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How to calculate the cadastral value of a house

The cadastral value is the monetary value the authorities give each property. This value is entered in the Cadastral Register the administrative record, which is administered by the Treasury Ministry, and lists the physical, economic and legal characteristics of all properties. A number of factors are taken into account to calculate the cadastral value of your home or premises such as, for example, such as the location of the property, the cost of the material execution of the building, built surface, age, environment, use of the land... This figure  is used to determine the economic capacity of the owner, and thus it is used to calculate certain taxes, such as property tax (IBI) or personal income tax (IRPF).

This is why we are telling you in more detail  what it is and how to calculate the cadastral value of a house.

What the Cadastral Register is

The Cadastral Register is the Treasury Ministry's independent register containing all properties, urban properties, rural properties, or properties with special features (airports, motorways, nuclear power plants etc.). Registration is obligatory and free of charge, which differs from the Land Registry.

Some of the data in this census are available to the general public. This means that any interested party may access the electronic version of the Cadastral Register and find out, for a specific property, its type (urban, rural or with special features), the built surface, usage, graphic representation of the floor plan, and also the cadastral reference. This is a 20-character code which identifies the house or the premises, and is used in certain transactions, such as a sale or an inheritance, for greater security.

The Cadastral Register contains other data which may only be accessed by the owner of the property, the authorities, and any parties accrediting a legitimate interest. This information includes the cadastral value.

How to read the cadastral reference number

Each of the 20 characters (numbers and letters) of the cadastral reference of a property has a meaning assigned by the Cadastre. For an urban property this will be as follows:

  • The first seven digits refer to the location of the property.
  • The next seven digits identify the cadastral plan sheet.
  • The next four figures indicate the property inside the estate (for example, the concrete floor inside a building).
  • The last two characters are two check digits.

For a rural property the meaning of the 20 characters is as follows:

  • The first two numbers identify the province.
  • The next three numbers refer to the municipality.
  • The next digit is the sector or area of land consolidation.
  • The next three digits identify the complex.
  • The next five digits identify the plot within the complex.
  • The next four numbers identify the property within the plot.
  • The last two digits are two check digits.

How to check the cadastral value step by step

To find out information about the cadastral value of a property, its owner, its representative or authorised representative - or whoever proves they have a legitimate interest - can do so:

  • On the Cadastre website with a digital certificate, National ID no. or cl@ve system.
  • By going to the territorial office (management department) of the Cadastre Register in your province, requesting an appointment by calling the Cadastre Hotline (902 37 36 35 - 91 387 45 50) and presenting the documentation that proves you own the property.
  • And at cadastral information points, which can be found at your city council.

What the cadastral value is used for

Cadastral information is mainly for tax purposes. Different authorities use the cadastral value to calculate the amount you must pay in certain taxes concerning your house. For example:

  • The cadastral value is the basis of property tax (IBI), which is administered by town halls.
  • It is also another factor to be taken into account in tax returns. Habitual residences or properties used for business activities do not generate income liable for personal income tax. For other urban properties (empty houses that do not have the usual use or garages and non-rented premises, for example), the Tax Department establishes a property tax because these properties generate income for the holders.
  • In some cases, the cadastral value is used to calculate the Property Transfer Tax when you sell or buy a second-hand home (it usually involves between 6 and 10% of the real value of the property, which some autonomous communities calculate by applying a multiplier coefficient on the cadastral value of the property).
  • Finally, the cadastral value is taken into account in the Tax on the Increase in the Value of Urban Land (known as municipal capital gain), which may be collected by city councils..

What influences cadastral value?

For the Tax Department, the cadastral value is what your house is worth, irrespective of what you may have paid for it, or the amount of your mortgage. Therefore, the ministry uses the Cadastral Register to determine this sum. And it does so taking into account, among others, the following aspects, adapted for each municipality:

  • The location of the property, the urban circumstances that affect the land and its suitability for production.
  • The value of the land, the value of buildings and expenses and profits of the production business activity.
  • The cost of material execution of buildings, their age, their quality, the historical-artistic character or other conditions of the property.

In general, the cadastral value may not exceed the price the house would fetch on the market. It is updated by applying coefficients approved in General State Budget Laws and seeks to approximate the cadastral value to the current real estate market value.

How to calculate the cadastral value of a house

As we have seen above, the cadastral value of a property is assigned by the Tax Department, but if you want to find out the cadastral value of your home you can do so in the following ways:

  • by checking your Real Estate Tax (IBI) receipt, where the value of the land and buildings are also indicated;
  • on your tax return;
  • on the Cadastre website using a digital certificate or national ID document;
  • at cadastral information points,
  • or at the territorial office of the Cadastral Register in your province, by showing documents that prove you own the property.

If you cannot check the cadastral value in any of the above ways but you know how much you have paid for Real Estate Tax (IBI), you can calculate the cadastral value of a property if you also know the tax rate that has been applied, dividing the amount of the Real Estate Tax by the tax rate. For example, if you paid €500 Real Estate Tax (IBI) for your flat and the tax rate applied by your city council is 0.5%, the cadastral value of the flat will be €100,000.

What if I need to change cadastral information?

The Cadastral Register contains data such as the owner of the house, the built surface, its age etc., which all may change over time. If any changes arise, you must notify these to the Cadastral Register for this to be added to the census, and because this may alter the cadastral value assigned to the property which determines the tax you must pay on it.

Some of the changes that you will have to report to the Land Registry about a property are as follows:

  • The registration of the property purchase is the responsibility of the person purchasing the property, as stipulated by law (art. 9 and 13 of Royal Legislative Decree 1/2004, of 5 March, which approves the revised text of the Real Estate Cadastre Law) although the seller could also do so (deregistering, article 15 of the aforementioned law)
  • Variations in the participation fee that corresponds to each spouse in the shared property.
  • The refurbishment or extension of the property (either total or partial) or the creation of new buildings.
  • The demolition (total or partial) of buildings.
  • The segregation, division, aggregation and grouping of properties.
  • The creation of condominium division regulations on real estate.
  • Modification of the use of properties or premises that form part of buildings.

In some cases, regulations provide an exemption for the obligation to declare these modifications, for example, when the act or business is formalised in a public deed or when registration of the change in the Land Registry has been requested.

To request changes to cadastral data, revisit the electronic version of the register, the territorial administration, or your own town hall. This Cadastral Register website link allows you to ascertain which modifications you have to declare and which are not necessary.


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