Inheriting a home in Catalonia: tax and plusvalía deadlines

Only selling, not inheriting?

This guide is about inheritance. If you are selling a home you bought, your part is on your town's page.

The deadlines below start with a death. An ordinary sale has its own block on each town page, with that town's land-value tax and costs. Choose yours:

The calendar

The deadlines that start on the day of the death

What	Deadline	Law
Inheritance tax	6 months; 6-month extension if requested within the first 5	Real Decreto 1629/1991, Reglamento del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones, arts. 67 y 68
Plusvalía (the council tax on the rise in land value)	6 months; up to 1 year with an extension	Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, texto refundido de la Ley reguladora de las Haciendas Locales, art. 110.2

Catalan inheritance tax: 95% reduction on the deceased's main home for spouse, descendants and ascendants (and relatives such as siblings over 65 who lived with the deceased for the previous 2 years), capped at €500,000 shared among the heirs, never less than €180,000 each. The home must be kept for 5 years, or the heir's own main home bought with its value (also if the money pays down the heir's mortgage).
Source: Decreto Legislativo 1/2024, libro sexto del Código tributario de Catalunya, arts. 631-17 a 631-19 · read 25 September 2026
Catalan inheritance tax: the surviving spouse gets a 99% credit on the tax due.
Source: Decreto Legislativo 1/2024, libro sexto del Código tributario de Catalunya, art. 633-4.1 · read 26 September 2026
Income tax: death does not create a capital gain for the deceased. The municipal tax on land value is a separate tax: the heir pays it if the land has gained value.
Source: Ley 35/2006, del IRPF, art. 33.3.b · read 25 September 2026

Before you sign anything, have a lawyer or a gestoría in your town look at it. Here are the deadlines and rules, with sources, so you arrive with the questions ready.

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Inheriting with your siblings

If the house has been left to all of you, there are three ways forward

Keep owning it together, let one of you keep the house and compensate the others, or sell it and share the money. Each way has its own taxes, and the inheritance deadlines run without waiting for you to agree.

Keep owning it together
Until someone splits the house it belongs to all of you at once: each sibling holds a share of the whole, not a room. The deadlines do not care whether you agree.
- Inheritance tax: 6 months from the death, with a 6-month extension if requested within the first 5.
- Plusvalía on the inheritance: 6 months, up to 1 year with an extension.
One of you keeps the house and compensates the others
The Tax Agency calls this ending the co-ownership. What you pay depends on how it is split; for a single home, these are the cases:
- If each of you takes what your share entitles you to, nobody has a capital change in their assets (art. 33.2 of the income tax law).
- If the house cannot be divided, goes whole to one of you and that sibling pays the others in cash, the one who keeps it pays stamp duty on documents (AJD) on the part acquired anew. The others only have a capital gain if the house is now worth more than when the heirs' co-ownership began.
- If it is split without respecting the shares, the excess is taxed as inheritance if nobody compensates, and as property transfer tax (ITP) if there is cash compensation.
Sell the house and share the money
A sale has its own deadlines and does not cancel those of the inheritance.
- Plusvalía on the sale: 30 working days from signing.
- Check the two “don't sell before…” rules below before you list it: selling too early can lose a relief.

Who pays each tax

Tax	Who pays	Deadline or condition	Source
Inheritance tax	Each heir. The 95% reduction on the main home is capped at €500,000 shared among the heirs, and never less than €180,000 each.	6 months from the death. The home must be kept 5 years.	Decreto Legislativo 1/2024, libro sexto del Código tributario de Catalunya, arts. 631-17 a 631-19; Real Decreto 1629/1991, Reglamento del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones, arts. 67 y 68
Plusvalía on the inheritance	Whoever inherits, if the land has gained value. The relief depends on each council.	6 months, up to 1 year with an extension.	Ley 35/2006, del IRPF, art. 33.3.b; Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, texto refundido de la Ley reguladora de las Haciendas Locales, art. 110.2
When you split the house between you	Whoever keeps the house, stamp duty on documents (AJD) on the part acquired anew. The others, only if the house has gone up in value.	In the deed that allots the house.	Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT), Income Tax practical manual 2024, chapter 11, “Table: excess allotments when co-ownership ends. TEAC ruling of 7 June 2018” (page updated 10/04/2025; read on 18/10/2026)
Plusvalía on the sale, if you sell	Whoever sells.	30 working days from signing.	Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, texto refundido de la Ley reguladora de las Haciendas Locales, art. 110.2

