Whether you are taking over a workshop, a shop, a guesthouse or a salon, the same question keeps buyers awake: if I buy the business, do the previous owner's debts become mine? In both Spain and Portugal the honest answer is that a going-concern buyer inherits real exposure — but the two countries draw the line in different places, and reading the wrong one onto your deal is expensive.
Spain — public debts follow you, broadly and by statute
Buy a going concern in Spain and, even where you take only the assets and the lease (not the company's shares), two public creditors can still reach you for the previous owner's debts. The tax office:
«Las que sucedan por cualquier concepto en la titularidad o ejercicio de explotaciones o actividades económicas, por las obligaciones tributarias contraídas del anterior titular y derivadas de su ejercicio. […] no será aplicable a los adquirentes de elementos aislados, salvo que dichas adquisiciones […] permitan la continuación de la explotación o actividad.»
— Art. 42.1.c) Ley 58/2003 General Tributaria · BOE, retrieved 9 Jul 2026. Unofficial translation: whoever succeeds in the ownership or exercise of an economic activity is liable for the previous holder's tax obligations from that activity — not a buyer of isolated assets, unless the purchase lets the activity continue.
And Social Security — whose reach is expressly the whole of the debt:
«La responsabilidad solidaria por sucesión en la titularidad de la explotación, industria o negocio que se establece en el […] artículo 168 se extiende a la totalidad de las deudas generadas con anterioridad al hecho de la sucesión.»
— Art. 142.1 RDLeg 8/2015, Ley General de la Seguridad Social · BOE, retrieved 9 Jul 2026. Unofficial translation: the successor's joint-and-several liability extends to the totality of the debts generated before the succession — contributions included.
This liability is joint and several — the authorities can pursue you directly — and it is not bounded by a figure on its own. Requesting the tax certificate (Art. 175.2 LGT) and a Social Security certificate scopes your exposure to what they disclose (a clean or unanswered tax certificate can leave you exempt); skip them and the liability is full. (The mechanics: the successor-debt rules, and the certificate that limits them →.)
Portugal — a sharper line, not a free pass
Portugal starts from a different place for one category of debt. A specific private, commercial debt of the seller — a supplier account, a bank loan — does not become yours automatically on a trespasse; it binds you only if you assume it and the creditor agrees:
«Não se mencionando na escritura de trespasse quaisquer elementos passivos, estes só se transmitem ao trespassário na medida em que essa tenha sido a intenção dos outorgantes. […] No trespasse, a transmissão singular de dívidas só se pode efectuar com autorização expressa do credor, ou por acordo entre o trespassário e o credor.»
— Supremo Tribunal de Justiça, processo 088194, 30 Apr 1996 (sumário) · dgsi.pt, retrieved 9 Jul 2026; assumption of debt under Código Civil art. 595. Unofficial translation: if the trespasse deed mentions no liabilities, they pass to the buyer only to the extent the parties so intended; a single debt transfers only with the creditor's express authorization, or by agreement between buyer and creditor.
But that is only the private-debt rule, and buyers over-read it. Public and labour exposures follow the business anyway. Social Security debts pass to you jointly and severally — and you cannot contract out:
«Em caso de trespasse, cessão de exploração ou de posição contratual o cessionário responde solidariamente com o cedente pelas dívidas à segurança social existentes à data da celebração do negócio, sendo nula qualquer cláusula negocial em contrário.»
— Art. 209.º(2) Código dos Regimes Contributivos (Lei 110/2009) · DR, retrieved 9 Jul 2026. Unofficial translation: on a trespasse, the acquirer is jointly and severally liable with the transferor for the Social Security debts existing at the date of the deal — and any clause to the contrary is void.
And the employees transfer with the business, keeping their seniority and rights (Art. 285 Código do Trabalho: «transmitem-se para o adquirente a posição do empregador nos contratos de trabalho»). Tax carries its own successor exposure too — which is why a Portuguese buyer secures the certidões de não dívida from Finanças and Segurança Social before signing, exactly as a Spanish buyer requests the tax and Social Security certificates.
The bottom line — "assets-only" is never "debt-free"
- Spain: public tax and Social Security debts follow the successor by statute, jointly and severally — capped only by the certificates you request in time.
- Portugal: the seller's private trade debts don't automatically become yours — but Social Security debts do (and the clause that says otherwise is void), and tax carries its own exposure.
- In both: the employees come with the business — Spain Art. 44 ET, Portugal Art. 285 CT — with their full seniority and accrued rights.
So "I'm only buying the assets, so there are no debts" is false in Spain and only half-true in Portugal.
What to demand before you sign
In Spain: the Hacienda succession certificate (certificado de sucesión de actividad, Art. 175.2 LGT) and a Social Security position certificate — requested before you commit, they scope and limit your exposure; without them it is full — plus the deal structure (going concern vs isolated assets) in writing.
In Portugal: the certidões de não dívida from Finanças and Segurança Social; a written trespasse that spells out which debts, if any, you assume (and the creditor's agreement to it); and the staff list, because employees and the Social Security position follow the business regardless. In neither country does "assets-only" mean "debt-free".
Which debts follow this specific business is Layer 4 of every screen I run. Before you commit, I map — for your jurisdiction and your deal structure — what follows the business and what you must demand from the seller first.
Check my deal →Basis: the statutory and case texts cited above, retrieved from the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Spain), the Diário da República (Portugal) and the Supremo Tribunal de Justiça database (dgsi.pt) on 9 July 2026; references are given so you can read the wording yourself. General information about how the rules work, not legal or tax advice; how they apply turns on the facts of a specific deal, which a local lawyer, gestor or contabilista should confirm. Portugal's tax-succession rules are described in general terms and are not reduced to a single article here. Not a statement about any current listing.