For four years, the highest home values of any large Spanish town have been on Ibiza, and in 2025 the rules for owners tightened twice. Santa Eulària des Riu, on the island’s east coast, has topped the Ministry of Housing’s appraisal figures for towns of more than 25,000 people in every quarter since mid-2022. Foreign buyers made 32.27% of home purchases across the Balearic Islands in the second quarter of 2026, the highest share of any Spanish region and about twice the national rate. This guide is written for international buyers of prime homes on the island. It sets out what a purchase really costs, what you owe each year and on exit, what the 2025 holiday-let rules mean for a villa, and where buyers look.
EU, euro and Schengen
Foreign share of Balearic purchases, Q2 2026
Every figure cited to primary sources
Holiday-let limits covered
Last updated: October 2026
By: Alexander Thornbury
What kind of market is Ibiza?
The highest-valued in Spain on the official appraisal figures. Ibiza is one of the Balearic Islands, so it sits inside the EU, the euro and the Schengen area, Spanish law governs the purchase, and the Balearic government sets the transfer, inheritance and wealth taxes. The island has five municipalities: Eivissa, the capital and port, Santa Eulària des Riu to the east, Sant Josep de sa Talaia to the south and west, Sant Antoni de Portmany on the west coast and Sant Joan de Labritja in the north. Formentera, the smaller island to the south, is a separate market reached only by sea. Our guide to Ibiza’s prime areas takes each in turn.
The Ministry of Housing publishes the average appraised value of homes in every Spanish municipality with more than 25,000 people. In the second quarter of 2026 Santa Eulària des Riu topped all 306 of them at EUR 6,844 per square metre, up 13.3% on a year earlier. It has led the table every quarter since the second quarter of 2022, when its figure was EUR 4,219, so values there have risen 62% in four years. Eivissa came third at EUR 5,473, just ahead of Madrid. These are appraisals across all housing, from flats to villas, so a prime villa with sea views trades far above them. Sant Josep and Sant Antoni are not in the series, and no official figure tracks the top end on its own.
| Appraised home values, Q2 2026 (EUR per m2, all homes) | Value | A year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Eulària des Riu (Ibiza) | 6,844 | 6,043 |
| Calvià (Mallorca) | 5,502 | 5,107 |
| Eivissa (Ibiza town) | 5,473 | 5,328 |
| Madrid | 5,418 | 4,953 |
| Marbella | 4,528 | 3,916 |
| Palma (Mallorca) | 3,815 | 3,337 |
Source: Ministry of Housing, average appraised value of free-market homes, municipalities over 25,000 people, second quarter of 2026 and 2025.
What does it cost to buy?
On a resale home, budget 10% to 12.5% of the price in transfer tax between EUR 1.5M and EUR 10M. The Balearics charge ITP, the property transfer tax, on a rising scale: 8% up to EUR 400,000, then 9%, 10% and 12% in bands up to EUR 2M, and 13% on everything above. On a EUR 2.5M villa that comes to EUR 275,000, or 11% of the price. On EUR 5M it is EUR 600,000, or 12%. The tax falls on the higher of the price and the Catastro’s reference value, and residents and non-residents pay the same rates.
A new home from a developer works differently. You pay VAT at 10% instead of ITP, plus stamp duty (AJD) on the deed, and in the Balearics that stamp duty rises from 1.5% to 2% once the value reaches EUR 1M. So a new villa costs a flat 12% in tax, which is more than a resale at EUR 2.5M and the same as one at EUR 5M. Notary, land registry and legal fees come on top. If the seller is not resident in Spain, you also withhold 3% of the price at completion and pay it to the tax office on the seller’s behalf. Our Ibiza property tax guide works through every charge, and our step-by-step buying guide shows when each one falls due.
| Buying a home in Ibiza (2026) | Tax | On EUR 2.5M | On EUR 5M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resale: ITP | 8% to 13% in bands; 13% above EUR 2M | EUR 275,000 (11%) | EUR 600,000 (12%) |
| New build: VAT | 10% | EUR 250,000 | EUR 500,000 |
| New build: stamp duty (AJD) | 2% from EUR 1M | EUR 50,000 | EUR 100,000 |
| Seller not resident in Spain | Buyer withholds 3% for the tax office | EUR 75,000 | EUR 150,000 |
What do you pay to own it each year?
