Buying property in Spain from the UK after Brexit: mortgages and tax

The short answer

Brexit did not close the Spanish mortgage market to British buyers. Spanish lenders that work with non-residents still lend to people living in the United Kingdom, and the process is the one any non-resident follows: a complete file, a valuation and a deposit of typically 30–40% of the price plus taxes.

What changed on 1 January 2021 is your category. A UK resident is now a non-EU resident in Spain. That affects three things: how long you can stay, how your Spanish property is taxed, and how a lender reads income that arrives in pounds.

How long you can stay: the 90/180-day rule

The UK Government’s travel advice for Spain is clear: British citizens can travel to the Schengen area without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The European Commission publishes an official short-stay calculator to check it. The method is to count back 180 days from each day of your stay and make sure the total does not exceed 90.

Buying a home does not give you a right to stay longer. If you plan to spend long periods in Spain, ask our partner lawyer about the visa routes before you buy, not after.

There is a second, separate limit. Under article 9 of the Spanish Personal Income Tax Act, spending more than 183 days in Spain in a calendar year can make you tax resident in Spain. For most holiday-home owners the 90/180 rule keeps them well below that line, but it is worth knowing that the two rules exist independently.

How your Spanish home is taxed as a UK resident

Owning a Spanish property as a non-resident creates a yearly Spanish tax, the non-resident income tax (IRNR), whether or not you rent it out. The Spanish Tax Agency explains that, from 1 January 2021, several types of income of UK residents moved from the 19% rate, reserved for residents of the EU and certain EEA states, to the general 24% rate. These include rental income and the imputed income on property.

If you do not rent it out, the tax is on an imputed income: 1.1% of the cadastral value where new cadastral values took effect from 1 January 2012 onwards, 2% otherwise, with no deductions. An illustration with a cadastral value of €100,000, a figure you will find on the IBI (local property tax) receipt:

If you do rent it out, a UK resident pays 24% on the gross rent. On €12,000 of rent in a year, that is €2,880, with no deduction for the costs of running the property.

Both are declared on form 210. Order HAC/623/2026 moved the filing window for imputed income to 1 April–31 December of the following year, starting with 2026 income.

Spain, the UK and double taxation

The Spain–UK double taxation convention, signed in London on 14 March 2013, is not affected by Brexit. Under its article 6, income from property can be taxed in the country where the property is, so Spain keeps the right to tax your Spanish rent. Article 13 does the same for a gain when you sell.

On the UK side, GOV.UK explains that UK residents normally pay tax on foreign income, including rent from overseas property, and that relief may be available when income is taxed in more than one country. Article 22 of the convention provides for a credit for Spanish tax against UK tax on the same income. How that works for you is a question for a UK tax adviser, ideally before you decide whether to rent the property.

Income in pounds, mortgage in euros

A Spanish mortgage is in euros. If your salary, pension or business income is in pounds, every monthly payment is a currency conversion. Lenders know this, and some apply a buffer when they test affordability, so the same income may support a smaller loan than it would for a euro earner.

The effect on you is easy to see. With illustrative exchange rates, not a forecast:

A move of five cents in the rate costs about £4,800 on the cash you send and about £40 a month on the payment. Plan the purchase with a margin, and compare the all-in rate of any conversion: a specialist currency provider can often cost less than a standard bank transfer, but only the euros that actually arrive tell you. Our guide to moving money to Spain explains how to compare.

A worked example: €300,000 on the Costa Blanca

Many British buyers look at the Valencian Community. Take a €300,000 resale home there, where the general transfer tax is 9%:

The percentage applies to the lower of price and valuation, so plan the 60% column until the valuation is in. Reduced transfer-tax rates exist for specific buyers, but they are linked to a main residence and do not apply to a second home. Try your own figures in the purchase costs calculator.

Documents a lender will ask a UK resident for

The list varies by lender, but a UK applicant should prepare:

• passport and, once issued, the NIE, the Spanish foreigner identification number;
• recent payslips and the latest P60 if employed;
• for the self-employed, the last two SA302 tax calculations with their tax year overviews, and accounts;
• a recent credit report;
• bank statements showing salary, savings and the deposit;
• details of your UK mortgage, loans and other commitments;
• the reservation or purchase contract for the property.

Lenders will add your UK mortgage payment to the new one when they test affordability. Our guide to second-home mortgages explains why a holiday home is assessed more conservatively.

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 lenders that currently work with UK residents. 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, visa questions and the review of the contracts;
• a currency exchange partner, to convert pounds into euros and provide transfer confirmations that form part of the payment trail the lender asks for. The evidence of where your money comes from is yours to provide.

We do not give legal or tax advice. A UK tax adviser will confirm how your Spanish property affects your UK return.

What to do next

Start with the non-resident mortgage checklist to gather your payslips, tax calculations and statements. Size the cash with the purchase costs calculator, and compare prices and taxes along the coast in our areas guide.

When you are ready, our non-resident mortgage service takes your file to the lenders that finance UK residents. The general non-resident mortgage guide covers the rest of the process.