Ingrid Solberg lived in Altea for nine years. She arrived in 2015, bought the house in 2016 for 250,000 € plus 22,000 € of costs, and lived there with her family until August 2024, when she returned to Bergen for work. Since then she has been tax resident in Norway. In April 2026 she sells the house in Altea for 390,000 €, and in May she buys a home in Bergen for 420,000 €, where she lives. She still has 60,000 € of a Spanish mortgage to pay off, which she clears with the sale. She has heard that the gain on a main home is not taxed if it is reinvested, and wants to know whether that applies to her now that she does not live in Spain.
It exists, but within narrow limits
The IRNR Law (the law on Spanish non-resident income tax) regulates this exemption in its seventh additional provision, added with effect from 2015. It allows gains obtained by taxpayers resident in a Member State of the European Union "on the transfer of what has been their main home in Spain" to be excluded from tax, provided the amount obtained is reinvested in a new main home. Section 4 extends it to residents of States of the European Economic Area with an effective exchange of tax information, which in practice covers Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
Three filters are clear from the outset:
| Requirement | Who is left out |
|---|---|
| Living in the EU or in Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein at the time of sale | Residents of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, Argentina and every other country |
| The property sold must have been a main home in Spain | Anyone selling a second home, a flat that was let or one used for holidays |
| Reinvesting in a new main home | Anyone who puts the money into another investment or a second home |
Ingrid lives in Norway and is selling the house she lived in: she passes the first two filters. The detail remains to be seen.
What "has been" a main home means
Section 2 of the provision refers to article 38 of the IRPF Law (Spanish personal income tax) and its implementing rules. Article 41 bis of the IRPF Regulations defines the main home as the one that is the taxpayer's residence "for a continuous period of at least three years". Ingrid lived in it for eight. And section 3 of the same article allows the sale to take place after you have stopped living there: a main home is treated as transferred if it was one "up to any day in the two years before the date of transfer".
Ingrid left the house in August 2024 and sells it in April 2026: less than two years. Had she waited until September 2026, she would have lost the exemption even if everything else were the same. It is the requirement most often breached without anyone noticing.
The deadline to reinvest and the amount that counts
Article 41.3 of the IRPF Regulations requires the reinvestment to take place within a period of no more than two years from the sale. The provision does not require the new home to be in Spain, so the house in Bergen can qualify, provided it really is her main home.
The amount to be reinvested is not the gross price. Article 41.1 of the Regulations says that, where outside financing was used for the purchase, the total amount obtained is taken to be the transfer value minus the outstanding principal of the loan. Ingrid's figures:
- Sale price: 390,000 €.
- Selling costs, agency and others: 11,700 €.
- Transfer value: 378,300 €.
- Acquisition value: 250,000 + 22,000 = 272,000 €.
- Gain: 378,300 − 272,000 = 106,300 €.
- Amount she must reinvest: 378,300 − 60,000 of outstanding mortgage = 318,300 €.
- Reinvestment in Bergen: 420,000 €. It exceeds what is required, so the exemption can be total.
Had Ingrid bought in Bergen for 250,000 €, the exemption would be partial, in proportion to what was reinvested: 250,000 / 318,300 = 78.54 %. Around 83,490 € would be exempt and around 22,810 € would be taxed, with tax of around 4,334 €. Without the exemption, the tax would be 20,197 €.
The mechanics of that calculation are in working out the amount to reinvest.
The provision itself, in section 3, keeps the buyer's 3 % withholding and the obligation to file Modelo 210, the non-resident's tax return. If the reinvestment has already been made before the deadline for that Modelo 210 ends, it can be taken into account when filing. If it has not yet been made, the position is less comfortable: the rule refers to implementing regulations for whatever refund is due, and you need to plan carefully how to file and how to claim it afterwards. We cannot guarantee either the outcome or the timing of that refund.
What has to be proved
The exemption is not granted just because you claim it. The authorities may ask for proof of each requirement, and the burden of proof lies with whoever applies it. For Ingrid, the file should include:
- The historical certificate of registration on the padrón (the municipal register of residents) in Altea, which shows from when and until when she lived there.
- Her IRPF returns for the years she was resident, with the house as her main home.
- Utility bills with real consumption, which show that the house was lived in and not just that she was registered there.
- The certificate of tax residence in Norway, to prove that at the time of the sale she is resident in a State of the European Economic Area. How it is obtained is explained in the guide on the certificate for Modelo 210.
- The deed or title of purchase of the home in Bergen and proof that she lives in it.
- The bank certificate showing the outstanding mortgage principal on the date of the sale.
As for the Norwegian paperwork, we cannot give an opinion on its value under Norwegian law or on how the operation is taxed there. That has to be confirmed by Ingrid's adviser in Norway.
If you are in a similar situation, you can send us the dates and documents through the property sale form and we will check whether the requirements are met before you sign the sale.
Cases that seem to fit and do not
- Someone who lived in Spain, moved to London and is selling now. The United Kingdom is not a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area. The provision does not reach them.
- Someone who spent their summers in the house for years. A seasonal residence is not a main home in the sense of article 41 bis.
- Someone who left Spain three years ago. They are beyond the two-year margin from when they stopped living there.
- Someone who reinvests in a house they let. The destination has to be their new main home.
The general requirements, which are the same as for a resident, are in the requirements of the reinvestment exemption, and the deadlines in reinvestment deadlines.
If there is no exemption, what is left
If the exemption does not apply, the sale is taxed like any other non-resident's sale: the gain at 19 %, with the 3 % withheld on account. To reduce the gain, the usual tools remain, starting with adding up the purchase costs correctly, as explained in which costs can I add to the purchase value.
Analysing the exemption, preparing the file of evidence and declaring the sale are part of the Salama Tax service for non-residents selling a property.