Steuern beim Kauf einer Immobilie auf Teneriffa

Die wichtigste Steuer, die die meisten Käufer beim Kauf von Bestandsimmobilien auf Teneriffa zahlen, ist die Grunderwerbsteuer (Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales - ITP).

Für die meisten Käufe von Bestandsimmobilien auf Teneriffa ist die wichtigste Steuer die Grunderwerbsteuer, die üblicherweise als ITP bezeichnet wird. Praktisch gesehen ist dies die Hauptsteuer, die die meisten Käufer von Bestandsimmobilien zusätzlich zum Kaufpreis einplanen müssen.

Die Zahl, die die meisten Käufer auf Teneriffa hören werden, ist 6,5%, und das ist die Zahl, die für eine einfache Weiterverkaufskalkulation normalerweise wichtig ist. Das kanarische Steuersystem ist hier der relevante regionale Rahmen.

Was ITP in der Praxis bedeutet

Auf einfachen Englisch ist die ITP die Steuer, die normalerweise anfällt, wenn eine bestehende Immobilie vom Verkäufer auf den Käufer übertragen wird. Für Käufer auf Teneriffa, die sich Eigentumswohnungen, Reihenhäuser oder Villen zum Wiederverkauf ansehen, ist dies in der Regel die Steuer, die sie zuerst verstehen müssen.

Dies ist ein Grund, warum ernsthafte Käufer frühzeitig einen Nebenkostenrechner für Käufer verwenden sollten und die tatsächlichen Zahlen nicht aufschieben sollten, bis sie emotional an eine Immobilie gebunden sind.

Für die einfachste Budgetierung beim Weiterverkauf auf Teneriffa rechnen Käufer in der Regel mit 6,5% Übertragungssteuer. Das ist die praktische Eckzahl, die die meisten Menschen benötigen, wenn sie noch ausrechnen, was sie sich sicher leisten können.

Verwandte Seite: Rechner für Teneriffa-Kaufkosten

When and how ITP is paid

ITP is a self-assessed tax. The buyer, or in practice their lawyer or gestor acting on their behalf, is responsible for filing and paying it after completion. Two practical points are worth knowing:

• Filing deadline: 1 month from the date of the notarial deed (Schrift). Miss the deadline and surcharges plus interest can apply.
• Filing route: ITP in the Canary Islands is filed via Modelo 600 with the Agencia Tributaria Canaria, the regional tax authority — not AEAT, which handles national taxes such as Modelo 210.

For most non-resident buyers this is handled by the lawyer or gestor who took the purchase through to completion. It is still worth understanding the deadline and the form name, so you can confirm with your representative that it has been filed on time and ask for the proof of payment for your records.

How the money moves at the notary and after

One of the most useful things to understand before completion day is what is actually paid unter the notary, and what is paid afterwards. Buyers often assume the entire purchase price is handed to the seller on signing day. In a non-resident sale, it is not.

At the notary, the seller receives the purchase price minus any of the following that apply:

• 3% Nichtansässige Registrierung on the purchase price, where the seller is non-resident in Spain. The buyer holds this back and pays it to AEAT after completion via Modelo 211.
• Plusvalia retention, where the seller is non-resident. The buyer holds this back and pays it to the local town hall after completion.

ITP is a separate matter. It is the buyer’s own tax, not a retention from the seller. The buyer holds the ITP amount alongside the retentions and pays it to the Agencia Tributaria Canaria via Modelo 600 within 1 month of signing, as covered above.

On a typical non-resident-to-non-resident purchase at €300,000, the flow looks like this:

• The buyer arrives at the notary with the full completion fund: €300,000 purchase price + 6.5% ITP (€19,500) + 3% retention (€9,000) + plusvalia retention + notary, registry and legal fees.
• At the notary, the seller receives €300,000 minus the 3% retention minus the plusvalia retention. The ITP amount stays with the buyer, who is responsible for paying it separately.
• Within 1 month of signing, the buyer (or the buyer’s lawyer or gestor acting on their behalf) files and pays the ITP, the 3% retention via Modelo 211, and the plusvalia at the town hall.

Warum Neubauanschaffungen anders sind

New-build property tax in Tenerife: A normal new-build purchase from a developer is normally taxed at 7% IGIC plus 0.75% AJD, giving a combined tax figure of 7.75% of the purchase price, before notary, land registry, legal and mortgage-related costs.

New-build purchases in Tenerife are not taxed the same way as resale purchases. The two main differences come down to IGIC, the Canary Islands indirect tax, and AJD, the stamp duty on the notarial deed. Together they sit at a different overall rate to the resale ITP figure most buyers start with.

Under Canary IGIC legislation, the first delivery (primera entrega) of a completed building by the promoter is subject to IGIC. Subsequent transfers are treated as exempt and fall under ITP instead, which is why a resale apartment is taxed under the 6.5% ITP framework while a new-build purchase from the developer sits under IGIC.

For new-build (obra nueva) residential property in the Canary Islands, buyers usually budget on:

• IGIC at 7% on the purchase price. IGIC is the Canary Islands indirect tax framework and replaces mainland Spanish VAT (IVA), which is 10% on residential new-build. The 7% figure is the general IGIC rate normally used for standard residential new-build purchases that are not covered by protected housing or other reduced-rate categories.
• AJD at 0.75% on the purchase price. This is the stamp duty on the notarial purchase deed that accompanies an IGIC purchase, set at the Canary general rate for notarial documents. It is not the same as the AJD on a mortgage deed, which since 2019 is paid by the lender, not the buyer.

