When considering the purchase of a house, it is essential to take into account not only the price agreed with the seller, but also the taxes associated with the transaction. One of the most relevant taxes in the purchase and sale of used homes is the Property Transfer Tax (ITP). Each autonomous community decides the percentage to be applied on the reference value of the Cadastre, unless the purchase price is higher, in which case it will be applied on that price.

Using data from idealista, we carried out an analysis of the average price of a two-bedroom home in the provincial capitals, as well as the calculation of the ITP paid in each autonomous community for the purchase of a second-hand home.

In the provincial capitals, Barcelona stands out as the city where the highest ITP is paid, around 30,216 euros, applying an autonomous tax rate of 10% on the average price of a two-bedroom home, which is 302,164 euros according to May data from idealista. Although it is not the city with the highest housing prices in Spain, it does apply one of the highest percentages in used housing transactions.

In addition to Barcelona, the 10% tax rate is also applied in other Catalan capitals, as well as in the four Galician capitals and the three Valencian capitals. Although their housing prices are more affordable, they are at the top of the table in terms of tax burden for the purchase of a used home. For example, Girona (18,839 euros), Valencia (18,471 euros), A Coruña (17,136 euros) and Alicante (16,710 euros) are some of the cities where more taxes are paid for the purchase of a second-hand home.

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In Palma (355,041 euros), average prices are higher than in Barcelona, but when applying a levy of 8%, the amount of taxes is lower, with an average of 28,403 euros. On the other hand, San Sebastian (372,592 euros) represents a significant contrast, as it has the highest average price for a two-bedroom home, but one of the lowest ITP percentages in Spain, just 4%. As a result, the taxes payable average 14,904 euros, lower than all the previous cases.

In Madrid (263,746 euros), an ITP of 6% is applied, resulting in taxes for the purchase of a second-hand home of approximately 15,825 euros, below the group of capitals with an ITP of 10% and with lower average prices.

There are 25 capitals in which the ITP is less than 10,000 euros, among which Zaragoza (114,695 euros) and Bilbao (200,512 euros) stand out. These cities, after applying an ITP of 8% and 4% respectively, have an average tax payable of approximately 9,186 euros and 8,020 euros.