According to the analytical guide by the Hellenic Property Federation, the basic taxes which are payable by the buyer is the Property Transfer Tax, which has a rate of 3% of the property’s value, or the VAT (Value Added Tax), which has a rate of 24% of the property’s value. VAT is applied to every newly built property, while those buying a property for the first time in the life, are not subject to pay this tax. It should be noted that, from the 1st January of 2020 and until the 31st December of 2022, there’s a suspension of VAT application in all transferable properties, built with permits issued from the 1st January of 2006 onwards. In all the remaining properties, the only applicable tax is, as specified above, the Transfer Tax.
Additionally, the seller is subject to a Capital Gains Tax, with a rate of 15%. However, this tax hasn’t been implemented since its inception and is also under suspension until the end of 2022.
It should also be noted that the buyer should be able to justify the respective scale of objective expenditure, based on his sources of income. For this reason, the tax authorities take into account the value written in the sale contract of the property, instead of the objective value of the property. However, foreign buyers don’t have an obligation to prove their source of revenues for the acquisition of properties in Greece, as long as they are living abroad and are filing a tax statement in the dedicated Tax Authority for Foreign Residents, regarding their income in Greece (for example, rents collected for their property). Also, every foreign buyer must use a Greek bank for any transaction of property and declare the funds in their tax statement, in order to avoid any potential issue.
An detailed description by PwC (PriceWaterHouseCoopers) of the taxation framework of real estate in Greece can also be found in the following link: https://www.pwc.com/gr/en/publications/Greek%20real%20estate%20taxation.summary.May2018.pdf
Notaries Fees
With the article 1 of the Common Ministerial Decision 111376, by the Ministers of Finances and Justice, regarding the “Determining Notaries’ Rights”, as amended at a later stage, the percentage of the notaries’ compensation has been reduced, based on the level of the objective value of the item of the transaction, as follows:
For prices up to 120,000 euros, the fee was reduced to 0.8% of the property’s value
For prices from 120,000 – 380,000 euros, the fee was reduced to 0.7%
For prices from 380,001 up to 2,000,000 euros, the fee was reduced to 0.65%, with the percentage gradually reduced in higher valued transactions, as well as at 4 – 5 euros for every additional page of notary deed.
Representation of Lawyers
From 1-1-2014, the representation of a lawyer, during the drafting and signing a contract of property transaction is voluntary for all parties involved. However, it is strongly recommended to use a lawyer in every real estate transaction, since it can avert significant financial damage. Additionally, the completion of such agreements without the use of legal representation, can prove to be catastrophic.
