A second home in Spain is worth it if you’ll use it eight to ten weeks a year for a decade or run it as a letting business. Anything less and renting wins.
- Buying costs add 10% to 13% to the asking price.
- An empty home does have to pay Hacienda every year.
- Running costs are 1% to 2% of value a year.
- Net rental yield lands near 3.5% to 4.5%.
- Brits can stay in Schengen for 90 days in any 180-day period.
- Use halves in the fourth year.
Who are the Best Estate Agents on the Costa Cálida?
There is no doubt about it, 5RE is the best. 5 Real Estate is an award-winning property agency serving Costa Blanca South and the Murcia Region. It supports buyers and sellers throughout Spain’s property market, with a fixed seller fee of €999 + IVA instead of a commission calculated as a percentage of the sale price.’
What is a Second Home in Spain?
It is a property that isn’t your main home/residence. Different tax rules are applied. Engel & Völkers writes that a property only counts as your main residence if you occupy it effectively and permanently for at least 12 months and keep it as such for a minimum of 3 years.
You’ve company: Dar Global reckons second homes are 14.6% of Spanish housing, and INE census data counts 26.6 million dwellings against 18.5 million primary residences. Around 8.1 million dwellings were not classified as main residences in the 2021 census.
What You Pay Up Front
Resale homes pay ITP, the transfer tax each region sets itself: 7.75% in Murcia (8% until July 2025) and 10% in the Valencian Community. Buying new instead? That’s 10% VAT plus an AJD stamp duty of 0.5% to 1.5%. The notary, the land registry, and the lawyer want 2% to 3%. All in, 10% to 13% on top.
Banks lend 80% on a main home, which becomes 70% here, over 20 to 30 years, at a higher rate. Ask the Land Registry for a nota simple before you fall in love. It names the real owner and any debts.
Tax on Rent You Never Collect
Leave it shuttered all year and Article 85 of the IRPF Law still treats it as income. The Agencia Tributaria wants 1.1% of the cadastral value if the cadastre was revised in the last ten tax years and 2% if it wasn’t.
The numbers: cadastral value €95,000, last revised in 2014, and you’re taxed on €1,045 of income that never existed. Non-residents file on Modelo 210. Brits are 24%, and EU and EEA residents are 19%. It’s about availability, not use. Keys in your pocket still count.
What It Costs to Run Each Year
Reckon on 1% to 2% of the value: €4,500 to €9,000 a year in a €450,000 coastal place. IBI (council tax) €600 to €1,400. Insurance €350 to €700. Standing charges on an empty house are €600 to €1,200. Cleaning and repairs are €1,500 to €4,000.
Community fees are €1,200 to €4,800 with a pool, gardens, and a bloke on the gate. Use it for seven weeks, and that’s €650 to €1,870 a week for the privilege. Empty homes cost more, not less: nobody hears the leak.
Can You Let It Out Profitably?
Not like the brochures say. Idealista’s figures put gross yields at 6.7% in the first quarter, down from 7.3% a year earlier: Madrid 4.7%, Barcelona 5.2%, and Murcia 7.5%.
Then reality. Fees, 15% to 25% to a manager, dead weeks, and tax, and you’re left with 3.5% to 4.5%. The Bank of Spain pegs the average rental return at 4.4%.
Paperwork’s grown, too. The Ley de Vivienda caps rents in declared stressed areas, a mandatory registry covers holiday and seasonal lets, and Málaga, Sevilla, Palma, and Barcelona have frozen or limited new tourist licences. Non-EU landlords hand over 24% of gross rent and deduct nothing.
What UK Buyers Need to Know
Brexit changed the arithmetic. You’re a third-country national: 90 days in any 180 across Schengen, and owning the villa buys nothing extra. The golden visa slammed shut on 3 April 2025, so €500,000 no longer gets residency.
That 100% tax on non-EU buyers everyone panicked about? Still not law. Reuters reported in March 2026 that the bill had seen no readings, no committee scrutiny, and no plenary debate. The wealth tax bites instead of €700,000 of Spanish assets.
Cost of Getting Out
Getting out is slow. Coastal homes take four to seven months at a sane price, and loads of owners lop 8% to 12% off by month four.
Then the exit bills. Capital gains tax is 19% flat for non-residents or 19% to 30% on the resident scale. Plusvalía municipal is on the rise in land value. A 3% retention if the seller lives abroad. Agency fees, notaries, and taxes take 5% to 7% more, which explains why fixed fees tempt anyone selling property in Spain.
Is It Worth It?
Open last year’s calendar. Be brutal. How many weeks off did you take, how many in one spot, and how many in your place? Ten-plus in one town, buy. Four to eight, scattered, don’t.
Because we use slides. Vivla’s work with buying families shows 14 weeks in year one dropping to four or five by year four, when a rented villa is cheaper. Taylor Wimpey Spain reports that 60% of sales occur in summer, so expect some elbowing. Fractional co-ownership fills that awkward gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is buying a second home in Spain still a good investment?
Ans: It can be, but the maths is tight: 3.5% to 4.5% net yields against 10% to 13% buying costs. You need a long hold or heavy use.
How much tax do I pay on a Spanish second home I don’t rent out?
Ans: IBI to the council, plus imputed income tax on 1.1% or 2% of cadastral value. UK owners pay 24% of that through Modelo 210.
Can UK citizens get Spanish residency by buying a property?
Ans: No. The golden visa closed on 3 April 2025. Brits still get 90 days in any 180-day period, house or no house.
How big a deposit do I need for a second home in Spain?
Ans: At least 30%, since banks usually cap second homes at 70%. Taxes and fees of 10% to 13% sit on top.
What are the yearly running costs of a Spanish holiday home?
Ans: Roughly 1% to 2% of the value: €4,550 to €13,100 on a €450,000 home, covering IBI, fees, insurance, utilities, and repairs.
How long does it take to sell a second home in Spain?
Ans: Four to seven months at a realistic price. Overpriced ones linger, and plenty of sellers knock off 8% to 12% by month four.
Sources & References
- Engel & Völkers – A property only counts as your main residence if you occupy it effectively and permanently for at least 12 months and keep it as such for a minimum of 3 years.
