If you are buying on the South Costa Blanca, the asking price is only part of the maths. Once you own, a stack of yearly costs lands on you that most expat families underestimate in year one. This guide sets out what to budget for IBI, basura, community fees, utilities, insurance and the non resident tax across Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa and Pilar de la Horadada.

IBI, the Annual Property Tax

IBI is the Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles, set by your ayuntamiento, not by Madrid.

• Calculated as a percentage of the valor catastral, not the price you paid
• National law allows ayuntamientos to set the urban rate between 0.4% and 1.1%
• South Costa Blanca rates typically sit in the 0.5% to 0.7% range
• Collected for the ayuntamientos by SUMA Gestión Tributaria, the Diputación de Alicante tax agency

What this means for buyers

• A villa with a valor catastral of 120,000 euros in Torrevieja can land around 650 to 750 euros per year
• A modest apartment in Orihuela Costa often sits in the 250 to 450 euros range
• Pilar de la Horadada has applied recent reductions to soften cadastral updates
• Ask the seller for the last IBI receipt before you offer

Basura, the Rubbish Collection Tax

Basura is the local refuse charge. Every ayuntamiento sets its own tariff.

• Torrevieja and Orihuela bill through SUMA on a defined schedule each year
• Pilar de la Horadada restructured its basura from January 2025, with two annual instalments in May and October and zone based amounts
• Typical residential basura on the South Costa Blanca sits in the 80 to 180 euros range, with coastal urbanisations paying more than inland zones
• Basura is a separate receipt from IBI and still applies if the property sits empty most of the year

Community Fees

If you buy inside an urbanisation with shared pools, gardens, lifts or security, you pay a monthly or quarterly cuota de comunidad to the comunidad de propietarios.

Indicative ranges across South Costa Blanca

• Simple apartment blocks with no pool, often 25 to 50 euros per month
• Standard resort style urbanisations with pool and gardens in Villamartín, La Zenia, Playa Flamenca or Ciudad Quesada, often 60 to 150 euros per month
• Larger amenity heavy complexes in Lomas de Cabo Roig, La Florida or La Marina, often 150 to 250 euros per month
• Gated luxury developments can sit above 300 euros per month

Reality check

• Always ask for the last AGM minutes before committing
• Communities with major works pending often raise a derrama, the one off levy for projects outside the normal budget

Water and Electricity Standing Charges

Utilities split into a fixed standing charge plus consumption. Even an empty holiday home generates the fixed portion every month.

• Hidraqua, now part of Veolia, handles water supply in Torrevieja, Orihuela and Orihuela Costa
• Aqualia and other operators cover other South Costa Blanca municipalities
• Budget 200 to 400 euros per year on water for a household using the property year round
• Iberdrola is the dominant electricity supplier, with the regulated PVPC tariff or a fixed market offer
• Your potencia contratada, the contracted power in kW, drives a fixed daily cost you pay even at zero consumption
• Air conditioning, pool pumps and electric heating push annual bills well above 1,200 euros for a four bedroom villa lived in full time

What this means for buyers

• Check the previous owner's potencia contratada, oversized contracts are common and easy to reduce

Home Insurance

• Budget 200 to 500 euros per year for a standard villa with buildings and contents cover
• A Spanish mortgage lender will normally require buildings cover as a condition
• Read the small print on water damage and prolonged absence, two of the most common claim disputes for expat owners

Non Resident Tax

If you own here but are not Spanish tax resident, the Agencia Tributaria treats the property as generating a deemed income, even if you do not rent it out.

• Imputed income base is 1.1% of the valor catastral where cadastral values have been recently updated, otherwise 2%
• Rate of 19% for EU, Icelandic, Norwegian and Liechtenstein residents
• Rate of 24% for non EEA residents, which currently includes UK owners post Brexit
• Filed annually using Modelo 210

Where the Big Tax Change Lands in 2026

If you are still in the buying phase, the Comunitat Valenciana approved a reduction in transfer taxes that took effect on 1 June 2026.

• ITP on resales up to 1 million euros drops from 10% to 9%, and stays at 11% above that
• AJD on new build deeds drops from 1.5% to 1.4%
• IVA on new builds remains 10%
• The cut applies based on the deed date at the notary, not the reservation date

The Agència Tributària Valenciana is the source of truth for the latest rates and the reduced rates for buyers under 35, large families and disability cases.

Plusvalía Municipal

Plusvalía is the local tax on the increase in land value when you sell. After the Constitutional Court ruling in late 2021, the methodology changed.

• You choose between the objective method and the real gain method, whichever is lower
• If you can prove no land value increase, the tax does not apply

Putting It Together for a Realistic Budget

For a three bedroom resort style apartment in La Zenia or Villamartín lived in by an expat family year round, a 2026 envelope often looks like:

• IBI: 350 to 550 euros
• Basura: 100 to 160 euros
• Community fees: 900 to 1,800 euros
• Water: 250 to 400 euros
• Electricity: 900 to 1,800 euros depending on air conditioning
• Home insurance: 250 to 400 euros

Headline range of roughly 2,750 to 5,100 euros per year before non resident tax or derramas. A detached villa with a private pool in Lomas de Cabo Roig sits higher, often 6,000 to 9,000 euros.

Common Mistakes

• Reading IBI off a portal listing rather than the actual seller receipt
• Skipping the community AGM minutes and inheriting an unexpected derrama in year one
• Leaving the previous owner's potencia contratada at twice the kW you actually need
• Forgetting the non resident tax in year one and triggering a recargo from the Agencia Tributaria
• Treating basura as part of IBI, then being surprised by a second receipt

A Practical Sequence Before You Sign

• Ask the seller for last year's IBI, basura, community fees and utility bills, in writing
• Request the last comunidad AGM minutes
• Confirm which water and electricity tariffs are already in place
• Have your lawyer model the ITP or IVA plus AJD figure at the new 2026 rates
• Build a year one running cost line into your purchase budget, not only the deposit and fees
• Sit down with a Movr adviser who knows the cost profile of the specific urbanisation

The Ayuntamiento de Torrevieja and the Ayuntamiento de Pilar de la Horadada publish current ordenanzas fiscales for IBI and basura, and they are the right source of truth if you want to verify figures before you offer.