Irish buyers: financing a Spanish property from Ireland

The short answer

A resident of Ireland can finance a Spanish home with a Spanish mortgage. Lenders that work with non-residents typically finance 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation, so plan a deposit of 30–40% of the price plus taxes and costs. Approval is never guaranteed.

Irish buyers start from a stronger position than most. Your income is already in euros, so there is no currency risk on the monthly payment, unlike a buyer paid in pounds or Swiss francs. And as an EU resident you pay Spanish non-resident tax at 19%, not 24%.

Why is the file simpler for an Irish buyer?

Three things work in your favour:

• Euro income. The salary, the loan and the instalment are in the same currency. A buyer paid in sterling converts every payment, and some lenders apply a buffer to that income when they test affordability. A payslip from Dublin or Cork needs no such adjustment.
• The EU rate of non-resident tax. The Spanish Tax Agency applies 19% to residents of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, and 24% to everyone else. If you let the property, EU residents can also deduct expenses directly linked to the rent, provided they can prove them.
• Freedom to stay. Irish citizens are EU citizens, so the 90-days-in-180 limit that British visitors face does not apply. Under Royal Decree 240/2007, a valid passport is enough for stays of under three months; to stay longer, you register with the Central Register of Foreigners within three months of arrival. Separately, more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year can make you tax resident here.

Which Irish documents will a Spanish lender ask for?

The exact list varies by lender, but an Irish applicant should prepare:

The P60 belongs to tax years up to 2018. Since PAYE modernisation, the annual equivalent is the Employment Detail Summary, which Revenue says you can use as proof of income with financial institutions. If a checklist still asks for a P60, send the EDS.

The Central Credit Register, run by Ireland’s central bank under the Credit Reporting Act 2013, holds loans of €500 or more. You can request your own report free of charge at any time. It gives a Spanish underwriter an independent view of your debts in Ireland.

Some lenders read English documents as they are; others ask for a sworn translation into Spanish. Ask for the exact list before you pay for any translation.

How does a Spanish lender treat your Irish mortgage?

It adds it. Most Irish buyers still have a mortgage at home, and the Spanish lender tests the new instalment together with it, along with car finance, personal loans and card limits. As a working reference, all your debt payments together should stay within 30–35% of net income.

A worked example for a couple in Cork with €8,000 of net household income a month:

Put that monthly figure into our Spanish mortgage calculator to see the loan it supports. Expected holiday-rental income rarely closes the gap; our guide to second-home mortgages explains why lenders treat a holiday home more conservatively. If you plan to sell the Irish home first, the lender will want evidence of the sale, not a plan.

A worked example: €280,000 resale on the Costa Blanca

Take a €280,000 resale apartment in the south of Alicante province. Since 1 June 2026, the Valencian Community charges 9% transfer tax on resale homes, rising to 11% on the whole value above €1,000,000:

Plan the 60% column until a lender has assessed your file and the valuation is in. Murcia, Andalusia and the Balearic Islands set their own rates, so run your figures through the purchase costs calculator for the region you are considering.

How is your Spanish home taxed while you live in Ireland?

In Spain. A non-resident owner pays non-resident income tax every year, even if the home is never let. If you keep it for your own use, the tax is on an imputed income: 1.1% of the cadastral value where the municipality’s values were revised in a general valuation that took effect in the last ten years, 2% otherwise. With a cadastral value of €120,000:

If you let the property, you pay 19% on the rent after deductible expenses. Both are filed on form 210; our guide to non-resident taxes after buying covers the deadlines and IBI.

The treaty. Spain and Ireland signed a double taxation convention in Madrid on 10 February 1994, published in the Spanish Official Gazette on 27 December 1994, and the Spanish Ministry of Finance lists it among the conventions in force. Under article 6, income from property may be taxed in the country where the property is; article 13 does the same for a gain on a sale. Under article 23, Ireland allows the Spanish tax as a credit against Irish tax on the same income, subject to Irish law.

In Ireland. Revenue says that if you are resident and domiciled in Ireland, you pay Irish tax on rent from a foreign property, and that foreign tax may be credited where there is a tax treaty. It also warns that a tax some countries charge on deemed rental income, even when the property is not let, cannot be offset against Irish tax. Spain’s tax on imputed income looks like that kind of tax, so budget for it as a cost. A future sale can also have Irish Capital Gains Tax consequences. An Irish tax adviser should confirm how all of this applies to you before you decide whether to let.

Where do Irish buyers buy in Spain?

According to the Spanish Land Registrars’ 2025 yearbook, Irish nationals made 1.71% of all home purchases by foreigners in Spain. Their share is about twice as high in the Region of Murcia, at 3.46%, and reaches 2.75% in the Canary Islands.

On the Mediterranean, Irish buyers mostly look at four areas:

• Costa Blanca, especially the south of Alicante province; see our Alicante and Costa Blanca guide.
• Murcia and the Mar Menor, the region where the Irish share of foreign buyers is highest.
• Costa del Sol, around Málaga and Marbella; see our Marbella guide.
• Mallorca, where the Balearic Islands apply their own transfer tax.

Our areas guide compares prices and taxes along the coast.

Can you buy without leaving Ireland?

Yes. Most of the process can run from home:

1. NIE and Spanish bank account. You need the Spanish foreigner identification number to complete. Our guide to the NIE and a Spanish bank account explains how to get both.
2. The mortgage file. Documents are exchanged online. From a complete file to the notary usually takes 6–10 weeks.
3. Power of attorney. If you cannot travel for the signing, grant one. You can sign it at the Embassy of Spain in Dublin, which offers notarial services, or before an Irish notary public. A power signed before an Irish notary needs the Hague Apostille: the 1961 Convention has applied in Ireland since 9 March 1999, and the Irish competent authority is the Department of Foreign Affairs. A sworn translation into Spanish is usually needed too. Our power of attorney guide explains each step.
4. Completion. The purchase deed and the mortgage deed are signed on the same day before a Spanish notary, by you or your representative.

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 prepare your file once and present it to the Spanish lenders that work with Irish residents. Around the mortgage, our partner lawyer handles the NIE, the bank account, the power of attorney and the review of the contracts, and our team attends the notary signing in person.

The initial review is free, and we only charge if we get your mortgage. We do not give legal or tax advice.

Checklist before you sign

• I have modelled 60–70% financing, not 80%.
• I have created my Employment Detail Summary for the last two years, or have my Form 11 returns if I am self-employed.
• I have requested my free Central Credit Register report.
• I have added my Irish mortgage and other loans to the affordability test.
• I have counted taxes and costs separately from the deposit.
• I have asked an Irish tax adviser how the Spanish property affects my Irish return.
• I have a plan for the NIE and, if I will not travel, the power of attorney with its apostille.
• My lawyer will review any financing condition in the deposit contract.

Gather the rest with the non-resident mortgage checklist. When the numbers work, our non-resident mortgage service takes your file to the lenders that finance Irish residents.