Plusvalia Spain 2026: who pays after the Supreme Court ruling

Plusvalia municipal is the local tax on the increase in value of urban land between the date it was acquired and the date it is transferred. Its formal name is Impuesto sobre el Incremento del Valor de los Terrenos de Naturaleza Urbana (IIVTNU), regulated by articles 104 to 110 of the Texto Refundido de la Ley Reguladora de las Haciendas Locales (TRLRHL), the consolidated local finance act published in the BOE.

The seller files and pays at the ayuntamiento of the town where the property sits, not at the Agencia Tributaria. The tax applies only to urban land (suelo urbano), not to rural land (suelo rustico), and it falls on the land component of the cadastral value, not on the building. A rural finca sold with a farmhouse pays national capital gains tax but not plusvalia municipal.

The Constitutional Court declared the old objective formula unconstitutional in ruling 182/2021 of 26 October 2021 because it taxed phantom gains in a flat market. Royal Decree-Law 26/2021 of 8 November 2021 rewrote article 107 TRLRHL and gave the taxpayer a choice between two methods. The Supreme Court has since confirmed in several rulings during 2023 and 2024 that transfers at a loss generate no tax at all, and that refunds for the pre-November 2021 period are only available to taxpayers who had already filed a formal challenge before the Constitutional Court decision.

Who pays plusvalia after a sale, inheritance or donation?

The person liable depends on the type of transfer. Article 106 TRLRHL sets the rule and the 2021 reform did not change it.

• Sale (compraventa): the seller pays. Any clause in a private contract shifting the tax to the buyer binds the two parties but does not bind the ayuntamiento.
• Donation (donacion): the donee pays. The person receiving the gift settles the tax.
• Inheritance (herencia): the heir pays, together with national inheritance tax.
• Non-resident seller: the seller remains the taxpayer, but the buyer is subsidiarily liable under article 106.2 TRLRHL. If the seller leaves Spain without paying, the ayuntamiento can come after the new owner.

Foreign buyers miss that last point. A British or Norwegian buyer purchasing from a non-resident owner should check at the notary that the plusvalia has either been paid or, more commonly, retained from the sale price and lodged with the ayuntamiento. Our guide to the 3% retention when a non-resident sells covers the parallel national mechanism. Plusvalia is the municipal equivalent risk, and the notary will not automatically block it.

How is plusvalia calculated under the 2021 reform?

Since November 2021 the taxpayer chooses the lower of two methods. The ayuntamiento must offer both.

Method 1: the objective coefficient

Take the cadastral value of the land (valor catastral del suelo, visible on the IBI receipt or on the Catastro portal), multiply by the coefficient corresponding to the years of ownership, then apply the municipal tax rate. The coefficients are set in article 107.4 TRLRHL and may be updated each year by the state budget law. The maximum values in force for 2026 are:

Years of ownership	Maximum coefficient
Less than 1 year	0.14
1 year	0.13
2 years	0.15
3 years	0.16
4 years	0.17
5 years	0.17
10 years	0.08
15 years	0.12
20 years or more	0.45

Ayuntamientos may set lower coefficients but not higher. Many Costa Blanca towns apply the maximum. The curve discourages short holds and catches very long holds where accumulated land value growth is significant.

Method 2: the real gain

Take the difference between the sale price in the escritura and the purchase price in the previous escritura. Multiply that difference by the ratio of cadastral land value to total cadastral value. The result is the taxable base. If the ratio is 40%, only 40% of the capital gain is taxed by plusvalia; the building component is excluded.

The municipal rate is then applied to whichever base is lower. The rate ceiling is 30% under article 108 TRLRHL. Most Costa Blanca and Costa Calida towns sit at or near 30%, including Torrevieja, Alicante, Benidorm and Valencia capital.

A worked example

A Dutch couple bought a two-bedroom apartment in Torrevieja for EUR 180,000 in 2016 and sold it in 2026 for EUR 240,000. Cadastral land value at the date of sale is EUR 32,000. Total cadastral value is EUR 80,000, so the land share is 40%.

• Method 1: EUR 32,000 x 0.08 (10 years) = EUR 2,560 taxable base. At 30% = EUR 768.
• Method 2: EUR 60,000 gain x 40% land share = EUR 24,000 taxable base. At 30% = EUR 7,200.

The couple elects Method 1 and pays EUR 768 to the ayuntamiento of Torrevieja. Method 2 is punishing here because the land share is relatively high; in a tourist apartment with a tiny land component the result often flips the other way. Checking both calculations before signing is the point.