More than in Marbella, because the Balearics charge wealth tax in full. Start with income tax. A non-resident who keeps the home for their own use pays non-resident income tax on a notional income of 1.1% of its cadastral value, or 2% where that value has not been revised since 2012, at 19% for EU and EEA residents and 24% for everyone else. Let it, and the rent is taxed instead: 19% of the net rent for EU and EEA residents, 24% of the gross rent for others. Each municipality also charges IBI, the local property tax, on the cadastral value.
Wealth tax is the bigger item. A non-resident pays it on Spanish assets above a EUR 700,000 allowance, at 0.2% to 3.5% on the state scale. Where most of your Spanish assets sit in the Balearics you can choose the Balearic scale instead, which runs from 0.28% to 3.45%. The Balearic wealth-tax allowance of EUR 3M is written for people resident in the islands, so don’t plan on it as a non-resident. The state’s solidarity tax on large fortunes, which starts on taxable wealth above EUR 3M, deducts the wealth tax you pay, and in the Balearics the wealth tax is always the larger, so an Ibiza owner normally owes no solidarity tax on top. Andalucía and Madrid relieve their wealth tax, but while the solidarity tax exists they relieve it only down to what that tax would charge. On EUR 5M of net Spanish assets, that leaves a non-resident paying about EUR 53,500 a year on Ibiza against about EUR 22,100 in Marbella, and below about EUR 3.7M a Marbella owner pays nothing.
| Annual tax, non-resident owner | Ibiza (Balearics) | Marbella (Andalucía) |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax, home kept for own use | 1.1% of cadastral value x 19% (EU/EEA) or 24% | Same national rule |
| Wealth tax | Charged in full: EUR 700,000 allowance, 0.2% to 3.5% | Relieved down to the solidarity-tax amount |
| Solidarity tax on large fortunes | Normally nil, as the wealth tax paid is deducted | Nil, as the matching wealth tax is deducted |
| Total a year on EUR 5M of net Spanish assets | About EUR 53,500 | About EUR 22,100 |
| Local property tax (IBI) | Set by each municipality | Set by the municipality |
How are a sale and an inheritance taxed?
A non-resident pays 19% on the capital gain, whatever their nationality. The buyer holds back 3% of the price at completion as an advance, and you reconcile it with a return afterwards, claiming back any excess. The municipal tax on the rise in land value, the plusvalía, also falls on the seller. Your home country may tax the gain again with credit for the Spanish tax, or leave it to Spain. That depends on the tax treaty, so our corridor guides set it out country by country.
Inheritance is where the Balearics are most generous. Since July 2023, children, grandchildren, spouses and parents get a 100% regional relief on inheritance tax, and since 2025 siblings, nephews, nieces, uncles and aunts get 35% or 60%. Non-residents can use these rules too: where the person who died lived outside Spain, the heirs apply the law of the region that holds the greatest value of their Spanish assets, which for an Ibiza villa means the Balearics. Two conditions matter. The value declared for the property can’t exceed the Catastro reference value by more than 20%, and a return must still be filed. Which country’s succession law governs the will is a separate question. Under the EU Succession Regulation it is the law of your habitual residence at death, unless your will chooses the law of your nationality.
Can you get residency by buying?
No. Spain abolished its golden visa on 3 April 2025, so buying property, at any price, gives you no right to live in Ibiza. Existing permits keep running, but no new ones are granted on the strength of a purchase. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa and simply register. British and other non-EU buyers can spend 90 days in any 180 in the Schengen area, and need a visa to stay longer.
The main routes for them are the non-lucrative visa, for people living on their own means, which needs EUR 2,400 a month in 2026 plus EUR 600 for each dependant and allows no work in Spain, and the digital nomad visa for remote workers. Anyone moving to take up a job can look at the Beckham regime, a flat 24% on Spanish employment income up to EUR 600,000 for six years. Tax residence follows from spending more than 183 days a year in Spain or having your main economic interests there, and a resident pays Spanish tax on worldwide income. Our Ibiza residency guide compares the routes.
Who buys, and where?
Europeans, overwhelmingly, though the land registrars publish nationality for the Balearics as a whole, not island by island. Over the year to June 2026, buyers from other EU countries made 20.9% of all Balearic home purchases and buyers from the rest of Europe almost 4%, out of a foreign total of 30.5%. Across Spain the largest foreign buyer groups in the second quarter of 2026 were the British (6.99% of foreign purchases), the Dutch (6.94%) and the Germans (6.11%), with Italians at 5.13% and Belgians at 3.69%. Ibiza’s airport points the same way: its largest international markets in 2025 were the UK, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
The rules that shape a purchase change with where you come from. We cover them for buyers from the UK, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany, Belgium and Italy, each with the home-country tax, the travel and visa position, and the succession point that applies.
