The tax office values your house above the price: how to defend yourself in Burgos

You buy a home, inherit your parents’ house or receive a flat as a gift, and months later a letter arrives from the tax office. It says the property is worth more than you declared and that you must pay the difference in tax, sometimes with interest. It happens a lot, and it can be challenged.

Why it happens

• Cadastral reference value: since 2022, transfer tax and inheritance and gift tax are paid, at a minimum, on the reference value set by the Cadastre, even if the real price was lower.
• Value check: where there is no reference value, the regional tax authority can review the declared value with its own methods and set a higher one.

In both cases the value comes from general calculations by area. It does not take into account the real condition of the house, whether it needs renovation, whether it has defects, whether part of it is not legalised or whether it is occupied.

How to challenge it

• If the reference value has been applied, you can request rectification of your self-assessment or appeal the assessment. You must prove that the real market value is lower.
• If there has been a value check, as well as appealing you can request a contradictory expert valuation: your expert values the property against the authorities’ expert.
• Time limits are short: usually one month from notification of the assessment to appeal or request the contradictory valuation. If you receive the letter, do not leave it in a drawer.

What shows the value is lower

• The real condition of the property: defects, damp, lack of renovation, old installations.
• Its planning status: unlegalised buildings, restrictions on use, rural land.
• Real comparables: sales of similar properties in the same area and at the same date.
• Circumstances that lower the price: if it is let at an old rent, occupied or held in co-ownership.

Why an expert report

Before the tax office and the courts it is not enough to say the house is worth less. It has to be justified with a method, an inspection of the property and comparables. The expert report does that, and it serves both for the appeal and for the contradictory expert valuation. If the matter goes to the administrative courts, we defend the report before the judge at the ratification hearing.

Valuations against the tax office across the province of Burgos

We value properties in Burgos and in towns such as Aranda de Duero, Miranda de Ebro or Lerma for appeals, rectifications and contradictory valuations. If there is a lawsuit, the report is filed with the courts of Burgos or of the relevant judicial district.

How we work

Send us the letter from the tax office, the deeds and photos of the property. Tell us the date of notification, because the time limits are running by email or WhatsApp. We review it and send you a fixed, no-obligation quote, replying the same day. If needed, we inspect the property in Burgos or anywhere else in the province.

More information on our tax expert page.