Murcia property: what transfer tax non-residents pay on the Costa Cálida when buying with a mortgage
The coastal strip south of the Costa Blanca: Mar Menor, La Manga, Cartagena, Mazarrón, Águilas. A separate autonomous community with its own tax rates — the regional border runs straight through what many still take for the Costa Blanca.
How much transfer tax is payable on Murcia property?
Since 25 July 2025 the transfer tax in Murcia is 7.75%, down from 8% under Ley 3/2025. A new build bought from a developer attracts 10% VAT plus 1.5% stamp duty instead. The taxable base is the higher of purchase price and cadastral reference value. The reduced rates of 3% and 5% are not open to non-residents.
Which three financing cases do bank branches fail on?
Spanish banks only pay out for a new build at completion sign-off of the building; they finance purchases, not capital release, and they cannot value a German property.
Land transfer tax 7.75% since 25 July 2025: 7.75% since 25 July 2025 (previously 8%), calculated on the higher of the purchase price and the cadastral reference value. For new-build properties, 10% IVA plus 1.5% AJD applies instead. Finance a new-build property in instalments.
The autonomous community determines the tax rate, not the name of the coast: The only factor that matters is the autonomous community in which the property is situated — not the name of the coast given in the brochure. We check this before carrying out the calculation. An overview of the regions.
Buying a house in Murcia: as a non-resident, a loan-to-value ratio of around 70 %: The usual limit is around 70 % of the lower of the purchase price and the valuation. The decisive factor is whether a lender will underwrite the type of income, country of residence and property together.
Property transfer tax in Murcia: What applies to second-hand properties, new-builds and properties on the regional border? Anyone buying a house in the Region of Murcia has been paying 7.75 % ITP since 25 July 2025; the rate was previously 8 % — reduced by Ley 3/2025.
For new-build properties from a developer, 10 % IVA plus 1.5 % AJD is payable instead; this rate has also been reduced from 2 %, which is why older sources still quote the higher figure. The taxable amount is the higher of the purchase price and the cadastral reference value.
The regional boundary (Regionsgrenze) is important: Murcia is a separate autonomous community, and the coastal strip south of the Costa Blanca is already part of it. Two properties just a few kilometres apart are therefore subject to different rates.
The reduced rates of 3 % and 5 % are subject to the condition of primary residence and personal circumstances, and are not available to non-residents. Non-residents are therefore subject to the standard rate in all cases. Notary fees, registration fees and the services of a gestoría are additional.
Of the 30+ institutions we approach on a case-by-case basis, one finances the developer instalments during construction and two lend against unencumbered existing property (Perini Market Check).
Murcia property: do non-residents pay a special transfer tax rate or the standard one?
On Murcia property, non-residents pay the standard transfer tax rate of 7.75%.
Transfer tax of 7.75% since July 2025: 7.75% since 25.07.2025 (previously 8%), on the higher of purchase price and cadastral reference. New build: 10% VAT plus 1.5% stamp duty instead. Financing a new build in stages.
Why is Murcia a region of its own, often mistaken for the Costa Blanca?
The border between the Comunitat Valenciana and the Región de Murcia is a genuine tax border, so two properties a few kilometres apart fall under different rates. The region covers the Mar Menor, Cartagena and the southern coast.
- La Manga, Los Alcázares, San Javier (Mar Menor): The lagoon and the La Manga spit. Strongly shaped by German and northern European second-home buyers. The ecological condition of the Mar Menor has been subject to official measures for years and belongs in any location assessment.
- A port city with year-round life (Cartagena): Unlike the purely seasonal resorts, a year-round market with an economy of its own. From a lender's point of view that helps with resale prospects.
- Mazarrón, Águilas, Puerto de Mazarrón (Southern coast): The quieter south towards Almería. Less developer new build, more existing stock — which means a different financing structure than buying off plan.
Anyone who has not yet fixed a location should keep this tax border between the Comunitat Valenciana and the Región de Murcia in mind before signing.
What the purchase costs in tax: ITP 7.75 % on resale property — cut from 8 % to 7.75 % by Ley 3/2025 of 23.07.2025, effective from 25.07.2025. AJD 1.5 % on new build from a developer, on top of 10 % VAT.
The reduced rates of 3 % and 5 % do not apply here. They require a main residence and personal circumstances such as age or family status, and are not open to the typical non-resident purchase.
Tax rates change.
How is a detached house at €820,000 financed?
A couple from Lower Saxony are planning to move within three years and are looking for a detached house with room for a home office and guests. At the time of purchase both are still resident in Germany, so non-residents. Kitchen, bathrooms, air conditioning and floors are due before they move in.
The hurdle: the bank is looking at German income and a Spanish liability at the same time, while the German property has not yet been sold. The buyers also wanted to keep reserves. Together those two things cap the loan more tightly than the value of the property does.
Model calculation — borrowing rate 2.4 % fixed, 20 years, fully amortising: Purchase price — Amount: €820,000. Purchase costs, around 10 % (of which ITP 7.75 % = €63,550) — Amount: €82,000. Refurbishment — Amount: €55,000. Total investment — Amount: €957,000. Loan, around 62 % of the purchase price — Amount: €508,000. Equity — Amount: €449,000. Monthly instalment at 2.4 % — Amount: €2,667.23. Without the discount, at 3.4 % — Amount: €2,920.16 — around €3,040 more per year.
Model calculation, not a case report. Fully amortising loan, no residual debt. Figures rounded, purchase-cost ratio given as a range.
