. It identifies the home (address, Land Registry details and cadastral reference) and states what they may do: sign the deposit contract, pay or collect the price into the account you name, pay the taxes.
- The NIE
- The notary will not authorise the deed without the NIE of every foreign buyer and seller, and without it the taxes cannot be filed either. If you do not have one, you can apply at the consulate or we apply for it in Spain with a power of attorney. Start with it, because it is often what takes longest.
- How the price is paid
- The deed records the means of payment: bank transfer or banker's draft, with the source and destination accounts. If you are buying from abroad, the international transfer has to be organised before the signing date.
- If you are selling: the 3% withholding and form 210
- When the seller is not resident in Spain, the buyer deducts 3% of the price and pays it to the tax office with form 211. We then file your form 210 with the gain on the sale and, if the amount withheld is more than the tax, claim the refund.
- If you buy from a non-resident: plusvalía and form 211
- The municipal plusvalía is owed by the seller, but if the seller is not resident in Spain the law makes the buyer the substitute taxpayer, and the same goes for the 3% withholding. If you buy from a non-resident, we file both: the plusvalía within 30 working days and form 211 within one month.
- If you are buying: taxes and registration
- For a resale home you pay transfer tax (ITP) at the rate of the region where the home is; for a new build, VAT and stamp duty (AJD). We file them and take the deed to the Land Registry so the home is registered in your name.
In what order does a sale or purchase from abroad happen?
The power of attorney sets the timetable. If you sign it before a local notary, allow 7 to 15 days to have it in Spain, so it is best to get it moving before you fix the date of the deed.
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1
Week 1
Power of attorney and NIE, at the same time
We draft the special power of attorney in favour of our representative, review the transaction with our partner lawyers and tell you which route to sign by. If you do not have an NIE, we apply for it in parallel.
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2
Weeks 1–3
You sign the power of attorney in your country
At the Spanish consulate or before a local notary. With a local notary, the apostille follows and, if the power is not in Spanish, the sworn translation.
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3
Signing day
Our representative signs the deed
Before a registered notary in Spain, with the paper power of attorney, not a scanned copy. If you are selling, the price is paid into the account stated in the power; if you are buying, payment is made with the transfer or banker's draft you have arranged.
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4
After the signing
Taxes and registration
We file what applies to you: ITP or VAT and AJD if you are buying, the plusvalía and form 211 if you buy from a non-resident, and form 210 if you sell without being resident in Spain. The home is entered in the Land Registry and you receive the copies.
What documents do I need while living abroad?
- Your passport or identity document, in date
- Your NIE, or knowing you need one so it can be requested
- The address or cadastral reference of the home
- If you are selling: the title deed, the latest IBI (property tax) receipt, the certificate of community charges and the energy performance certificate
- If you are buying: the deposit contract, if you have already signed it, and the account the money will come from
You do not need to gather everything before writing to us. With the address of the home and the planned signing date we can already draw up the timetable.
Contact us — no obligation →What taxes does a seller who is not resident in Spain pay?
When the seller is not tax resident in Spain, the sale triggers three obligations with different deadlines, and the buyer meets two of them on the seller's behalf.
| Obligation | Who meets it | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Withholding of 3% of the price (form 211) | The buyer, on account of the seller | One month from the signing |
| Municipal capital gains tax (plusvalía) | The buyer, as the seller's substitute | 30 working days from the signing |
| Tax on the gain, at 19% (form 210) | The seller | Three months after the withholding month ends |
When you hand us the transaction, we file whichever applies to you: form 211 and the plusvalía if you are buying from a non-resident, and form 210 if you are the one selling without being resident in Spain. If the tax on form 210 is lower than the amount withheld, we claim the difference back in that same return; if the sale makes a loss, the whole 3% is refunded.
The withholding is governed by Article 25.2 of the consolidated Spanish Non-Resident Income Tax Law; the substitution for the plusvalía, by Article 106.2 of the consolidated Local Finance Law.
Can the sale be signed by video conference?
No. Article 17 ter of the Spanish Notarial Law, introduced by Law 11/2023, lists the acts a notary can authorise by video conference, and the sale of a property is not one of them. The deed is signed in person by the buyer or seller or, with a special power of attorney, by our representative on their behalf. What can be signed by video conference before a Spanish notary is the special power of attorney for that sale, because it is a power for a specific act; in practice it requires identifying yourself with a Spanish digital certificate.
