In every purchase and sale of a property or a real right to a property, located in Greece, a transfer tax is imposed, the payment of which is the responsibility of the buyer.

The tax rate is 3% on the taxable value of the property. This amount of the main tax is subject to a levy in favor of municipalities and communities at a rate of 3%. The tax rate is reduced:

• to 1/4 of the whole, in cases of distribution of properties and dissolution of companies (General Partnerships, LLCs, Limited Partnerships, Private Capital Companies) and transfer of their real estate to their members,
• to 1/2 of the whole in cases of exchange of properties of equal value.

Before drawing up the transfer contract, the parties (seller – buyer) must:

• submit a joint real estate transfer tax return, as a rule, to the Tax Office of the buyer’s income tax and
• pay the entire tax within a period of 3 working days from the date of submission of the declaration or the issuance of the administrative tax determination act.

In the event that the property located in Greece transfer contract was drawn up abroad, with any applicable legal form there, and the transfer tax was not paid:

• the declaration is submitted to the competent Tax Office before the registration of the contract, and the transfer tax is paid
• An exact copy of the registered contract is attached to the declaration, in an official translation into Greek.

During the real estate transfer, which takes place abroad before a Greek Consular Authority, the declaration is submitted to this Authority, which forwards it to the competent Tax Office, which in turn issues the copy of the tax return.

Real estate transfer declarations are submitted:

• Digitally (Decisions A. 1110/2022, A. 1065/2023 of the IAPR Governor) through the myPROPERTY application of the Public Administration’s Single Digital Portal or
• in case they have not yet been included in the digital application, they are submitted in paper form through the “My Requests” application or are sent (in a physical envelope) by registered post or courier service or it can also be filed in an envelope with the protocol office of the competent service (A. 1137/2020 of the IAPR Governor).

Real estate transfer tax issues are regulated by the provisions of the compulsory law 1521/1950 “on real estate transfer tax,” which was sanctioned by law 1587/1950, as amended to date and in force, and by the provisions of the Tax Procedure Code (v. 4987/2022) as amended to date and in force.

Contracts for the purchase of a residence or plot of land by a married or unmarried adult are exempt from property transfer tax, provided that the buyer or the spouse or any of their minor children

• does not have the right to full ownership or usufruct or occupancy of a residence or a notional share thereof that meets the housing needs of their family, or
   
• the full ownership right to a buildable plot of land or to a notional share of a plot of land corresponding to a building area that meets their housing needs and located in a municipal or local community or municipality (if it lacks further administrative subdivision) with a population of more than 3,000 residents.
   

The extent of the exemption granted shall be as follows:

• For the purchase of a residence:  for unmarried persons, up to the amount of EUR 200 000; for unmarried persons with an intellectual disability or physical handicap of no less than 67%, up to the amount of EUR 250 000; for married persons, up to the amount of EUR 250 000; for married persons with an intellectual disability or physical handicap of no less than 67%, up to the amount of EUR 275 000. This amount is increased by EUR 25 000 for each of their first two children and by EUR 30 000 for their third and each subsequent child.
   
• For the purchase of a parcel of land: by an unmarried person, up to the amount of EUR 50 000; for married persons, up to the amount of EUR 100 000. This amount is increased by EUR 10 000 for each of their first two children and by EUR 15 000 for their third and each subsequent child. 

If the property value exceeds the aforesaid tax-free limits, the exemption shall be granted up to the corresponding tax-free amount, and real estate transfer tax shall be due for the additional value. 

In the case of purchase of a residence, the exemption amount shall also include the value of one parking space and one storage space (whether separate horizontal properties or appurtenances of the property being transferred), for a surface area of no more than twenty (20) m2 for each of the foregoing, provided they are situated within the same property and are acquired simultaneously by virtue of the same purchase contract.

Beneficiaries of the exemption are Greeks, expatriates from Albania, Turkey and countries of the former Soviet Union, citizens of the member states of the European Union and the European Economic Area, recognized refugees as well as citizens of third countries who enjoy the status of long-term resident in Greece, and citizens of third-countries holding a second-generation residence permit in Greece (Law 1078/1980 as amended to date and in force,  in accordance with the provisions of Law 4251/2014).

For the exemption to be granted, it is required that the buyer resides permanently in Greece or intends to settle there within a period of two years from the purchase.