Exchange

An exchange, in the real estate sector, occurs when two owners enter into a contractual agreement to exchange one immovable property for another, of equal or different value . If the values are different, the difference is paid by the person who owns the property with the lowest value.

Benefits

This method of selling and acquiring a house is not very common, because it is difficult to find mutual interest between the owners and the respective properties. But, in times of economic crisis, it is an interesting option for those who buy because, if you have reduced financial capacity, the value of your own property is worth money.

There is still a second advantage: it can reduce the tax costs of both transactions . On the one hand, you save on the IMT - Municipal Tax on Onerous Property Transfers (if the property is used for housing) and on the other hand, you save on Stamp Duty. According to the law , only IMT or Stamp Duty will be paid by the buyer who acquires the higher value good , which will only apply to the price difference between the two properties.

For example, if you want to exchange your house for another and yours is worth €150,000 and the one you want to purchase is worth €200,000, you will be exempt from paying IMT and Stamp Duty. The other owner will have to pay the aforementioned taxes that will be levied on the difference, that is, on €50,000.

In terms of the IRS , the conclusion of an exchange agreement can also bring advantages. In the case of capital gains from the sale of the property, the possibility of reinvestment is opened through the same deed, materialized with the acquisition of a new home. But this does not automatically mean that there was reinvestment, as we will see later. The surplus value will be the gain obtained from the sale of a property intended for the taxpayer's dwelling, which will be given by the difference between the realization value and the acquisition value of that property, being also deducted from this difference, the costs with the acquisition and disposal. If more than 24 months have elapsed between the date of acquisition and the date of disposal of the property, the acquisition value will be corrected by applying a monetary correction coefficient.

If any of the properties has a Tax Asset Value ( VPT ) of an amount greater than that agreed between the parties, the value to be considered, for tax purposes, will be the highest of them.

When there are debts to the Bank for housing loans, the operation will be a little more complex, but as a general rule banks tend to facilitate this transaction. However, it should be noted that there may be financial penalties in the amortization of the credit or penalties in the value of the spread, if there is room for contracting a new credit.