Stefan and Laura Keller are brother and sister. Stefan lives in Zurich and Laura in Munich. In 2015 they bought a flat in Nerja together for 300,000 €, with 27,000 € of costs: Stefan put in 60 % and Laura 40 %, and that is what the deed says. In June 2026 they sell it for 400,000 €. The buyer withholds 12,000 €. The agency offers to file "the return for the sale", and Stefan asks whether a single one in both their names is enough, as they used to do with some of the papers for the comunidad de propietarios (the owners' association of the building).
One return for each seller
No. For Spanish non-resident income tax (IRNR), each person is a separate taxpayer, and article 15.1 of the law adds that anyone obtaining income without a permanent establishment is taxed "separately for each accrual". The sale produces one gain for Stefan on his 60 % and another for Laura on her 40 %, and each is declared on a separate Modelo 210 (the non-resident's tax return), with the NIE (the foreigner's tax identification number) of its holder.
There is no joint Modelo 210 for several sellers, nor any possibility of one declaring for the other as if it were their own. What is possible is for the same person or the same firm to prepare and file both returns as representative of each of them.
The buyer splits the withholding
The 3 % is calculated on the total price, but it belongs to each seller in proportion to what they sell. The order governing Modelo 211 (the form the buyer uses to pay in the withholding) provides annexes for when there is more than one transferor, so that the buyer identifies each of them and the share of withholding that corresponds to them. That split is what each sibling then deducts on their Modelo 210.
| Item | Total | Stefan (60 %) | Laura (40 %) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale price | 400,000 € | 240,000 € | 160,000 € |
| 3 % withholding | 12,000 € | 7,200 € | 4,800 € |
| Selling costs (agency and plusvalía) | 13,500 € | 8,100 € | 5,400 € |
| Transfer value | 386,500 € | 231,900 € | 154,600 € |
| Acquisition value | 327,000 € | 196,200 € | 130,800 € |
| Gain | 59,500 € | 35,700 € | 23,800 € |
| Tax at 19 % | 6,783 € | 4,522 € | |
| Result of the Modelo 210 | Refund of 417 € | Refund of 278 € |
The plusvalía in the table is the plusvalía municipal, the municipal tax on the increase in land value. If the buyer enters the percentages wrongly on his Modelo 211, for example at 50 %, each sibling will see a withholding that does not match their tax. It is worth checking the copy of Modelo 211 as soon as it arrives and, if there is a mistake, asking the buyer to correct it before the Modelo 210s are filed.
Each one's figures, step by step
For Stefan:
- His share of the price: 60 % of 400,000 = 240,000 €.
- His share of the selling costs: 60 % of 13,500 = 8,100 €.
- Transfer value: 231,900 €.
- His share of the acquisition value: 60 % of 327,000 = 196,200 €.
- Gain: 35,700 €.
- Tax at 19 %: 6,783 €.
- Less his withholding of 7,200 €: a refund of 417 €.
Laura does the same calculation with 40 % and arrives at a refund of 278 €. The 19 % is the same for both: article 25.1.f of the IRNR Law applies that rate to gains on transfers by any non-resident, whether they live in Switzerland, in Germany or in any other country.
If in 2020 Stefan alone paid for a 10,000 € renovation, with the invoice in his name, a question arises that the law does not expressly resolve: whether that improvement adds only to his acquisition value or whether it should be split according to the deed. There are arguments both ways, and the answer may depend on how it was documented between the siblings. We do not take either solution as certain without seeing the papers.
Where living in different countries does matter
The rate on the gain is the same, but residence does change other things. Laura, resident in Germany, could use the reinvestment exemption if the flat had been her main home in Spain and she reinvested in another; Stefan, resident in Switzerland, could not, because Switzerland is not a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area. We explain this in as a non-resident, can I apply the reinvestment exemption?.
If the flat was let, the minimum depreciation is subtracted from both acquisition values, each by their percentage. Laura, as a European Union resident, could deduct expenses from her rent; Stefan could not. How that affects the calculation is in I let the flat: does that count against me when I sell?.
Separate deadlines and consequences
Each Modelo 210 has the same deadline, because the sale is a single one: three months counted from the end of the month the buyer has to pay in Modelo 211. But the consequences of missing it are individual. If Laura files on time and Stefan is late, any surcharge or penalty is Stefan's alone, and Laura's refund goes ahead without waiting for her brother's.
Nor are results offset. If one had a gain and the other a loss, which is possible if they bought at different times or for different prices, each is taxed on their own. One sibling's loss does not reduce the other's gain.
If you are in this situation, you can send us the deed and both owners' details through the property sale form and we will prepare the two returns in a coordinated way.
Married couples and foreign matrimonial property regimes
When the co-owners are a married couple, the question of which share belongs to whom can become more complicated. If the deed says they bought 50 % each, that is the usual reference. If it says they bought "for their marital community" or subject to a foreign matrimonial property regime, working out what belongs to each spouse depends on that regime, which is governed by a foreign law. We do not give opinions on foreign law: that has to be confirmed by the couple's adviser in their country, and the calculations in Spain are made from there.
Heirs selling together
A common situation is several siblings selling an inherited flat. Each declares their share of the inheritance, with the value declared for Inheritance Tax as the acquisition value. If one of them lives in Spain, they do not file a Modelo 210 but include the sale in their IRPF return (Spanish personal income tax), and the buyer withholds the 3 % only on the non-residents' share. We develop this in I am selling a flat I inherited.
The plusvalía municipal follows a similar logic: the buyer acts as substitute only for sellers who are non-resident individuals, as explained in who pays the municipal capital gains tax.
When each one bought their share at different times
Co-owners do not always buy together. Had Laura bought her 40 % in 2019 from a third co-owner, at a different price, her acquisition value would be that 2019 purchase, with its own costs, and not 40 % of what was paid in 2015. Each seller calculates their gain with their own title, date and cost. The same happens when one of the owners bought and the other inherited their share: one takes the purchase price and the other the value declared for Inheritance Tax. The deed of sale is shared, but each person's figures may look nothing alike, and it is common for one to have to pay while the other gets a refund.
Preparing each co-owner's return, with the split of costs and withholdings checked, is part of the Salama Tax service for non-residents selling a property.