In short
French and German residents can get a Spanish euro mortgage, typically for 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation, with no currency risk on euro income. As EU residents they pay Spanish non-resident tax at 19%. A lender will usually want payslips, the latest tax notice, such as the avis d’imposition or Steuerbescheid, and bank statements.
The short answer
A resident of France or Germany can finance a Spanish home with a Spanish mortgage. Lenders that work with non-residents regularly consider applicants from both countries, and financing is typically 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation. It is never guaranteed.
Both profiles start from a strong position. Income is in euros, so there is no currency risk on the payment. And as EU residents, French and German owners pay Spanish non-resident tax at 19%, not 24%.
They are also among the most active foreign buyers in Spain. According to the Spanish Land Registrars, Germans accounted for 6.52% and French buyers for 5.11% of all purchases by foreigners in 2025.
What slows these files down is rarely the income itself. It is documents in another language, a tax notice the underwriter cannot read and a purchase timetable fixed before the financing is ready.
What the lender must check
Spanish law does not let a lender approve a mortgage on the property alone. Law 5/2019, article 11, requires it to assess your solvency: your employment, income now and over the life of the loan, assets, savings, fixed expenses and existing commitments.
For a French or German applicant, that means the lender has to understand documents it does not see every day. A clear file, with the key figures reconciled and explained, is read faster than an archive sent unsorted.
Documents, country by country
The logic is the same in both countries; the names differ.
| What the lender needs | Germany | France |
|---|---|---|
| Recent salary | Lohnabrechnung or Gehaltsabrechnung | Bulletin de salaire |
| Income tax notice | Einkommensteuerbescheid | Avis d’imposition |
| Employment | Arbeitsvertrag | Contrat de travail |
| Self-employed or company | Two years of accounts and tax notices | Two years of accounts and tax notices |
| Existing loans | Statements and loan terms | Statements and loan terms |
Add passport, the NIE once issued, bank statements showing your income and the deposit, and the reservation or purchase contract. Where a credit report exists in your country, bring it.
For company owners in either country, remember that profit kept in the company is not personal income for mortgage purposes. What counts is what you draw as salary or dividends. Our guide to foreign income and a Spanish mortgage explains how underwriters read it.
Sworn translations and apostilles
Language is the most common source of delay for these buyers.
Some lenders review documents in French or German as they are. Others, or a particular underwriter, ask for a translation, and the notary or a public office may need an official one. In Spain, the official version is a sworn translation made by a translator appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which publishes a searchable list.
Some documents also need to be legalised or apostilled. The Ministry’s general rule is that a foreign public document needs legalisation or an apostille to be valid in Spain, unless a rule exempts it. A payslip is a private document and normally does not need one; a certificate issued by a public authority may.
The practical rule is simple: get the lender’s exact list first, then order every translation together. A sworn translation of a tax notice can take days.
The 19% tax on your Spanish home
Spain taxes non-resident owners every year, whether or not the home is let. The Spanish Tax Agency applies 19% to residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
If you keep the home for your own use, the tax is on an imputed income: 1.1% of the cadastral value in municipalities whose values were revised in a general valuation that came into force in the last ten tax periods, 2% otherwise. With a cadastral value of €160,000:
| Imputed income | Tax at 19% |
|---|---|
| 1.1% × €160,000 = €1,760 | €334.40 |
| 2% × €160,000 = €3,200 | €608 |
If you let the property, the tax is on the rent, and EU residents can deduct expenses directly linked to it if they can prove them. Both are declared on form 210. Our guide to non-resident taxes after buying covers the deadlines, IBI and the tax on a future sale.
The Spain–France and Spain–Germany treaties
A double taxation convention decides which country may tax each type of income and how the other country gives relief.
- France. The convention was signed in Madrid on 10 October 1995 and published in the Spanish Official Gazette in 1997. It replaced the earlier conventions of 1963 and 1973, except for certain provisions.
- Germany. The convention was signed in Madrid on 3 February 2011 and published on 30 July 2012, replacing the earlier convention published in 1968.
In both, income from property can be taxed in the country where the property is, so Spain taxes your Spanish imputed or rental income, and a gain on a sale. How France or Germany then gives relief, and how the property appears in your home return, is a question for a French or German tax adviser.
