An Irish buyer skips the two things Brexit handed British buyers next door: a visa to arrange and a currency to hedge. You already deal in euro, so the price you agree is the price you pay, no rate to watch between reservation and completion. Your passport already lets you live there. And Spain taxes your rent in its kinder band. The Spanish side, for someone coming from Dublin, is about as gentle as a EUR 3M purchase abroad ever gets.
Last updated: July 2026 By: Alexander Thornbury
- What makes an Irish buyer’s position easier than a British one?
- Do you need a visa, or just to register?
- How much tax do you pay to buy in Marbella?
- What do you owe each year, and when you sell?
- What does Ireland tax on top, and does the treaty stop double tax?
- What happens to the property on death, with no inheritance treaty?
- Where do Irish buyers buy, and how do they get there?
- Key takeaways
- FAQ
What makes an Irish buyer’s position easier than a British one?
It comes down to the passport and the currency, and the British buyer lost both in 2016. You settle in euro, the money you already earn and hold, so there’s nothing to hedge from deposit to keys. You register as an EU citizen instead of applying as a foreigner. And when you let the villa, Spain taxes the net at 19% rather than the gross at 24%. None of that is a discount the Spanish tax office hands out for good behaviour. It’s simply what EU membership and the euro still buy you that they no longer buy a Londoner. Line the two buyers up and the daylight shows.
| On the same Marbella purchase | Ireland (EU) | UK (non-EU, post-Brexit) |
|---|---|---|
| Currency | Euro, no FX risk | GBP-EUR exposure across deposit and completion |
| Right to live there | EU registration (green certificate) | Separate visa required |
| Rental income tax | 19% on net rent, expenses deductible | 24% on gross rent, no deductions |
| Capital gains tax on sale | 19% flat | 19% flat (same) |
Read the bottom row carefully, because it’s the one people get wrong. That 19% on the eventual sale is flat for every non-resident. An Irish seller and a British seller hand Spain the exact same slice. Your edges are real but they’re specific: the 19% net rental band, registration in place of a visa, and euro throughout. The sale tax is not one of them. Say otherwise and a sharp buyer’s solicitor will catch you out.
Do you need a visa, or just to register?
Just register. No visa exists for you to fail. Plan to spend real time in the house and you collect a residence certificate, the green certificate, along with your NIE, the tax number no buyer of any stripe gets to skip. It’s paperwork you’re entitled to, not a case you have to argue. Here’s where an Irish passport quietly earns its keep. Spain shut the Golden Visa on 3 April 2025, so property no longer buys anyone residency, Irish or otherwise. That closure barely touches you. It’s the British buyer it bites: to stay past 90 days in any 180, they now chase a Non-Lucrative or similar visa, income tests and all. For a Londoner, buying the villa and winning the right to sit in it are two separate battles. For you, the second one hardly registers as a task.
How much tax do you pay to buy in Marbella?
Add roughly 10% to 14% to the ticket price, and the fattest line by far is the transfer tax. Buy a resale in Andalucia and it’s a flat 7% (ITP). Buy new anywhere in Spain and you swap that for 10% VAT plus regional stamp duty, 1.2% in Andalucia. An Irish buyer used to modest Dublin stamp-duty rates will feel the step up, so budget it in from the first viewing, not the closing week. Marbella’s flat 7% is precisely where it beats the Balearics. Mallorca runs a sliding scale that reaches 13% on the slice above EUR 2M, so an identical price tag costs a good deal more to complete on the island.
| Cost on a EUR 3M resale | Marbella (Andalucia) | Mallorca (Balearics) |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax (ITP) | 7% flat, ~EUR 210,000 | 8-13% progressive, ~EUR 340,000 |
| Stamp duty (AJD, new-build/mortgage) | 1.2% | 1.5% |
| VAT on a new-build | 10% | 10% |
| Notary, registry, legal | ~1-2% | ~1-2% |
Roughly EUR 130,000 more goes to the Balearic tax office than the Andalucian one on the same EUR 3M resale. That gap rarely settles the choice, taste and where your friends already have a place usually do that, but it’s real money and it belongs on the spreadsheet early. For the wider picture across both markets, our Spain luxury property tax guide breaks down every line by region.
What do you owe each year, and when you sell?
