What Selling Your California Home Buys You in Spain: $800K, $1.2M and $2M

Decision
Written By Daria Kulachek

The median California home sold for $904,640 in June 2026. The wire that lands in your account is not $904,640.

That gap — between the number on the listing and the number you can actually spend in euros — is where most Spain plans go wrong. People do the fun math first (a 200 m² apartment three blocks from the beach in Valencia) and the boring math never. Then escrow closes, the commission comes out, the tax bill shows up in April, and the budget has quietly shrunk by 15%.

So let's do the boring math first, then the fun part.

Everything below is priced at the EUR/USD rate of 1.1397 on July 27, 2026. Move that rate three cents and a $1.2M sale swings by roughly €25,000. It matters.

What does your sale price actually turn into?

Four things happen between "sold" and "spendable euros."

1. California selling costs. Total agent commission in California averages 5.47% — about 2.73% listing side, 2.74% buyer side. Escrow, title, county documentary transfer tax ($1.10 per $1,000 in most counties), and the rest of the closing items add roughly 2.7% more. Call it 8.2% of sale price, gone before anything else.

If you're selling inside the City of Los Angeles, check Measure ULA. As of transactions closing after June 30, 2026, the thresholds are $5.4 million (4%) and $10.9 million (5.5%). Below $5.4M it doesn't touch you. Above it, it's brutal.

2. Federal capital gains — minus the Section 121 exclusion. If you owned and lived in the home for two of the last five years, you exclude $250,000 of gain filing single, $500,000 married filing jointly. Those numbers are statutory and have not been indexed for inflation since 1997. That's the whole story of why so many long-tenured California sellers get a nasty surprise: the exclusion is frozen, the equity is not.

Gain above the exclusion is taxed at 15% or 20% federal long-term rates, plus the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax if your modified AGI clears $250,000 married / $200,000 single.

3. California state tax. California has no separate capital-gains rate — gain is taxed as ordinary income, topping out at 13.3%. Most sellers in this range land in the 9.3% bracket ($145,449–$742,958 taxable income, married filing jointly, 2026). And moving to Spain first doesn't fix it: gain on California real property is California-source income no matter where you're sitting when you sign.

4. The currency conversion. Mid-market EUR/USD is not what your bank gives you. A 1% spread on a $1.1 million transfer is about €9,600 — real money, and avoidable with an FX broker instead of a retail wire.

The worked example: a $1.2M sale in Los Angeles

Take a hypothetical LA County couple, married filing jointly, home owned outright, bought in 2006.

Line Amount
Sale price $1,200,000
Agent commission (5.47%) −$65,640
Escrow, title, transfer tax, other (2.72%) −$32,640
Net proceeds $1,101,700
Cost basis ($520,000 purchase + $60,000 improvements) −$580,000
Gain $521,700
Section 121 exclusion (MFJ) −$500,000
Taxable gain $21,700
Tax at 15% federal + 9.3% CA + 3.8% NIIT −$6,100
Cash to wire $1,095,600
Converted at 1.1397 €961,300
Less a 1% bank FX spread €951,700

Now Spain takes its cut. In Valencia, transfer tax plus notary, land registry, lawyer and gestoría runs about 12% on top of the price. €951,700 ÷ 1.12 = a €849,000 purchase price.

Sale price $1,200,000. Signable Spanish property: about €849,000, or $968,000. You lost roughly 19% of the headline number in transit.

Now run the identical numbers as a single filer. The exclusion drops to $250,000, taxable gain jumps to $271,700, and the tax bill goes from $6,100 to roughly $76,000. Same house. Same equity. One filing status.

What does $800,000 buy?

Assumptions for all three tiers: home owned outright (a remaining mortgage comes straight off the top), 8.2% California selling costs, gain fits inside the $500,000 married exclusion, EUR/USD 1.1397, Spanish acquisition costs of 2–3% for notary/registry/legal on top of regional transfer tax.

