Tax on the purchase of real estate
The buyer of real estate in Greece pays a tax of 3.09% this is the total tax on the transfer of ownership plus municipal tax.
It is the same for all real estate objects, whether they are apartments, houses, land plots or shares in hotels. There are no differences in taxation for the primary and secondary market.
Previously, new buildings were subject to VAT (24%), but now a moratorium has been imposed on this tax (until 2024), and it does not apply.
It should be noted that earlier, until 2014, the tax on the purchase of real estate was almost three times more and ranged from 8 to 10%. The rate cut was one of the anti-crisis measures taken by the government.
The tax rate is the same regardless of the region of Greece in which the transaction is made.
Tax on the sale of real estate
Taxes are not provided for the sale of housing. All transaction processing and tax payment costs are borne by the buyer.
The seller of an apartment or house, if his activity is not considered professional, upon completion of the calculations, simply removes the object from his tax account.
The profit from the sale of real estate is not taxed at the moment – there is a moratorium on capital gains tax. However, a person is deprived of the right to a benefit if he sold an object as part of an entrepreneurial activity or made more than two real estate sales transactions in the last 24 months. In this case, he will have to pay the tax. It is calculated individually based on many factors: the location of the property, the year of construction, the period of ownership, and so on, and can reach up to 15% of the difference between the amount of sale and the amount of purchase.
If the seller of real estate is a company, then the income tax is paid in the amount of 22-24%.
Property maintenance tax
There are two types of this tax, national (ENFIA) and local (TAR).
The ENFIA real estate tax is deducted to the state budget. Its size is from 0.01 to 13 euros per 1 sq. m. m depending on the area of the property, as well as other characteristics: the purpose of the object, its number of floors, cost, date of construction.For example, in Halkidiki the tax rate is about 3 euros per 1 sq. m. m of living space. The highest property tax in the elite northern and seaside areas of Athens and Attica.
ENFIA is accrued in March of each year and appears in the tax office of the owner.
The TAR tax is levied by the municipality of the area in which the property is located. The tax is divided into equal portions and added to electricity bills. The amount of municipal tax is from 0.025 to 0.035% of the value of the property, depending on the location, age of the object, its area and so on.
If an object or real estate owned by a person collectively costs more than 300,000 euros, an additional tax of 1% of the cost is charged.
The dependence of the tax rate on the age of the house allows you to "play" on this. People buy housing in an old building, repair it, turn it almost into a new one, but at the same time the tax remains low because of the year of construction.
Tax on the rental of real estate
Greece has a progressive tax scale for property owners who rent it out.
- With an income of up to 12,000 euros per year, the tax is 15%.
- With an income of 12,000 to 35,000 euros – 35%.
- With an income of 35,000 euros – 45%.
Examples of tax calculation
Villa on Halkidiki in Nikiti. Area: 100 sq. m. Cost: 350,000 euros.
Tax on transfer of ownership upon purchase (3.09%): 10,815 euros
Annual property tax ENFIA (3 euros per sq. m.): 300 euros
Annual municipal Property Tax TAR: 100 euros.
Income tax on rental. Let's say you have earned 30,000 euros by renting out your house in Halkidiki. The first 12,000 are taxed at a rate of 15%, the remaining 18,000 at a rate of 35%. Thus, the amount received after taxes will amount to 21,900 euros.
Apartment in Perea (a suburb of Thessaloniki). Area: 51 sq. m. Cost: 160,000 euros.
Tax on transfer of ownership upon purchase (3.09%): 4604 euros.
Annual property tax ENFIA (4 euros per sq. m.): 204 euros
Annual municipal tax TAR: 102 euros.
Tax when renting out. Let's say you earn 12,000 euros by renting out your apartment in Perea. The first 12,000 euros are taxed at a rate of 15%, the remaining at a rate of 35%. Thus, the amount you receive after taxes will amount to 10,200 euros.
It is important to note that the tax on the transfer of ownership is calculated from the market value of real estate, since it is usually more than the cadastral value. If the cadastral value is larger, then it is used for calculation, that is, the larger of these two amounts. To calculate the real estate tax, the cost of the cadastre is taken as a basis, since it is more profitable.
Villa in Corfu. Area: 240 sq. m. Cost: 500,000 euros. Cadastral value: 180,000 euros.
The tax on the transfer of ownership is calculated at the highest price (500 000*3,09%): 15 450 euro.
The annual property tax is calculated, on the contrary, according to the cadastral value. It will be approximately 600-650 euros.
Apartment in Corfu. Area: 70 sq. m. Cost: 180,000 euros. Cadastral value: 45,000 euros.
Property transfer tax (180,000*3.09%): 5562 euros
Annual property tax (7 euros per sq. m.):490 euros
Can Russians and Belarusians buy real estate in Greece today?
Russians and Belarusians have the right to buy and sell real estate in Greece, as before, but due to mutual sanctions, settlements between the parties to the transaction have become more complicated. It has become more difficult to open an account in a Greek bank, transfer funds. So, the transfer directly from Russia is currently available only through Raiffeisenbank or you can use banks in third countries.
Another restriction is that Russians and Belarusians who do not have a residence permit in the EU are not allowed to keep more than 100,000 euros in an account with European banks, respectively, it is impossible to accept the entire amount at once when selling an apartment and a house.
Nevertheless, there are options for conducting transactions, and citizens of Russia and Belarus are active in the Greek housing market. One of the ways – issue a residence permit for a digital nomad. A participant of this program, having received only a certificate of waiting for a residence permit, can immediately freely open bank accounts, purchase real estate, a car. In addition, for those who have a residence permit, there is no limit on the amount stored in the account, and there are no problems with calculations when selling an apartment, if necessary.
It should be noted that by the end of 2023, you can apply for a digital nomad visa by arriving in the country on a tourist visa. In the future, the procedure will become more complicated and you will first have to get a D visa at the Greek consulate in your country.
Many participants in transactions from Russia and Belarus have second passports, in addition to the passports of their countries, which gives them the opportunity to participate in the popular Golden Visa program (the program is not yet available for Russians and Belarusians).
Thus, the way to real estate transactions in Greece most often lies through obtaining the status of a resident. However, experienced realtors can help you buy an apartment, even if the client does not have a European residence permit.
Thank you for your help in preparing the article by our experts in Greece:
Natalia Kovaleva, Sales DirectorReal Estate Services
Natalia Tsiro Ruva, Head of the Russian-speaking DepartmentRoula Rouva Real Estate
Svetlana Yuvchenko, representative of Dionisiou Real Estate
