New rules for foreign real estate buyers and investors in Spain
Since February 1, 2024, new rules apply for foreign buyers of real estate and investors in Spanish companies. These changes were introduced by Ministerial Decree(ECM/57/2024) of 31/01/2024 and Royal Decree(571/2023) of 04/07/2023.
Entry in the Spanish investment register:
- New threshold for real estate purchases: The threshold for registering in the Spanish Investment Register of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has been reduced from 3 million euros to 500,000 euros.
- Obligation to register: The buyer of a property must take care of the entry in the register himself.
- Deadline: The registration must be made within one month of the purchase.
- Form: Form D-1A must be completed and submitted.
- Support: Real estate agents, Gestoria or a lawyer can help with the registration.
- Self-registration: With the free AFORIX software, online registration is possible in just a few minutes.
Registration of shareholdings in companies:
- Obligation to register: Shareholdings in Spanish companies (Sociedades) of 10%or more mustbe entered in the register.
- No differentiation: It does not matter whether the participation is achieved upon formation or through the purchase of shares.
Tax and legal implications:
- Currently no impact: The register currently only serves to collect information.
- Future changes possible: It is possible that tax or legal implications may be introduced in the future.
Conclusion:
The new rules for foreign real estate buyers and investors in Spain are important to note. The most important points are the new limits for entry in the investment register, the reporting obligation for the buyer and the new regulation for shareholdings in companies.
Further information and links:
- Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism: https://www.mintur.gob.es/en-us
- Real Decreto 571/2023: https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2023-15549
- Orden ECM/57/2024: https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2024-1774
- Software AFORIX: https://oficinavirtual.comercio.gob.es/AFORIXUpdater/
Note: This information is for guidance only and does not replace professional advice.
(Read more in our news section or on LinkedIn)