A $800,000 sale nets $734,400, or €644,000.

Market Costs on top Price you can sign €/m² (June 2026) Size
Alicante ~12% €575,000 2,575 223 m² (2,400 sq ft)
Valencia ~12% €575,000 3,370 171 m² (1,840 sq ft)
Málaga ~10% €585,000 3,784 155 m² (1,670 sq ft)
Palma de Mallorca ~11% €578,000 5,257 110 m² (1,185 sq ft)
Barcelona ~13% €570,000 5,269 108 m² (1,165 sq ft)
Madrid ~9% €590,000 6,013 98 m² (1,055 sq ft)

The spread is the point. The same American dollar buys more than twice the floor area in Alicante that it buys in Madrid. Not a better neighborhood, not a nicer finish — twice the square meters.

At this tier you're buying comfortably, not scraping. In Alicante, €575,000 is a large apartment in a good central or beachfront district with room to spare — the Playa de San Juan–El Cabo district averaged 3,686 €/m² in April 2026, so even the premium coastal strip is reachable at around 155 m². In Madrid, €590,000 is a solid two-bedroom in a mid-tier district and nothing more.

What does $1.2 million buy?

A $1.2M sale nets $1,101,600, or €966,000 before FX spread.

Market Costs on top Price you can sign €/m² (June 2026) Size
Alicante ~12% €862,500 2,575 335 m² (3,605 sq ft)
Valencia ~12% €862,500 3,370 256 m² (2,755 sq ft)
Málaga ~10% €878,000 3,784 232 m² (2,495 sq ft)
Palma de Mallorca ~12% €863,000 5,257 164 m² (1,765 sq ft)
Barcelona ~13% €852,000 5,269 162 m² (1,745 sq ft)
Madrid ~9% €886,000 6,013 147 m² (1,580 sq ft)

This is the tier where the strategy question gets interesting, because at this level most buyers stop asking "what's the biggest thing I can buy" and start asking "what's the right thing." €862,500 in Valencia buys 256 m² of apartment — which is more apartment than almost anyone wants. The smarter version is often a 140 m² place in Ruzafa or El Carmen plus €400,000 left over, invested or held as runway.

Nobody needs a 3,600 sq ft flat in Alicante. Plenty of people need three years of not working.

Not sure which tier you're actually in? The gap between your sale price and your real Spanish budget depends on your basis, your filing status and your mortgage — three things a generic calculator can't see. Book a free consultation and we'll run your actual numbers. If you'd rather read first, the free Spain property guide walks the whole purchase process end to end.

What does $2 million buy?

A $2M sale nets $1,836,000, or €1,611,000. At this level the $500,000 exclusion often stops covering the gain, so treat this row as the optimistic case and read the caveats below.

Market Costs on top Price you can sign €/m² (June 2026) Size
Alicante ~14% €1,413,000 2,575 see caveat
Valencia ~14% €1,413,000 3,370 419 m² (4,510 sq ft)
Málaga ~10% €1,465,000 3,784 387 m² (4,165 sq ft)
Palma de Mallorca ~13% €1,427,000 5,257 271 m² (2,915 sq ft)
Barcelona ~14% €1,414,000 5,269 268 m² (2,885 sq ft)
Madrid ~9% €1,478,000 6,013 246 m² (2,645 sq ft)

Note the Valencia region cost jump: the ITP transfer tax dropped from 10% to 9% on June 1, 2026 under Law 5/2025 — but the 9% rate only applies to properties valued up to €1,000,000. Above that line the rate is 11%, unchanged. Stamp duty (AJD) came down at the same time, from 1.5% to 1.4%. Cross the million-euro mark and the discount doesn't just disappear — you pay more than you would have under the old flat 10%.

Why do Spanish purchase costs swing from 9% to 14%?