As for where, the prime market spreads across the whole island rather than one strip. Santa Eulària des Riu takes in the inland villages of Santa Gertrudis and Jesús as well as its own coast. Sant Josep holds the south-west coves around Es Cubells and Cala Jondal. In Eivissa, buyers look at the old walled town of Dalt Vila, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture since 1999, and at the marina at Botafoch. Sant Joan de Labritja, with Sant Miquel de Balansat, is the quiet, green north. Sant Antoni and Santa Agnès de Corona face the sunset.
Can you let it to holidaymakers?
Only if the home can already be let legally, and fewer can since 2025. Two changes did it. In April 2025 the Balearic government barred new tourist places in apartment buildings across all the islands, and allowed new places elsewhere only where the same number is withdrawn first. Fines for the most serious breaches now reach EUR 500,000, and letting platforms must show each home’s registration number. Then, in August 2025, Ibiza’s island council changed its territorial plan so that no new-build home, and no building put up after 1956, on rustic land can be let to tourists. The council puts the cut at 82% of the roughly 7,800 rustic-land homes that could have qualified under the old rules.
That matters for villa buyers in particular. If letting is part of your plan, treat an existing registration as part of what you are buying. Have your lawyer confirm that it exists, that it covers the number of places you expect, and that it passes to you with the property, before you sign the reservation contract.
How do you get there, and what should you check?
Getting there is straightforward. Ibiza’s airport handled 9,138,224 passengers in 2025, and more than half travelled on international routes. The UK alone accounted for 1.87 million of them. If you are still weighing the island against Mallorca or the mainland, our comparison of Ibiza, Mallorca and Marbella sets the three side by side.
Due diligence on Ibiza is mostly about what was built, and when. Check that every extension, pool and outbuilding has its licence, because an unlicensed one becomes your problem once you own it. The island council opened a three-year window in April 2025 to legalise existing works on rustic land that meet its conditions, so check whether any part of the property needs it, and price the cost and the risk into the offer. Water is the other check. Under the same 2025 plan change, new homes must reuse grey water and cut consumption by at least 60%, and the council grants no pool licence where the aquifer below is in poor condition. Ask how the house is supplied and whether its pool is licensed.
Key takeaways
- Ibiza has led Spain’s official home values for four years: Santa Eulària des Riu has topped the Ministry of Housing’s figures for towns over 25,000 people every quarter since mid-2022, at EUR 6,844 per m2 in Q2 2026.
- Transfer tax runs at 10% to 12.5% at prime prices, with 13% on the slice of a resale above EUR 2M. A new build pays 10% VAT plus 2% stamp duty.
- The Balearics charge wealth tax in full, from a EUR 700,000 allowance for non-residents: about EUR 53,500 a year on EUR 5M of net Spanish assets, against about EUR 22,100 in Marbella.
- Close family inherit with 100% regional relief, and non-resident heirs can use it.
- Property buys no residency since Spain’s golden visa ended in April 2025.
- Holiday letting is now the exception: no new places in apartment buildings, and none on rustic land for homes built after 1956.
Frequently asked questions
Can foreigners buy property in Ibiza?
Yes. Spain places no restrictions on foreign buyers, from the EU or elsewhere. You need a Spanish tax identity number (NIE), and the purchase goes through a notary and the land registry. A Balearic proposal to limit purchases by non-residents was rejected by the regional parliament in February 2026, and a national bill to tax non-EU buyers at up to 100% is a proposal, not law.
What does it cost in tax to buy a home in Ibiza?
On a resale, the Balearic transfer tax runs from 8% to 13% in bands, which works out at 10% to 12.5% of the price between EUR 1.5M and EUR 10M. A new build pays 10% VAT plus 2% stamp duty from EUR 1M, so 12%. Notary, registry and legal fees come on top.
What does a non-resident pay each year on an Ibiza home?
Non-resident income tax on a notional 1.1% of the cadastral value, at 19% or 24%, the municipal IBI, and wealth tax on Spanish assets above EUR 700,000. Wealth tax is usually the largest of the three: about EUR 53,500 a year on EUR 5M of net Spanish assets.
Do children pay inheritance tax on an Ibiza villa?
Effectively not. Since July 2023 the Balearics give children, grandchildren, spouses and parents a 100% relief, and they can claim it even when the parent lived outside Spain. A return must still be filed.
Does buying property in Ibiza give me residency or a golden visa?