Who signs the deed for me?
Our representative. You grant them a special power of attorney for that sale or purchase, and they appear before the notary on your behalf on the signing day. You do not need anyone in Spain. The power of attorney sets out in detail what can be done with your money or your home, and you decide the price.
What do we check before you sign?
With our partner lawyers we review the deposit contract, the Land Registry extract (ownership and charges) and the draft deed. If you are selling, we also check that the paperwork for the home is complete before the date is fixed.
What changes if the buyer lives abroad?
The taxes are the same as for a resident. What changes is the logistics: the NIE has to be in place before the signing, the money has to have arrived or be ready to transfer, and the power of attorney has to be in Spain with its apostille. You do not need a Spanish bank account to buy, although it is practical for paying the IBI and the community charges by direct debit.
After the purchase, if the home is not let, the non-resident owner declares an imputed income to the Spanish tax office every year with form 210.
If you only need one part
The document on its own is covered in special power of attorney to sell a property and power of attorney to buy a home. If you live in Spain, the deed itself is explained in property sales. And if what you have pending is an inheritance or another procedure, it is in representation in Spain from abroad.
Frequently asked questions about buying or selling from abroad
See all FAQs
What is the 3% withholding when a non-resident sells?
When the seller of a property in Spain is not tax resident there, the buyer must withhold 3% of the price and pay it to the Spanish Tax Agency with form 211 within one month of the signing. This is set out in Article 25.2 of the consolidated Spanish Non-Resident Income Tax Law.
That 3% is a payment on account. The seller then declares the gain on the sale, taxed at 19%, with form 210; if the amount withheld is more than the tax due, the seller claims the difference back. If the withholding is not paid in, the property remains liable for that amount.
When you hand us the transaction, we file the form that applies to you: form 211 if you are buying from a non-resident and form 210 if you are the one selling.
Who pays the municipal capital gains tax (plusvalía) if the seller does not live in Spain?
The seller owes it, but when the seller is a non-resident individual the law makes the buyer the substitute taxpayer: the buyer files it and pays it to the town hall within 30 working days of the signing. This is governed by Articles 106.2 and 110.2 of the consolidated Spanish Local Finance Law.
That is why, in these sales, the amount of the plusvalía is usually deducted from the price on the day of the signing. If you hand us the purchase, we file it within that deadline.
What must the power of attorney to sell a flat in Spain say?
It must identify the property (address, Land Registry details and cadastral reference) and list what our representative can do on your behalf: sign the deed, collect the price into the account you name, cancel charges and pay the taxes on the sale. You decide the price: the power of attorney can set the exact price or a minimum.
If a power that the sale needs is missing, the notary will not authorise the sale with that document. That is why it should be drafted in Spain before you sign it in your country.
How long does a property sale take if I live outside Spain?
A property sale usually takes 3 to 6 weeks up to the signing and registration, and living abroad adds whatever the power of attorney takes. If you sign it before a notary in your country, allow 7 to 15 days to have it in Spain with the apostille; if you sign it at the consulate, it depends on how long the appointment takes. If you also need an NIE, add the time it takes to obtain it.
That is why it is best to sign the power of attorney and apply for the NIE before agreeing the date of the deed with the other party.
Can a property sale be signed by video conference from abroad?
No. The sale of a property is not on the list of acts that Article 17 ter of the Spanish Notarial Law (Law 11/2023) allows a notary to authorise by video conference. The deed is signed in person before a notary in Spain, by the buyer or the seller or, with a special power of attorney, by our representative on their behalf.
What can be signed by video conference is the special power of attorney for that sale, because it is a power for a specific act. From abroad it can also be signed at the Spanish consulate or before a local notary with an apostille.
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Would you rather read up before deciding? There are guides on sales and purchases with a buyer or seller abroad on the blog and short answers in the FAQs.
Who handles your procedure
A team of lawyers and administrators prepares the paperwork, explains what you are going to sign and books you in with one of the registered notaries in our network. We are not a notary: the signature is always authorised by the notary.
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