🇺🇸 → 🇪🇸 · For Americans
The Costa del Sol, for Americans
Your situation is different: FBAR and FATCA follow you, Medicare stops at the border, and the dollar conversion on a home purchase can cost more than the notary, registry and lawyer combined. These guides are written for exactly that.
Buying & Owning Property
- The Real Cost of Buying Property in Málaga as an American (2026) Line-by-line 2026 costs for an American buying a €600,000 home in Málaga: 7% ITP, fees, Modelo 210, US reporting, and the currency spread worth $18,000.
- What €600,000 Really Buys on the Costa del Sol in 2026 (Cost Breakdown by Town) What €600,000 buys in Marbella, Fuengirola, Málaga, Estepona, Benalmádena and Mijas in 2026: floor space per town, buying costs, and annual ownership taxes.
Tax & Estate
- The Beckham Law for Remote Executives and Tech Talent (2026): 24% Flat Tax Explained Spain's Beckham Law gives qualifying newcomers a flat 24% tax on employment income for six years. Who qualifies in 2026, the savings, and the Modelo 149 trap.
- US Taxes When You Move to Spain: FBAR, FATCA, and What Nobody Explains (2026) Moving to Spain doesn't end US tax duties. What Americans must know about FBAR, FATCA Form 8938, the FEIE vs Foreign Tax Credit choice, and Spain's Modelo 720.
Visas & Residency
- How to Move to Spain as a Wealthy Person Now the Golden Visa Is Gone (2026) Spain's Golden Visa ended in April 2025. Compare the real 2026 routes for wealthy movers: NLV, Digital Nomad Visa with Beckham Law, or Entrepreneur Visa.
- Non-Lucrative Visa vs Digital Nomad Visa for Americans (2026): Which One? NLV or Digital Nomad Visa? 2026 income floors, Beckham tax access, and application steps compared side by side for Americans moving to the Costa del Sol.
- The Right Order to Move to Spain: Why You Sort Tax Before Residency (2026) Why you settle your tax position before triggering Spanish residency: the 183-day switch, Beckham timing, visa routes, and property steps in order.
Money & Banking
- Moving $500,000+ to Spain: Bank, Broker or Wise? (2026) A typical bank takes ~3% on a large USD-EUR transfer; a currency broker ~0.5%. On $500,000 that is a $12,500 difference. How to move six figures safely in 2026.
- Opening a Spanish Bank Account as an American: FATCA-Friendly Banks (2026) American banks don't operate branches in Spain, but these Spanish banks and neobanks accept US citizens in 2026: BBVA, Santander, Revolut and more, W-9 included.
Living Here
- Cost of Living: Costa del Sol vs the United States (2026), Line by Line The coast runs 24–35% cheaper than the US overall, but the line that decides it is health cover before 65: ~$1,244/month unsubsidized at home vs ~$260 here.
- The Real Cost of Living on the Costa del Sol in 2026 (Monthly Budget by Household) A couple lives well on €2,365–€3,665 a month. Build your own budget with the interactive calculator, then check rent, health cover and groceries town by town.
New guides are published weekly and appear here automatically when they carry your flag. Every figure is sourced, dated and checked — the method is on the editorial policy page.