Representative example under § 17 PAngV: €200,000 loan, 70 % loan-to-value, 20 years, borrowing rate 2.4 % fixed, APR 2.45 %, instalment €1,050.09, total amount €252,022 (valuation €400, no arrangement fee; the borrowing rate shown applies with the bonificación, which requires two to four bundled products, depending on the bank, whose running costs are not included in the APR). Conditions as of 06.10.2026, not an offer.
How is a villa near the Mar Menor at €1.15m financed?
An entrepreneur from Bavaria is planning a gradual move with his wife and is looking for a detached villa with a study for his final working years. The same applies here: not yet resident in Spain at the time of purchase.
The hurdle: the assets were mostly in securities, and those were not to be liquidated. Spanish banks do not count a securities portfolio as income, however — it improves the picture but does not replace a recurring cash flow.
Model calculation — borrowing rate 2.4 % fixed, 20 years, fully amortising: Purchase price — Amount: €1,150,000. Purchase costs, around 10 % (of which ITP 7.75 % = €89,125) — Amount: €115,000. Refurbishment — Amount: €85,000. Total investment — Amount: €1,350,000.
Loan, 68 % of the purchase price — Amount: €782,000. Equity — Amount: €568,000. Monthly instalment at 2.4 % — Amount: €4,105.85. Without the discount, at 3.4 % — Amount: €4,495.20 — around €4,670 more per year.
One point that is easily missed: the Spanish bank does not finance purchase costs or refurbishment — it lends against the lower of price and appraisal. That does not mean they have to be paid in cash: anyone holding unencumbered property in Germany can cover exactly these items through a German top-up loan. What matters is that both are costed before the offer — a follow-up financing is the step that most often fails for non-residents.
Model calculation, not a case report. Fully amortising loan, no residual debt. Figures rounded, purchase-cost ratio given as a range. Representative example: €200,000 loan, 70 % loan-to-value, 20 years, borrowing rate 2.4 % fixed, APR 2.45 %, instalment €1,050.09, total amount €252,022 (valuation €400, no arrangement fee; the borrowing rate shown applies with the bonificación, which requires two to four bundled products, depending on the bank, whose running costs are not included in the APR). Conditions as of 06.10.2026, not an offer.
How can you use a property on the Costa Cálida as a source of capital?
The Costa Cálida belongs to the Región de Murcia and no longer to the Comunitat Valenciana — a boundary that decides the tax rate. A paid-off property on the Costa Cálida does not have to be sold to free up capital — it can be mortgaged instead.
Inheritance tax, Región de Murcia: 99% deduction, since 01.01.2018 — groups I and II, meaning parents, children and spouses (art. 3(4) Decreto Legislativo 1/2010 (Murcia), introduced by Ley 7/2017). On inheritance the deduction covers groups I and II only; siblings and nephews pay the full tariff.
For inheritance, the rules of the autonomous community holding the highest value of the Spanish estate apply. With a single Spanish property that is simply its region. The relief must be claimed within the filing deadline — miss it and it becomes contentious.
How far a Spanish bank will go on an unencumbered property, what changes with the owner's age, and what the released money may be used for is set out in full under releasing capital from a Spanish property.
A gift of the released money to a child is taxed in Germany, not in Spain — see inheritance and gift tax in Spain. Inheritance tax, groups I and II (parents, children, spouses). Regional tax law changes regularly.
What was actually paid in this area. Portal prices are what sellers ask. What was recorded at the notary is published by the Spanish notaries themselves: the Portal Estadístico del Notariado — free, no registration, and searchable down to postcode level.
In the first quarter of 2026 the prices paid ran 29 per cent below asking prices, the widest gap since 2007. For a mortgage that is the figure that counts: the bank's valuer works from completed sales, not from listings. → Portal Estadístico del Notariado · What that means for your financing · Where the numbers come from
Frequently asked questions
How much property transfer tax is payable in the Región de Murcia?
7.75 % since 25.07.2025, previously 8 %. New build from a developer attracts 10 % VAT plus 1.5 % stamp duty instead. The taxable base is the higher of purchase price and cadastral reference value.
Is Torrevieja still Costa Blanca or already Murcia?
Torrevieja belongs to the Comunitat Valenciana, not to Murcia. The answer decides the tax rate, so it belongs at the start rather than the end. What counts is which autonomous community the property sits in — not the name of the coast on the sales brochure. We check that before any calculation.
Can I get a mortgage here as a non-resident?
Yes. The usual limit is around 70 % of the lower of purchase price and appraisal. What decides a case is whether an institution underwrites the specific combination of income type, country of residence and property.
What about the condition of the Mar Menor?
The ecological condition of the lagoon has been subject to official measures for years and is taken into account by lenders valuing property in the immediate vicinity. It is not an exclusion criterion, but it belongs in the location assessment before an offer is calculated.
How long does financing take?
An offer is possible within ten days. The lead time almost never sits with the bank but with the NIE, the Spanish account and the notary appointment.
Request a mortgage
Planning a purchase on the Costa Cálida, or looking to release capital from property you already own there? A first consultation without obligation — in English, German, French, Spanish or Russian.
These figures are as of July 2026 and are not tax advice. No legal or tax advice is provided.
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Content by Siegfried Perini — local brand representative since 2019, active in real estate since 1992, entered in the German intermediary register (§ 11a GewO) as a person directly involved in brokerage and advice. Point of contact for German-speaking buyers in Spain and Portugal. Brokerage by Olga Nikushkina, mortgage credit intermediary under § 34i German Trade Regulation (GewO); in Portugal through a locally licensed intermediary.