The new regulation of municipal surplus value approved "in extremis" by the Ministry of Finance, and according to Royal Decree-Law 26/2021 provides for two alternatives for calculating municipal surplus value: an objective one, which is the one that has been used until now applying to the cadastral value of the land the result of multiplying the coefficient provided for in the law, and another real formula that is obtained by comparing the values of acquisition and transmission of the land and taxing the difference.

The taxpayer should know that if he wants to use this last method he must expressly request it because if not, the other method will be applied by default and he can lose out.

The regulations adapt the tax to changes in the real estate market, in such a way that it seeks to pay capital gain only in case a home is sold or transferred when there has been a profit. Whoever sells a house at a loss will be exempt from payment.

Thus, the royal decree law establishes two alternatives for calculating the tax:

  • The objective formula: in this case the cadastral value of the property will be multiplied with new coefficients. Each year new coefficients will be approved that will be contemplated, for example, in the General State Budget Law and will evolve according to the real estate market. It is an optional method, since the taxpayer has the possibility of taxing based on the real capital gain obtained at the time of the transfer of the property.
  • The real formula: it will be a calculation of the difference between the sale or transfer price and the purchase or acquisition price of the property. If the taxpayer proves that the real surplus value is lower than that resulting from the objective estimation method, he may apply the real one.

On the other hand, the new ordinance incorporates as a figure exempt from the payment of this tax the cases of transmissions mortis causa between women who died due to gender violence and minor or disabled children subject to parental authority, guardianship or support in the exercise of their legal capacity.

In these cases, the full amount of the tax will be subsidized according to the cadastral value of the land corresponding to said goods, through the application of the following reducing percentages:

  1. a) 95% if the cadastral value of the land is less than or equal to 60,000 euros.
  2. b) 85% if the cadastral value of the land is greater than 60,000 euros and does not exceed 100,000 euros.
  3. c) 70% if the cadastral value of the land is greater than 100,000 euros and does not exceed 138,000 euros.
  4. d) 40% if the cadastral value of the land is greater than 138,000 euros.

The taxpayer must request that the actual calculation system be applied to him

The taxpayer must know how to declare the tax in the municipality where the house is located, as it can be a self-assessment or a settlement.

In the event that it is the City Council that turns the settlement of the municipal capital gain, the taxpayer must declare the transfer previously, agreeing to request the consistory to calculate the taxable base according to the real method, if it is more beneficial. For this, you must also provide the deeds of acquisition and transfer of the land, as well as the receipt of the IBI of the year of the transmission, as Salcedo recalls.

In the event that it is the taxpayer himself who is obliged to self-liquidate the capital gain, he must do so directly according to the real method if it is the one that interests him most.

What happens if the taxpayer forgets to declare or self-assess the capital gain according to the real method of calculation?

In the event that the taxpayer will self-assess the tax according to the objective system and subsequently discovers that it would have been better to have done so under the real method of the taxable base, he will not be able to do anything, if the period provided for in the law to self-assess the tax has already ended.

In addition, all those who declare or self-assess the tax after the deadline, could also see how the City Council denies them the possibility of resorting to the real method of calculating the tax base.