🇩🇪 German Buyers
Published April 2025 · 8 min read · By Real Estate Lawyer Costa del Sol
German nationals are consistently one of the top three foreign buyer groups in Spain. The Costa del Sol — Marbella, Estepona, Manilva, Benahavís, Casares and Fuengirola — attracts buyers from Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Berlin and Cologne. Many German buyers purchase holiday homes or investment properties, and increasingly retirees are making the move permanent.
As EU citizens, German nationals have full freedom of movement and residency rights in Spain. There is no 90-day limit. You can live, work and buy property in Spain without restriction. The property purchase process itself is the same for all nationalities.
ITP at 7% (resale in Andalucía) or VAT 10% + AJD 1.2% (new build). Total additional costs approximately 10–13%.
German nationals who own Spanish property but remain German tax residents must file an annual Modelo 210 in Spain. If the property is not rented: imputed income tax on approximately 2% of catastral value × 19% IRNR rate. If rented: 19% on net rental income (EU nationals can deduct expenses; non-EU nationals cannot). The rental income must also be declared in Germany — the Spain-Germany DTT prevents double taxation.
Spain and Germany have a double taxation agreement (Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen — DBA) that generally allocates taxing rights on Spanish real estate income and gains to Spain. Germany then gives a credit for Spanish tax paid. However, Germany applies the Progressionsvorbehalt — meaning the Spanish income may affect the rate at which your German income is taxed, even if Spain taxes the income itself. Take German tax advice alongside your Spanish legal advice.
19% on the net gain for EU-resident sellers (German nationals retain the 19% rate). Buyer retains 3%. Modelo 210 to be filed within 4 months. The gain must also be reported in Germany; the DBA credit applies.
Germany and Spain have a bilateral inheritance tax treaty (1966) — one of the few bilateral treaties Spain has in this area. Under the treaty, Spain taxes Spanish real estate on death; Germany grants a credit for the Spanish inheritance tax. However, the interaction of Spanish forced heirship rules (legítima) with German civil code inheritance rules can be complex. EU Succession Regulation 650/2012 allows German nationals to choose German law to govern their whole estate (including Spanish assets) — but this must be done in a valid will (professio iuris). We recommend making a Spanish will.
Jacob has advised german buyers across the Costa del Sol for over a decade. Get a free consultation in English — no obligation.