cadastral value vs market value
Why do you need to know the Cadastral Value when buying a home in …..
What is the Catastro?
Firstly you may hear this called both the “Cadastral” and the “ Cadastro” basically these refer to the same thing, this is a record of the fiscal value, for tax purposes, held by the Ministry of Finance and this keeps a record of every piece of land, rustic buildings, urban plots, townhouses and other real estate assets together with a record of their taxable legal status (please note that this is different from their actual legal status in some cases) This forms part of what you may know as the “land registry” This keeps a record of the monetary value and records this for all properties.
The details that are recorded include things such as the properties’ location, the Catastral reference number, the type and use of the property or land, the surface area recorded.
Everything is recorded in electronic format and is easily accessible for each property making it easy to check some basic information, although as above, this all needs to be double-checked against the Escritura (title deed) especially for the legal status of any buildings. We have seen numerous cases where a building is listed as a “Vivienda” on the Catastro but is not listed as such in the deeds.
How is the cadastral value calculated?
There are a number of factors that are used when calculating the cadastral or fiscal value of a property. These include the following:
1 – The location and surroundings of the property such as urban or rural, the productivity of the region, the land use and its water rights.
2 – The material characteristics of any buildings
3 – A perceived market valuation for tax purposes
The value is updated regularly by applying a number of calculations that are set in the state budget. It can very different from the market value depending on the are and property type. We will explore this in a little more detail later.
What is the cadastral value used for?
Basically, the value is used for working out the taxes that you will pay on your property.
1 – Local councils will use the cadastral value to calculate your (IBI) tax.
2 – It can also be used to calculate how much Capital gains tax you will have to pay on the sale of your property.
How do I find out the Cadastral value of my home?
You can see the fiscal value of your property on:
1 – Your IBI property tax bill
2 – Your annual tax return
3 – The local branch of the land registry “Registro” for your area
Why is this value so important when buying a property in Spain?
It is perfectly legal for the buyer and seller to agree on the selling price provided it is a legal transaction and not an attempt to avoid creditors or taxes. However, the taxman in Spain takes a different view and this issue is of very real importance. It needs to be remembered that the transfer tax 7% (this varies, please get in touch for up to date rates) must be paid according to the highest value of these three: Cadastral value, Market value or price agreed by vendor and purchaser.
The purchaser is more likely to be caught out than the seller, however, and unsurprisingly the taxman will always go for the purchaser as they will be the owner of an asset, i.e. the newly purchased house, against which they can place a charge if necessary; and mainly because the purchaser is the person liable for the Transfer Tax in Spain.
This is why it is so important to know the fiscal value as you could find out that this is higher than the market value that you have paid and potentially get stung with an unexpected tax bill.
If you are unsure of how this might affect your house purchase or sale, even if you are not using our services, we can offer some free advice and guidance on how this impact your sale or purchase,
Just get in touch for a quick chat or download our free buyers guide here:https://lanjaronproperty.com/downloads/
cadastral value vs market value – You can also get more advice about moving to Spain from www.tusalpujarras.com