Because transfer tax (ITP, on resale property) is set by each autonomous community, not by Madrid. Current general rates on second-hand homes:

Region ITP on resale homes
Community of Madrid 6%
Andalucía (Málaga, Marbella, Sevilla) 7%
Comunitat Valenciana (Valencia, Alicante) 9% up to €1M, 11% above
Balearics (Mallorca, Ibiza) 8% / 9% / 10% / 12% / 13% progressive scale
Catalonia (Barcelona) 10% / 11% / 12% / 13% progressive scale

Add roughly 2–3% for notary, land registry, your lawyer and the gestoría. New-build purchases work differently — 10% VAT plus 1.2–1.5% stamp duty (AJD) instead of ITP.

One thing that is not a cost: the "100% tax on non-EU buyers" headline from January 2025. That bill was submitted to Parliament in May 2025, was never debated, and was dropped from the government's own January 2026 housing package. As of July 2026 it is not law and nothing extra is payable. Ignore anyone using it to rush you.

Where does this math break?

Four places. I'd rather you hear them from me than from your notary.

City averages don't describe villas. Alicante city averages 2,575 €/m², but nobody sells a €1.4M villa in Jávea, Moraira or Altea at the city apartment average — prime coastal villa stock trades well above it. The whole Málaga province averages 4,183 €/m² against the city's 3,784, and the Balearics average 5,337 €/m² against Palma's 5,257. Use city €/m² for apartments. For villas, use comparables.

Prices are moving fast. Spanish resale prices rose 15.8% nationally in the year to June 2026. Valencia is up 9.9%, Málaga 9.4%, Barcelona 7.1%, Madrid 6.6%. A budget you calculated last October has already lost ground.

Your mortgage comes off the top. Every number above assumes a paid-off house. If you owe $400,000, subtract $400,000 first, then rerun. Financing part of the Spanish purchase instead is a real option — see Spanish mortgages for Americans — and non-residents typically borrow up to 70% of value.

Tax residency timing is its own project. Once you're Spanish tax resident, Spain taxes your worldwide income, and regional wealth tax exists in some communities. Sequencing the sale, the move and the purchase across two tax years is a conversation for a cross-border accountant — before you list, not after.

Book the consultation

The honest headline: a California sale converts to roughly 80–85% of its face value in Spanish purchasing power once commissions, taxes, FX and Spanish acquisition costs are done with it. That still buys you something in Valencia or Alicante that does not exist at any price in Los Angeles.

We'll run your specific numbers — your basis, your filing status, your target city — and tell you what you can actually sign for. The consultation is free and the roadmap is yours whether or not you work with us.

We're in LA — book on California hours. Schedule your free consultation, or start with the California-to-Spain guide and the LA vs. Valencia cost-of-living breakdown.

Quick answers

How much of my California home sale price can I actually spend in Spain? Roughly 80–85% of the sale price. California selling costs take about 8.2%, capital gains tax takes whatever your gain exceeds the $250,000 single or $500,000 married Section 121 exclusion, currency conversion costs about 1%, and Spanish purchase costs add 9–14% on top of the property price. Inside Job Concierge runs this calculation for California sellers before they list.

What does $1 million of California home equity buy in Spain? After costs, about €850,000 of signable property. That is roughly 250 m² in Valencia, 330 m² in Alicante, 230 m² in Málaga, 160 m² in Barcelona or Palma, and 145 m² in Madrid, using June 2026 idealista prices. Regional transfer tax drives most of the variation, ranging from 6% in Madrid to 13% in Catalonia.

Do I pay capital gains tax in California if I move to Spain before selling? Yes. Gain on California real property is California-source income regardless of where you live when the sale closes, and California taxes it as ordinary income up to 13.3%. Federal tax and the Section 121 exclusion apply the same way. Moving first does not remove the state tax; it only changes your filing complexity.

Written by Daria Kulachek, Inside Job Concierge. Daria lives between Los Angeles and Alicante and has bought multiple properties in Spain herself.

Sources

Daria Kulachek
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