What rates and deadlines apply, and where do you file?

Most Costa Blanca municipalities require self-assessment. The seller or their representative submits the municipal form, pays, and keeps the receipt. A few smaller ayuntamientos still issue a liquidation by post; in those cases the taxpayer waits for the bill.

Transfer type	Filing deadline	Who files
Sale (onerous)	30 working days from the escritura	Seller
Inheritance	6 months from date of death, extendable to 1 year on request	Heir
Donation	30 working days from the escritura	Donee

Late filing attracts a surcharge of 5%, 10%, 15% or 20% depending on delay, under article 27 of the Ley General Tributaria, plus interest. If the ayuntamiento opens an inspection first, penalties can run from 50% to 150%.

The notary sends a copy of the escritura to the ayuntamiento automatically under the single-window system. The town already knows the transfer happened, and silence will not make the filing go away.

What traps actually catch buyers and sellers in 2026?

Five recurring problems account for most of the disputes we see on the Costa Blanca and Costa Calida.

The non-resident seller trap. A buyer purchases from a seller who flies home the day after signing. The seller never files the plusvalia. Eighteen months later the ayuntamiento sends the demand to the registered owner, which is now the buyer. Fight it on legal grounds and you will probably win on the main liability, but you will spend time and lawyer fees along the way. Insist on retention at the notary.

No gain, still filed. Even when the sale is at a loss, the seller must file a declaration confirming the loss. The tax is zero but the paperwork is not optional. Several ayuntamientos have issued fines for non-filing of nil returns.

Confusing plusvalia with national capital gains. These are two separate taxes paid to two separate administrations. Plusvalia goes to the ayuntamiento, capital gains to the Agencia Tributaria through Modelo 210 for non-residents or the IRPF return for residents. Our capital gains tax 2026 guide covers the national side.

Wrong cadastral land value. The amount on the IBI receipt may be out of date after a municipal revision (ponencia de valores). The Catastro portal gives the current figure, which is the one you must use. An outdated higher figure means you overpay; an outdated lower figure means a surcharge later.

Inherited properties with a long chain. When a parent dies and heirs delay the escritura of adjudication, the six-month plusvalia clock still runs. Families regularly settle national inheritance tax on time but miss the municipal deadline because they assume it is the same filing. It is not.

Can you still claim a refund from before November 2021?

In almost all cases, no. The Constitutional Court limited the retroactive effect of ruling 182/2021 to those who had already filed a rectification or administrative appeal before 26 October 2021. The Supreme Court has upheld this limitation in a series of rulings through 2023 and 2024. If you paid plusvalia on a transfer before that date and did nothing at the time, the window is closed.

The narrow exception is where the original self-assessment is still inside the four-year statute of limitations and the transfer was at a documented loss. Specialist tax lawyers continue to run these cases, but success rates have fallen as the deadline recedes.

FAQ

Does the plusvalia apply if I sell at a loss? No. Since Constitutional Court ruling 59/2017, confirmed by the 2021 reform, no tax is due when the sale price in the escritura is lower than the acquisition price. The seller still has to file a declaration showing the loss, with both escrituras attached as evidence.

Who pays plusvalia on an inherited property on the Costa Blanca? The heir pays, within six months of the date of death, extendable to twelve months if the extension is requested in the first five months. The tax is paid to the ayuntamiento where the property is located, in parallel with national inheritance tax regulated by the regional government. See our regional inheritance tax guide.

Can the buyer agree to pay the seller's plusvalia? Yes, in writing, and many private contracts shift it to the buyer in off-plan sales from developers. The ayuntamiento will still legally pursue the seller first, and the buyer only subsidiarily when the seller is non-resident. A private pact does not override the TRLRHL.

Is plusvalia the same as the 3% retention? No. The 3% is a withholding on the sale price made by the buyer and paid to the Agencia Tributaria on account of the non-resident seller's national capital gains tax. Plusvalia is a separate municipal tax on the land value increase. Both can apply to the same sale.

How do I know which calculation method is cheaper? Ask the ayuntamiento or your gestoria to run both. In the typical Costa Blanca apartment with a mid-range cadastral land share, Method 1 tends to win on long holds and Method 2 wins on short holds with modest gains. Running the numbers takes an hour and often saves four figures.

Next steps

Before signing an escritura of sale, ask for both plusvalia calculations in writing and confirm who files what. If you are buying from a non-resident, insist on retention at the notary. For the full cost picture on a purchase see our total cost of buying property in Spain guide, or browse current listings in Torrevieja.