A worked example: €400,000 resale in Catalonia
Take a €400,000 resale home on the Costa Brava or the Costa Daurada. Catalonia charges 10% transfer tax up to €600,000:
| Item | 60% financing | 70% financing |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €400,000 | €400,000 |
| Mortgage | €240,000 | €280,000 |
| Deposit you fund | €160,000 | €120,000 |
| Transfer tax (10%) | €40,000 | €40,000 |
| Notary, registry, valuation and other costs (~1.5%) | €6,000 | €6,000 |
| Cash needed | €206,000 | €166,000 |
The same home would pay 9% in the Valencian Community, €36,000, and 7% in Andalusia, €28,000. Reduced rates exist in each region, but they are generally linked to a main residence and do not help with a holiday home. Try your own figures in the purchase costs calculator, and see our guide to the Costa Brava.
Where these files lose time
- Translations ordered too late. Confirm the list first, then order them together.
- Tax notices out of date. Bring the latest one; an underwriter may not accept a notice two years old when a newer one exists.
- Funds held in several accounts. Savings spread across deposit accounts, investment portfolios and a joint account raise questions when they move just before the transfer. Keep the statements for every step, because the lender and the notary will ask where the money came from.
- The mortgage at home. A Spanish lender adds its payment to the new one. Bring the current statement from the start.
- A deposit deadline set before the valuation. Agree completion only once the financing timetable is clear. Our guide to the NIE and a Spanish bank account explains the steps that take longest.
How RCG coordinates it
RCG Finance is a real-estate credit intermediary registered with the Bank of Spain under number E760, with an office in Salou. We read your French or German documents before any lender sees them, prepare one coherent file and present it to the lenders that finance residents of your country. Our team attends the notary signing in person.
Around the mortgage, we coordinate:
- our partner lawyer, for the NIE, the Spanish bank account, a power of attorney if you cannot travel, translations and the review of the contracts;
- a currency exchange partner, if part of your funds is held outside the euro, providing transfer confirmations that form part of the payment trail.
We do not give legal or tax advice.
What to do next
Gather your documents with the non-resident mortgage checklist and size the cash with the purchase costs calculator. If you are still choosing where to buy, the areas guide compares prices and taxes along the coast.
When you are ready, our non-resident mortgage service puts the file in front of the lenders that work with French and German residents.
Sources and review
Prepared by the RCG Finance editorial team (RCG 2026 S.L., Bank of Spain register of credit intermediaries no. E760) and reviewed by Rafael, founder of RCG Finance and former debt and M&A advisor at KPMG and PwC, under our editorial standards. Last source review: 22 September 2026.
- Spanish Tax Agency — Non-resident income tax rates
- Spanish Tax Agency — Imputed income on a home for own use
- Spanish Official Gazette — Spain–France double taxation convention of 1995 (BOE-A-1997-12729)
- Spanish Official Gazette — Spain–Germany double taxation convention of 2011 (BOE-A-2012-10212)
- Spanish Official Gazette — Law 5/2019 on real-estate credit, article 11
- Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Sworn translation and interpreting
- Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Legalisation and the Hague apostille
- Spanish Land Registrars — Housing statistics 2025
Frequently asked questions
Can a French or German resident get a mortgage in Spain?
Yes. Spanish lenders that work with non-residents accept residents of France and Germany, subject to affordability, the valuation and a complete file. Financing is typically 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation, never guaranteed.
Which documents will a Spanish lender ask a German or French applicant for?
Usually recent payslips, the latest income tax notice (the German Einkommensteuerbescheid or the French avis d’imposition), bank statements, details of existing loans and, for the self-employed, two years of accounts. The exact list depends on the lender.
Do my French or German documents need a sworn translation?
Sometimes. Some lenders review them as they are, but a lender, notary or public office can ask for a sworn translation into Spanish by a translator appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ask for the list before you commission anything.
What Spanish tax do French and German owners pay each year?
Non-resident income tax at 19%, the EU rate, on an imputed income of 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value if the home is not let, or on the rent after deductible expenses if it is. The town hall also charges IBI.