Leave the villa empty and Spain still asks for two small things a year. One is a non-resident income tax charged on a notional letting value, worked out from the cadastral value, not what you paid. The other is IBI, the local council rate, somewhere near 0.5% to 0.65% of that same cadastral value around here. Both hang off cadastral figures that trail the real price of a prime villa by a distance, so the yearly carry is light next to what the place is worth. Put a tenant in and the EU-buyer edge finally earns its keep. You’re taxed at 19% on the rent after costs come out. The non-EU owner beside you is taxed at 24% on the full rent with nothing deducted. A 2025 Spanish court ruling has poked at that gap for non-EU owners, but it hasn’t hardened into settled law, so the 19-against-24 split holds for now and it holds in your favour. Sell, and the Spanish gain is taxed at a flat 19%, with the buyer parking 3% of the price with the tax office as a down-payment on your bill. Nationality changes none of this. The Irish seller and the British seller across the table pay Spain the identical 19%. The difference for you starts the moment the money crosses back to Ireland.
What does Ireland tax on top, and does the treaty stop double tax?
Ireland reaches your worldwide gains, so the villa lands on your Irish return the moment you sell it. Irish CGT sits at 33%, well north of the Spanish 19%, though check the live figure with Revenue, since Irish rates and thresholds move with the budget. The 1994 Ireland-Spain double-tax treaty credits the Spanish tax you’ve already handed over, so the same gain isn’t taxed in full twice. In plain terms: you pay Spain its 19%, then top the bill up to Ireland’s 33%, with the Spanish tax knocked off the Irish side. You settle at the higher rate, not the two added together. Here’s the line to keep in your head. The treaty doesn’t shrink your Irish rate. It just stops Madrid and Dublin both taxing the whole gain. So the headline you’ll hear, “Spain only takes 19%”, is true and beside the point. For an Irish buyer, the number that actually governs the sale is 33%, and it’s collected at home. If you’re internationally mobile, non-domicile and the remittance basis can bend all of this, and that’s a conversation for your own adviser, not a rule to lift off a page.
What happens to the property on death, with no inheritance treaty?
This is the part that catches Irish owners out, and it’s the reason to plan early. There is no Ireland-Spain inheritance treaty. So on death, the Spanish property can face Spanish inheritance tax (ISD) and Irish Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) at the same time. Irish CAT runs at 33% above the relevant threshold, and the thresholds depend on the relationship: broadly EUR 400,000 for a child, EUR 40,000 for other close relatives, EUR 20,000 for everyone else. Confirm the current figures with Revenue, as both the rate and the bands are set in the Irish budget and move over time. Because the two systems aren’t co-ordinated by treaty, Ireland applies unilateral relief, crediting the Spanish tax paid against the Irish CAT, so you’re not taxed twice on the same asset. The relief works, but it isn’t automatic in the way a treaty credit is, and it makes a properly drafted structure and a Spanish will worth getting right before completion, not after. The practical takeaway: the buying is easy, the holding is easy, and the estate is where an Irish buyer needs advice specific to the cross-border position. Our Marbella property buying guide walks the purchase steps that sit alongside this planning.
Where do Irish buyers buy, and how do they get there?
The money in Marbella clusters where it always has: the Golden Mile, Sierra Blanca, the gated La Zagaleta estate just over the line in Benahavis, the Golf Valley in Nueva Andalucia, and the boats at Puerto Banus. What makes the coast easy for an Irish buyer is that you’re not the first over the wall. The Irish are the third-largest English-speaking community here after the British, settled through Andalucia, with an Irish club and GAA played within reach of Marbella. You’re buying into a place your own crowd already know, not homesteading a strange one. Our guide to the Marbella Golden Mile covers the prime enclaves in detail. The trip home is short enough to do often. Malaga sits 40 to 60 minutes from Marbella by road and ranks among Europe’s busiest airports, with Dublin among the routes it carries seasonally, so check the current schedule before you build a weekend around it. Palma in Mallorca flies to Dublin too, but that island’s buyers are overwhelmingly German, so an Irish owner there sits among a different crowd than on the Costa del Sol. If Mallorca is on your shortlist, weigh it against Marbella in our Marbella versus Mallorca comparison. Prime values in both markets have stayed firm rather than wobbled. Knight Frank put prime Marbella up 8.1% over 2025. Per-square-metre numbers drift and disagree between sources, so read any single figure as a snapshot with a date on it, not a fixed benchmark to bank on. For the demand side, see who else is competing for the same villas in our Marbella buyer profile guide.
Key takeaways
- The EU edge is real but specific. Euro throughout means nothing to hedge, and you register where a British buyer now applies for a visa. Two headaches Brexit handed them, and skipped you.