How resale and new-build compare at the same price

The cleanest way to see the difference is to put both purchases side by side at the same price. On a property at €300,000:

Notary, land registry and legal costs are broadly comparable on top of either purchase. The €3,750 difference at this price is purely the tax framework, not the rest of the buying costs.

If you are looking seriously at obra nueva, build the budget on this 7.75% basis, not on the 6.5% resale figure. The two transactions sit on different tax frameworks and should not be planned as if they behave the same way.

The annual non-resident ownership tax (Modelo 210)

If you are a non-resident owner, there is an annual tax position to deal with even if the property is not rented out. This is not part of the one-off acquisition tax bill. It is part of the cost of owning the property each year, filed through Form 210 (Modelo 210) in the Spanish non-resident tax system.

The principle behind it is that AEAT treats a Spanish property held by a non-resident as generating an imputed income each year, whether or not the property is actually let. The owner pays tax on that imputed figure annually.

How the calculation works

For property that is not rented out, the imputed income tax is calculated in three steps:

1. Take the catastral value (valor catastral) of the property. This is found on the IBI bill and is typically 30% to 50% of market value in South Tenerife.
2. Apply the imputation percentage to get the imputed income for the year:
   • 1.1% if the catastral value has been revised within the last 10 years
   • 2% if it has not been revised in the last 10 years

   Most South Tenerife properties fall into the 1.1% bracket, but it is worth checking on your specific property.

3. Apply the tax rate to the imputed income:
   • 19% for EU and EEA residents
   • 24% for non-EU/EEA residents, including UK residents post-Brexit

Worked example: €300,000 apartment in South Tenerife

Take a representative case. A €300,000 apartment in Los Cristianos with a catastral value around €100,000, where the catastral was revised within the last 10 years:

That is the annual figure, before any gestoría fee for handling the filing. If the catastral value on your specific property is higher, or if it has not been revised in the last 10 years and the 2% imputation rate applies, the figure scales accordingly.

Modelo 210 is filed per owner, not per property

This is the part most buyers miss. The Modelo 210 obligation falls on each owner individually, on their share of the property. Two registered owners on the título means two separate filings every year, not one.

Take the same €300,000 apartment owned 50/50 by a UK couple. Each owner files their own Modelo 210 on their 50% share of the imputed income:

• €1,100 imputed income × 50% share = €550 each
• €550 × 24% = €132 per owner per year
• Total household tax: €264 per year, the same as a sole owner — but two separate filings, and usually two separate gestoría fees.

Where ownership is split between an EU and a non-EU resident, for example an Irish citizen and a UK citizen buying jointly, each owner is taxed on their share at their own residence rate. The two halves are not blended.

Filing deadline

For property that is not rented out, Modelo 210 for a given tax year is filed annually, with a deadline of 31 December of the following year. Imputed income for 2025 must therefore be filed and paid by 31 December 2026. Most non-resident owners use a gestor or accountant to handle the filing. Typical professional fees run between €100 and €200 per owner per year, sometimes more for complex situations.

If the property is rented out, the regime changes. The owner files Modelo 210 quarterly on actual rental income, EU/EEA residents can deduct allowable expenses, non-EU residents cannot. The wider rental cost picture is covered on Laufende Kosten für den Immobilienbesitz auf Teneriffa.

Verwandte Seite: Laufende Kosten für den Immobilienbesitz auf Teneriffa

Warum Käufer oft verwirrt sind wegen Steuern auf Teneriffa

Käufer hören oft allgemeine Abkürzungen wie “%einplanen”, ohne wirklich zu verstehen, was sich dahinter verbirgt. Das kann als grobe Planungsregel nützlich sein, aber es ist nicht dasselbe wie das Verständnis dafür, welche Kosten einmalige Anschaffungskosten und welche laufende Unterhaltskosten sind.

Die häufigsten Verwirrungspunkte sind:

• den Kaufpreis als tatsächliches Budget betrachten
• Nicht verstehen, dass Wiederverkauf und Neubaukäufe unterschiedlich besteuert werden
• die jährliche Nichtansässigensteuer so behandeln, als wäre sie Teil der Kaufrechnung und nicht ein Eigentumsproblem
• vorausgesetzt, alle allgemeinen spanischen Hinweise gelten ohne Weiteres für Teneriffa, ohne den Steuerrahmen der Kanaren zu prüfen

Es gibt auch einen technischen Punkt, dessen man sich bewusst sein sollte. In einigen Fällen können die spanischen Steuerregeln einen Referenzwert anstelle des deklarierten Kaufpreises heranziehen. Das ist nichts, was die meisten Käufer in eine schnelle Budgetkalkulation einbeziehen müssen, aber es ist ein Grund, warum Steuergesetze nicht immer als simple Frage des Endpreises behandelt werden sollten.

Kurze Steuerzusammenfassung

• Für die meisten Wiederverkaufskäufe auf Teneriffa ist die wichtigste Steuer, die Käufer einplanen sollten, die 6,5% Grunderwerbsteuer im kanarischen Rahmen.
• Neubaukäufe sollten nicht gleich behandelt werden wie Wiederverkäufe, da die Steuerstruktur im Rahmen der kanarischen indirekten Steuern unterschiedlich ist.
• Non-resident owners face an annual Modelo 210 imputed-income tax filing on the property. EU/EEA residents pay 19% on the imputed income; UK and other non-EU residents pay 24% post-Brexit. The filing is per owner, not per property.
• ITP is filed via Modelo 600 with the Agencia Tributaria Canaria within 1 month of the notarial deed; Modelo 210 is filed with AEAT annually by 31 December of the following year.