SOBE KNOWLEDGE
Buy Property Through a Spanish SL Calculator
Compare a new Spanish company with your existing SL, calculate acquisition costs, annual company expenses, corporate tax and the cash required to purchase property in Spain.
1 · Purchase structure
2 · Property
For ITP, the estimate uses the higher of price and entered reference value.
3 · Purchase taxes
4 · Professional purchase costs
5A · New Spanish SL
5B · Existing Spanish SL
Existing company risk review
6 · Funding
7 · Property income and operating costs
8 · Company overhead
9 · Depreciation
Automatically filled from non-recoverable acquisition costs; editable.
Formula: depreciable building basis = capitalised acquisition cost × building share; annual building depreciation = basis × selected Corporate Tax rate. Land is not depreciated. Accounting depreciation and tax-deductible depreciation may differ. Confirm the capitalised basis, land allocation and applicable coefficient with the company accountant.
10 · Corporate Tax classification
11 · Profit extraction
12 · Holding period and exit
13 · Comparison
| Metric | New Spanish SL | Existing Spanish SL |
|---|
Buying through an SL is a structure, not an automatic tax saving
The company changes the legal owner, accounting, funding and exit route; it does not make the property automatically cheaper.
A Spanish SL can ring-fence an investment, organise several investors and retain profit for reinvestment. It also creates annual accounts, Corporate Tax, bookkeeping, filing and governance costs. The right comparison is the full lifecycle: completion cash, operating tax, extraction and exit.
A new SL does not automatically qualify for 15% Corporate Tax
The reduced new-company rate depends on a qualifying new economic activity, not simply on a recent incorporation date.
The calculator treats 15% as a preliminary scenario only where the entered facts indicate an active new business. A patrimonial entity, a transferred pre-existing activity or a company that does not meet the statutory conditions may fall outside that treatment.
A property-holding company may be treated as a patrimonial entity
A company that mainly holds passive assets may not receive the same treatment as an active operating business.
For property letting, the Corporate Tax definition of economic activity generally requires at least one full-time employee under an employment contract. The final analysis also depends on the company’s full balance sheet, group position and real organisation.
VAT recovery depends on the property’s taxable use
Being an SL is not itself a VAT recovery test.
Long-term residential letting is generally exempt, while hotel-type accommodation and taxable commercial activity can produce a different result. Mixed activities may require pro rata, capital-goods adjustments and evidence of intended taxable use.
Existing companies carry their history into the acquisition
An existing SL can save setup time while importing its debts, guarantees, tax history and unrelated operating risk.
Before completion, review filings, annual accounts, tax and Social Security status, litigation, guarantees, corporate purpose, VAT position and whether the available cash can be used without harming the existing business.
Company cash flow is not the same as personal cash received
Profit retained in the SL remains company money until it is lawfully extracted or spent by the company.
The calculator separates Corporate Tax, retained earnings, debt principal and estimated dividend-level tax. Shareholder-loan interest and repayments also require their own documentation and shareholder-level review.
Private use of company-owned property creates additional risk
A company home used by a shareholder or director is not the same as a privately owned home.
Market-value rent, benefit-in-kind, dividend treatment, related-party documentation and deductibility can all become relevant. The calculator therefore sends private-use scenarios to professional review rather than presenting an automatic positive indication.
The exit should be considered before the purchase
The entity that buys the property also determines where the sale proceeds and gain first arise.
A property sale produces company-level gain and cash. Personal receipt may then trigger a second layer of tax. A possible share sale is a separate transaction with buyer, liability, tax and due-diligence issues and is not treated as equivalent in this model.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to buy Spanish property through an SL?
Not automatically. An SL can be useful for ring-fencing, several investors, active property business or reinvestment, but purchase tax, annual compliance, Corporate Tax, profit extraction and exit costs must be compared with the intended use.
Should I create a new SL or use my existing company?
A new SL can isolate the property from historic liabilities and unrelated business risk. An existing clean active SL can reduce setup time and duplicate overhead. Existing-company due diligence should be completed before the property is acquired.
Does a new Spanish SL pay only 15% Corporate Tax?
No. The 15% rate applies only to qualifying new entities that carry on a new economic activity, for the first positive tax period and the following one, subject to statutory exclusions. A new incorporation date alone is not enough.
What is a patrimonial entity?
For Corporate Tax purposes, it is broadly an entity in which more than half of the assets consist of securities or assets not connected with an economic activity, applying the statutory balance-sheet and group rules. It requires a company-wide review.
Does an SL recover VAT when buying property?
Only to the extent that the acquisition is used for activities that give a right to deduct VAT and the formal and evidence requirements are met. Long-term residential letting is generally exempt and normally does not support recovery.
What taxes does an SL pay when buying resale property?
In Andalucía, the calculator uses the general 7% ITP rate on the higher of the entered price and reference value where applicable, plus professional costs. A special 2% professional-resale rate is used only after the user confirms the qualifying treatment.
What taxes apply to a new-build purchase by an SL?
The calculator uses 10% VAT for a dwelling and 21% for a commercial property or building plot, together with the general Andalucía AJD rate of 1.2%. VAT recovery is modelled separately and is never assumed merely because the buyer is an SL.
Can the shareholder use company-owned property privately?
Private use can create related-party, benefit-in-kind, dividend, deductibility and valuation consequences. The use should be documented and reviewed with Spanish tax and legal advisers.
Can the shareholder lend money to the SL?
Yes, but the loan should be documented, commercially supportable and valued on arm’s-length terms. Interest, repayment, withholding and shareholder-level taxation require separate review.
Is share capital a purchase expense?
No. Share capital is funding contributed to the company and remains an asset of the company. It is included in the cash required to establish the SL but not in the expense total.
Can the company deduct mortgage interest?
Mortgage interest may be an accounting and tax expense where it is properly connected with the activity and subject to the Corporate Tax rules. Principal repayment is not deducted from taxable profit and is shown only in cash flow.
How is company-owned property depreciated?
The calculator applies the selected Corporate Tax depreciation rate to the building share of the capitalised basis and depreciates furniture separately. Land is not depreciated. The accountant should confirm the basis, useful life and tax coefficient.
What happens when the SL sells the property?
The calculator estimates company gain from net transfer value less tax-adjusted acquisition value, including the effect of accumulated depreciation, then applies the selected Corporate Tax rate and deducts sale costs, plusvalía and debt repayment from cash.
Is using an existing SL risky?
It can be. Historic debt, tax liabilities, guarantees, litigation, unclear accounts, negative equity, unrelated operations and VAT pro-rata can affect the property. Legal and accounting due diligence is essential when red flags exist.
Does this calculator replace an accountant or lawyer?
No. It is a preliminary decision tool. It does not provide a binding classification, VAT ruling, treaty determination, legal due diligence or transaction-specific tax opinion.
Related
General information only — not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice, not a binding classification, ruling, valuation or offer. Results depend on the inputs and simplified assumptions. Rates and treatment can change and may depend on group companies, shareholder residence, actual activity, contracts, evidence and the complete transaction documents. Obtain transaction-specific advice from a Spanish lawyer and accountant before reserving, funding or completing a purchase.