In the real estate sector, it is quite common for a developer, in exchange for land that it acquires to build some homes, to grant the seller, as part of the payment for the land, some of the homes that are going to be built.  

This legal transaction, which is quite common, entails a series of tax implications that are analyzed below. 

To begin with, it must be taken into account that we are dealing with 2 different operations that are taxed separately and independently: 

1st.- Transfer of the land: 

Depending on whether the seller acts as a businessman or as an individual, this transfer will be subject to VAT or ITPAJD, TPO modality, respectively. 

Thus, when the seller of the land is a businessman acting as such, said transfer will be subject to general VAT, that is, 21 percent. 

On the other hand, in the event that the seller of the land is an individual, who does not act as a businessman, said transfer would be subject to TPO, the taxable base of which would be the cadastral reference value of the property, if any, or, failing that, its market value. Unless the one stipulated by the parties is higher, in which case the latter prevails.

2nd.- Transfer of future work: 

The other operation that is accrued in this type of legal business is the transfer of future work. 

This transfer, which is carried out by the developer, is generally taxed by VAT, as it is the first delivery of a building, without any applicable exemption, and the rate to be accrued will be 10 percent (reduced), in the case of a home, or 21 percent (general) in the rest of the cases (local). 

The taxable base will consist of the non-monetary amount agreed between the parties in which the operation is valued, to which, where applicable, any additional monetary amount that may have been agreed outside the non-monetary part must be added. 

As for the accrual of this operation, the future transfer of the work, it should be noted that it occurs at the time of delivery of the land, that is, simultaneously, since the delivery of the land constitutes a payment on account of the future delivery of the work. Therefore, at the time of making the land available, both operations are accrued and, where applicable, both VAT.