No. Spain ended its golden visa on 3 April 2025. EU citizens simply register; non-EU buyers who want to stay beyond 90 days in 180 need a visa, most often the non-lucrative visa, which needs EUR 2,400 a month in 2026.
Can I let an Ibiza villa to holidaymakers?
Only with a valid tourist registration, and new ones are now rare. Since 2025 there are no new tourist places in apartment buildings anywhere in the Balearics, and on Ibiza no home on rustic land built after 1956 can be let to tourists. Confirm any existing registration, and that it transfers, before you commit.
Where are the most expensive homes on Ibiza?
In Santa Eulària des Riu, on the Ministry of Housing’s figures. It had the highest appraised values of any Spanish town over 25,000 people in the second quarter of 2026, at EUR 6,844 per square metre, and has led every quarter since mid-2022. Eivissa, the capital, was third at EUR 5,473. Sant Josep and Sant Antoni are not covered by the series.
Is Ibiza more expensive than Mallorca or Marbella?
To buy, yes, on the official figures: EUR 6,844 per square metre in Santa Eulària against EUR 5,502 in Calvià, the highest-valued large town on Mallorca, and EUR 4,528 in Marbella. Mallorca shares Ibiza’s Balearic taxes, while a Marbella owner pays less wealth tax, because Andalucía relieves it down to the solidarity-tax amount.
Who buys property in Ibiza?
Mostly Europeans. Over the year to June 2026, buyers from other EU countries made 20.9% of all Balearic home purchases, out of a foreign share of 30.5%. Across Spain the British, Dutch and Germans lead. The land registrars don’t split the figures by island.
What should I check before buying a villa on rustic land?
Start with the licences: the house, the pool and any outbuilding should each have one, or qualify under the legalisation window the island council opened in April 2025 for three years. Then the letting position, since homes on rustic land built after 1956 can no longer be let to tourists. Ask, too, how the house gets its water.
How easy is Ibiza to reach?
Easily. Ibiza airport handled 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with the UK, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands its largest international markets. Formentera has no airport and is reached by sea from Ibiza.
Sources
- BOE – Balearic Legislative Decree 1/2014 on ceded taxes, consolidated text (ITP art. 10, stamp duty arts. 15 and 17 bis, wealth tax arts. 8 and 9, inheritance relief arts. 36 and 36 bis)
- BOE – Transfer Tax Act, Royal Legislative Decree 1/1993 (tax base and reference value)
- BOE – VAT Act, Law 37/1992 (10% on new homes)
- BOE – Non-Resident Income Tax Act, Royal Legislative Decree 5/2004 (rates, imputed income, 3% withholding)
- BOE – Wealth Tax Act, Law 19/1991 (additional provision 4, non-residents and regional rules)
- Agencia Tributaria – Wealth tax for non-residents (EUR 700,000 allowance)
- BOE – Law 38/2022, article 3 (solidarity tax on large fortunes, deduction of wealth tax)
- Agencia Tributaria – Wealth Tax practical manual 2025 (regional reliefs in Andalucía and Madrid while the solidarity tax applies)
- BOE – Inheritance and Gift Tax Act, Law 29/1987 (additional provision 2, non-resident heirs)
- EUR-Lex – EU Succession Regulation 650/2012
- BOE – Organic Law 1/2025 (end of the golden visa from 3 April 2025)
- BOE – Income Tax Act, Law 35/2006 (tax residence art. 9, Beckham regime art. 93)
- Colegio de Registradores – Estadística Registral Inmobiliaria, second quarter of 2026 (foreign buyers by region and nationality)
- Ministry of Housing – Average appraised value of free-market homes, municipalities over 25,000 people (table 4)
- Aena – Ibiza airport passes 9 million passengers in 2025
- Govern de les Illes Balears – Decree-Law 4/2025 on tourism containment
- Consell d’Eivissa – Final approval of modification no. 2 of the Ibiza territorial plan (1 August 2025)
- BOIB no. 106, 9 August 2025 – publication of modification no. 2 of the Ibiza territorial plan
- Ajuntament d’Eivissa – Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture, UNESCO World Heritage since 1999
Figures current at October 2026. Balearic tax and holiday-let rules changed in 2023 and 2025 and should be confirmed with a Spanish lawyer and tax adviser at the point of purchase.
About the author
Alexander Thornbury is a published author who writes on international property, tax and residency for high-net-worth buyers across Europe. His work focuses on the practical mechanics of cross-border purchase: what a buyer actually pays, owes and signs. More at alexanderthornbury.com.