Guide · British buyers

Buying new build in Spain as a British buyer

Since Brexit, British buyers are non-EU buyers in Spain. Buying is unchanged; staying, letting and paying tax are not.

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Since 2021

What changed with Brexit

Since 1 January 2021 British citizens are third-country nationals in Spain. You can still buy property freely, but you can spend only 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area without a visa. Spending longer in your home needs a visa, such as the non-lucrative residence visa.

Since April 2025, buying a home no longer gives access to the so-called golden visa: that route was abolished by Organic Law 1/2025.

Step by step

What to arrange

In order, before and after signing.

Get an NIE, the foreigner identification number
Open a Spanish bank account
Ask for the documents and guarantees before reserving
Plan the exchange rate: the price is in euros, your income may be in pounds
Appoint a tax representative or gestor for form 210
Consider a Spanish will for the Spanish property

Taxes

What you pay as a non-resident from outside the EU

If you do not let the home, you declare an imputed income each year: 1.1% to 2% of the cadastral value, taxed at 24% (form 210). If you let it, you pay 24% on the gross rent, without deducting expenses, a right reserved for EU and EEA residents.

The UK may also tax that income. How the two combine depends on the rules of both countries: ask an adviser who knows both.

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