In Badalona, Gavà and Mataró (of the 7 bylaws we have read), the plusvalía relief requires the heir to be registered at the home too. If none of you lives there, check your council's condition before counting on it.
If you inherit from a sibling rather than from your parents, you are collateral relatives: the inheritance-tax reduction on the main home only reaches collateral relatives over 65 who lived with the deceased for the previous 2 years.

There are no figures here for what each of you would pay: they depend on the shares, the value of the house and what you agree. A lawyer or a gestoría works that out, and the form above is there so you arrive with your questions ready.

Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT), Income Tax practical manual 2024, chapter 11, “Table: excess allotments when co-ownership ends. TEAC ruling of 7 June 2018” (page updated 10/04/2025; read on 18/10/2026)

The two “don't sell before…” rules

Inheritance tax requires you to keep the home for 5 years; each council sets its own period for plusvalía

Inheritance tax (main-home reduction)5 years
Plusvalía, Badalona10 years
Plusvalía, Barcelona3 years
Plusvalía, Castelldefels3 years
Plusvalía, El Masnou2 years
Plusvalía, Gavà5 years
Plusvalía, Mataró4 years
Plusvalía, Sant Cugat del Vallès4 years

Selling early loses you that council's plusvalía relief. Inheritance tax works differently: if the money goes into the heir's own main home of equal value, the reduction stays. Check both periods before you put the home on the market.

What each council says

Plusvalía relief when you inherit, read in each council's bylaw

Badalona95%

Land value up to €30,00095%
Land value up to €45,00050%
Land value up to €60,00025%

Who: Spouse, ascendants and adoptive parents, descendants and adopted children
Condition: Main home of both the deceased and the heir (it still counts if the deceased lived in a care home). Only if the land's cadastral value is under €60,000; the percentage falls in bands of that value.; Keep it 10 years; If it is sold within 10 years, the relieved amount must be paid within 30 days, with interest.
How to apply: With the tax return, attaching the documents that support the relief.

Rate 30% · Source: Ordenança fiscal núm. 4 de l'IIVTNU, art. de bonificacions — Ajuntament de Badalona (ordenances fiscals 2023) · read 26 September 2026

Barcelona95%

Who: Spouse, descendants and ascendants
Condition: The deceased's main home. No cap on the land value.; Keep it 3 years; If it is sold within 3 years of the death, the relief is paid back with interest.

Rate 30% · Source: Ordenança fiscal 1.3 de l'IIVTNU, art. 9 — Ajuntament de Barcelona · read 25 September 2026

Castelldefels95%

Who: Children and adopted children, spouse and parents (first degree)
Condition: The deceased's main home, checked against the census register. A storage room and up to two parking spaces in the same building count too.; Keep it 3 years
How to apply: In writing, within the deadline to declare the tax, with the inheritance already accepted.

Rate 30% · Source: Ordenança fiscal núm. 5 de l'IIVTNU, bonificacions potestatives B.1 — Ajuntament de Castelldefels (text consolidat vigent l'1/1/2026) · read 26 September 2026

El Masnou95%

Who: Children and adopted children, spouse, parents and adoptive parents (first degree)
Condition: The deceased's main home (the registered address; it still counts if the registration ended for health reasons). A storage room and up to two parking spaces in the same building count too.; Keep it 2 years; If it is sold within 2 years of the death, the council charges the full tax and what was paid counts towards it.
How to apply: With supporting documents, within the ordinance's filing deadlines.

