Court upholds the cadastral reference value

On 12 February 2026 the plenary of the Constitutional Court issued judgment 13/2026, dismissing the question of unconstitutionality raised by the Administrative Division of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia, seated in Málaga. The referring court doubted whether the reference value set by the Cadastre, used as the tax base for the tax on property transfers and stamp duty, respected the principle of economic capacity.

The reference value was introduced by Law 11/2021 and replaced, for properties that have one assigned, the former checking of values by the tax authorities. It is determined by the Directorate-General for the Cadastre from prices reported in sales and applied with a reduction factor. The judgment confirms that the legislator may tax the value of the property instead of the agreed price, provided the taxpayer retains the possibility of proving a different value. The underlying debate was whether it could tax wealth that does not exist when the assigned value exceeds the market value, as the referring court and the claimant argued and the State and the Andalusian government denied.

What the court reasoned

For the Constitutional Court, the reference value is a method of objective quantification: it is based on average-value modules drawn from market prices and individualised according to each property’s characteristics, so there is a real link between the taxable event and the tax base. It also pursues legitimate aims: reducing litigation, providing legal certainty and improving the efficiency of tax administration. The court rejected the idea that it is a presumption of fraud.

The principle of economic capacity, it recalled, links both the taxable event and the measure of the tax, but allows objective methods as long as their choice is not arbitrary and is justified, as an earlier judgment on the municipal capital gains tax had already stated. Here it concluded that the method meets that requirement.

Challenging with evidence

The practical key is that the reference value is not the only possible method. The court stresses that it can be disputed when requesting rectification of the self-assessment, in an administrative appeal or in an economic-administrative claim, without restricting the means of evidence. It is a presumption that admits proof to the contrary. In other words, the reference value works as a starting point, not as a figure the taxpayer must accept without question.

That said, the tax authorities no longer check the value of properties that have a reference value, and the court considers that this removal does not breach economic capacity either. In practice, anyone who disagrees must provide the evidence: a valuation, comparables in the area or reports on the property’s real condition.

What to review

Before buying, it is worth checking the property’s reference value on the Cadastre’s online portal and comparing it with the agreed price and a realistic market estimate. If the reference value clearly exceeds the real value, it is useful to gather evidence from the outset and decide, with advice, how to file the self-assessment and which deadlines apply for requesting its rectification.

In inheritances and gifts, and in property transactions generally, the same reference can influence the base of other taxes, so it deserves a joint review. The judgment validates the method, but it does not prevent its result from being disputed in each case; consult your adviser before acting. If the transaction is close and the reference value looks high, a valuation by an independent expert is the most common evidence to support a challenge.

That a method is valid does not prevent its result from being disputed in each case.

This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.