- The sale tax is not an Irish edge. Your rent is taxed at 19% on the net, Spain’s kinder band. The 19% on the eventual sale, though, is flat for everyone, Irish or not.
- Marbella completes cheaper than Mallorca. Marbella’s flat 7% transfer tax undercuts Mallorca’s sliding scale by roughly EUR 130,000 on a EUR 3M home.
- The number that governs your sale is 33%. Ireland taxes the gain at 33%, crediting the Spanish 19% through the treaty, so the real figure is collected in Dublin.
- The estate is where you need advice. No Ireland-Spain inheritance treaty means Spanish ISD and Irish CAT can both land on death, cushioned only by unilateral relief. Sort the estate and a Spanish will before you complete, not after.
For exclusive access to Marbella’s most exceptional luxury properties and comprehensive market insight, contact our specialized advisory team at marbella@blackprive.com
Frequently asked questions
Can an Irish citizen buy in Spain without restriction?
Yes. Your EU passport lets you buy anywhere in Spain, no permission needed. Any nationality can own Spanish property, in truth; being Irish just smooths the steps around the purchase.
Do I need a visa to live in my Spanish home?
No. You register instead of applying. Spend real time there and you take a residence certificate, the green certificate, with your NIE. The visa route is for non-EU buyers, the British among them now.
Does buying the villa hand me residency?
Not for anyone. That door shut when the Golden Visa ended on 3 April 2025. You don’t need it anyway: being an EU citizen already gives you the right to register and live there.
Is there any currency risk for an Irish buyer?
None. Euro out, euro in, the same money you already hold, so nothing to hedge across deposit, completion or the bills that follow. It’s the plain advantage a sterling buyer no longer has.
What do the total buying costs come to?
Around 10% to 14% on top of the price, covering transfer tax or VAT, plus notary, registry and legal fees. The Andalucian resale transfer tax, a flat 7%, is the heaviest piece.
Why does Mallorca cost more to complete than Marbella?
Regions set their own transfer tax. Andalucia keeps it flat at 7% on resales; the Balearics run a sliding scale up to 13% above EUR 2M, roughly EUR 130,000 more on a EUR 3M home.
How is my rental income taxed?
At 19% on the net after allowable costs, the EU band, against the 24% on gross that non-EU owners pay. A 2025 ruling may close that gap for non-EU owners, but it isn’t final yet.
What does Spain take when I sell?
A flat 19% on the gain, same for every non-resident, with the buyer holding back 3% of the price as an advance. An Irish seller pays exactly what a British one does at this stage.
Do I owe Irish tax on the Spanish villa as well?
Yes. Ireland taxes worldwide gains. Irish CGT is 33%, and the Ireland-Spain treaty credits the Spanish 19% you’ve paid, so you settle at the higher rate, not both stacked.
What happens to the property when I die?
With no Ireland-Spain inheritance treaty, Spanish inheritance tax and Irish CAT can both reach it. Ireland’s unilateral relief credits the Spanish tax so it isn’t taxed twice, but this needs planning.
What are the Irish CAT thresholds?
CAT runs at 33% above a threshold set by relationship: broadly EUR 400,000 for a child, EUR 40,000 for other close relatives, EUR 20,000 for anyone else. Confirm the current figures with Revenue.
Should I make a Spanish will?
It’s usually advised for assets sitting in Spain, and doubly worth getting right with no inheritance treaty in place. Take local legal advice; succession rules turn on the specifics.
How long does the purchase take?
Roughly six to ten weeks from accepted offer to signing on a resale, then another two to six weeks for the deed to register.
Is there really an Irish community on the Costa del Sol?
Yes. The Irish are the third-largest English-speaking group after the British, settled through Andalucia, with an Irish club and GAA played near Marbella.
Can I let the villa to cover its costs?
Sometimes, though tourist-rental licences are tightly held, the Balearics especially. Check the licence position for the exact property before you count on the income.
Sources
- Agencia Tributaria (non-resident income tax, capital gains, residency)
- Junta de Andalucia (regional transfer tax and stamp duty)
- Govern de les Illes Balears (Balearic transfer tax and stamp duty)
- BOE (Ley Organica 1/2025, Golden Visa closure)
- Irish Revenue (CGT 33%, CAT, Ireland-Spain double-tax treaty 1994, unilateral relief)
- Knight Frank Wealth Report 2026 (prime price growth)
- Aena (Malaga and Palma airports)
Figures current at July 2026; tax rates and thresholds should be confirmed at the point of purchase.
About the author
Alexander Thornbury 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.