Valor de referencia

The valor de referencia (cadastral reference value) is a market-aligned property valuation set by the Spanish Catastro (the national property cadastre) for tax purposes. It was introduced in 2022 to replace the previous, often-disputed, "minimum tax value" system.

For property purchases, the valor de referencia is the minimum tax base for ITP and AJD. If the declared sale price is below the valor de referencia, tax is calculated on the valor de referencia instead. If the declared price is above, tax is calculated on the declared price.

The valor de referencia is updated annually by the Catastro and is published on its website (sedecatastro.gob.es). Buyers and lawyers check it before closing to confirm which figure will be used for tax calculation.

If you believe the valor de referencia is unreasonably high for the specific apartment, you can challenge it through an administrative procedure — but you must pay the tax first based on the valor de referencia and seek refund afterwards. In practice this is rare.