Greece is set to introduce a major change to the taxation of property purchases by third-country buyers, with the transfer tax expected to rise from 3% to 15% from January 1, 2027.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the measure during his address at the Thessaloniki International Fair, describing it as part of efforts to address large-scale purchases of Greek real estate by third-country buyers.
Under the current system, buyers pay a property transfer tax of 3% based on the taxable transfer value. The tax is generally calculated on whichever is higher: the agreed purchase price or the property’s objective tax value.
The proposed increase would represent a fivefold rise in the tax burden for third-country buyers covered by the new rules.
Significant increase in the cost of buying property
For a property with a taxable value of €100,000, the transfer tax would increase from €3,000 to €15,000, adding €12,000 to the cost for the third-country buyer.
For a €200,000 property, the tax would rise from €6,000 to €30,000, while a €250,000 purchase would see the tax increase from €7,500 to €37,500.
The difference becomes considerably larger for higher-value properties.
A property valued at €500,000 would carry a transfer tax of €75,000 under the proposed 15% rate, compared with €15,000 today.
For an €800,000 property, the tax would rise from €24,000 to €120,000.
On a €1 million purchase, the transfer tax would increase from €30,000 to €150,000, representing an additional €120,000 in tax for the third-country buyer.
These figures do not include other expenses associated with a property transaction, such as notary fees, Land Registry or cadastral registration costs, potential legal fees and real estate agency commissions.
Measure targets third-country buyers
The government expects the higher tax to discourage large-scale purchases of Greek property by third-country buyers.
The measure could particularly affect third-country buyers from countries such as Turkey, China, Israel and other non-EU states, although the precise scope will depend on the legislation implementing the announcement.
One important issue that still needs clarification concerns third-country buyers who hold dual citizenship.
For example, an Israeli buyer may also hold French, German, Italian or another EU passport. It remains unclear whether such a dual-national buyer would be treated as an EU buyer and therefore excluded from the 15% rate.
The implementing legislation will also need to establish which documents third-country buyers must provide and at what stage their citizenship status will be assessed.
The treatment of dual-national buyers could ultimately have a significant impact on how broadly the new tax applies.
The government is expected to provide further details as the legislation introducing the new system is finalized.