Rate 30% · Source: Ordenança fiscal núm. 6 de l'IIVTNU, bonificacions — Ajuntament del Masnou (ordenances fiscals 2025) · read 26 September 2026

Gavà95%

Who: Spouse or civil partner, descendants and adopted children, ascendants and adoptive parents
Condition: Main home of both the deceased and the heir (the registered address; it still counts if the registration ended for health reasons). 95% for a spouse or partner aged 65 or over and for heirs with a physical disability of at least 65% or any mental disability; 75% for descendants under 21; 50% otherwise.; Keep it 5 years; If it is sold within 5 years, the relief must be paid back with interest within a month of the sale.
How to apply: Within the deadline to declare the tax: 6 months from the death, extendable to 1 year if requested within the first 6. With supporting documents and proof of registration at the home.

Rate 30% · Source: Ordenança fiscal núm. 4 de l'IIVTNU, art. 6.2 — Ajuntament de Gavà (BOPB 21/12/2023, vigente desde 2024; ordenanzas 2026 del ORGT de la Diputació de Barcelona) · read 26 September 2026

Mataró95%

Land value up to €78,64795%
Land value up to €117,97175%
Above that50%

Who: Descendants and adopted children, spouse or civil partner, ascendants and adoptive parents
Condition: Main home of both the deceased and the heir: both registered there for at least the 2 years before the death. The percentage depends on the land's cadastral value.; Keep it 4 years
How to apply: Within the deadline to declare the tax: 6 months from the death, or 1 year with an extension. With the will or declaration of heirs and the deed of acceptance.

Rate 30% · Source: Ordenança fiscal 2.1 de l'IIVTNU, art. 8.1 — Ajuntament de Mataró (text refós 2026) · read 26 September 2026

Sant Cugat del Vallès95%

Who: Children or parents (first degree, adoptive included) and spouse or civil partner
Condition: 95% if it is the deceased's main home (the registered address). Otherwise: 50% for children or parents and 60% for the spouse.; Keep it 4 years; If it is sold within 4 years, the council charges the relieved amount.

Rate 30% · Source: Ordenança fiscal núm. 4 de l'IIVTNU, art. 6 — Ajuntament de Sant Cugat del Vallès (última modificació 09/09/2025) · read 26 September 2026

Other towns: plusvalía rate (2026)

We haven't yet read the inheritance relief in these bylaws in full. The rate comes from the Ministry of Finance and is the same in every case.

If you sell later

What changes when you sell the inherited home

Municipal tax on land value: 30 working days to declare it after a sale; 6 months after an inheritance, extendable to one year on request.
Source: Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2004, texto refundido de la Ley reguladora de las Haciendas Locales, art. 110.2 · read 25 September 2026
Income tax: the gain on selling your main home is exempt if you reinvest the proceeds in another main home within 2 years. It counts as a main home after at least 3 years living there.
Source: Ley 35/2006, del IRPF, y Real Decreto 439/2007, su Reglamento, LIRPF art. 38.1; RIRPF arts. 41 y 41 bis · read 25 September 2026
Income tax: from age 65 (or with severe or high dependency), the gain on selling your main home (or the one that was your main home in the previous 2 years) is exempt.
Source: Ley 35/2006, del IRPF, art. 33.4.b · read 25 September 2026
The Land Registry reference value is the minimum tax base for inheritance tax and transfer tax: declare less and the tax office uses the reference value.
Source: Ley 29/1987, del Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones (redacción de la Ley 11/2021), art. 9.3 · read 25 September 2026

Documents you need to sell

What the law requires when you sign

Selling requires a registered energy performance certificate; the buyer receives a copy with the contract.
Source: Real Decreto 390/2021, arts. 3.1.b y 17 · read 25 September 2026
The deed must show you are up to date with the owners' association (certificate from the secretary, approved by the president).
Source: Ley 49/1960, de Propiedad Horizontal, art. 9.1.e · read 25 September 2026

If you let it instead of selling

Income tax: rental income from a home is reduced by 50%; 60% if renovated in the previous 2 years; 70% for a first letting in a stressed area to a tenant aged 18-35 (or to a social-housing body); 90% in a stressed area if the new contract cuts the rent by more than 5%.
Source: Ley 35/2006, del IRPF (redacción de la Ley 12/2023), art. 23.2 · read 25 September 2026

This sets out the deadlines and rules; it doesn't replace whoever is handling the estate. A gestor, a lawyer or the notary will confirm each case.

Inheriting a home in Catalonia: the deadlines that overlap