When buying a second-hand car or house, the buyer must pay the Transfer Tax (ITP), as regulated in Royal Legislative Decree 1/1993 of September 24 and Law 22/2009 , Of 18 December. This is a little known lien, although if you have to deal with it you will never forget, since the price to pay is usually not cheap.
In addition to housing and vehicles (Onshore Equity Transmissions), it also taxes corporate transactions such as the variation of a company’s capital and documented legal acts.
In this article we will focus on the case of housing and vehicles, as they are the most common and we do not want the tax to catch you by surprise.
Property Transfer Tax in housing
The amount to pay for a second hand home depends on each Autonomous Community. For example, in Catalonia is 10% over the acquisition value, although there are a number of minimum values based on the cadastral value and the municipal coefficient that can be consulted in Etributs.cat.
Vehicle Transfer Tax
In the purchase of second-hand vehicles, the type of tax for the Transfer Tax also depends on each Autonomous Community. If we follow the example of Catalonia, we see that it is 5% although, unlike the case of housing, it does not apply to the value for which it was acquired.
To know the value to pay, it is necessary to carry out a series of operations. First, you have to look for the tax value of the car in the tax valuation tables or that of the Autonomous Community. There are all the car models in Spain and their value. If you have used the BOE model, you must apply a percentage for depreciation of the vehicle, which depends on your years of use. In the model of the Generalitat is applied directly, as it gives you the option to see the price depending on its age.
In Catalunya, Basque Country and Andalusia, applying the percentage corresponding to the tax value of the car, we would already have the price to pay in the Transfer Tax. In contrast, in other communities, the price at which the vehicle is purchased influences what has to be paid. If that price is higher than the value of the car (ie you buy for € 2,000 a car that has a value of € 1,500), you have to apply the percentage to the price you have paid for the vehicle (ie € 2,000 , Not to € 1,500). If, on the other hand, it is bought for a lower price (€ 1,000 is paid for a car that has a value of € 1,500), it will be applied to the value of the car, not the value paid for it. In short, the percentage will be applied to the highest value between the purchase and the value of the tables of Treasury.
Term to pay the Transfer Tax
The time you have to pay the tax is ONE MONTH from the date of transmission. It must be done at the Treasury Delegation of the corresponding Autonomous Community.
The non-payment would imply a tax inspection and the payment would be forced with an immediate liquidation and with expenses of surcharge.
For any consultation or advice in case you have to pay a Transfer Tax, contact GM Tax Consultancy. We are specialists in all kinds of issues that affect you and the Tax Agency.
