Greece’s 15% Property Transfer Tax for Non-EU Buyers

Greece plans to raise its property transfer tax from 3% to 15% for non-EU buyers. The measure was announced on 6 September 2026 and, on current information, would take effect from 1 July 2027.

That is the confirmed part. Almost everything that determines whether it affects your specific purchase is still unwritten. This article separates what has been announced from what has not, so you can judge your own position rather than react to a headline.

Key Takeaways

• Greece has announced a rise in property transfer tax from 3% to 15% for buyers who are nationals of countries outside the EU and EEA.
• Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the measure on 6 September 2026 at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair.
• Initial reporting pointed to 1 January 2027. The Ministry of National Economy and Finance then pointed to 1 July 2027 when it presented the package on 7 September.
• Including the municipal surcharge, the effective rate moves from 3.09% to 15.45%.
• As described so far, the measure covers residential property bought by individuals. Commercial property and land are not included.
• No bill has been published. Transitional rules for deposits, reservations and deals already in progress do not yet exist.

What exactly did Greece announce?

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the increase during his address at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair, presenting it as a deliberate disincentive rather than a revenue measure. He argued that demand from buyers outside the EU, citing China, Turkey and Israel as examples, has helped keep prices high in several areas and made it harder for Greek households to buy homes.

The tax in question is the property transfer tax, known in Greece as ΦΜΑ. The buyer pays it before the notarial deed is signed, calculated on the higher of the agreed price or the property’s state-assessed objective value. It is not the annual ENFIA property tax and not rental income tax, both of which are unaffected.

The measure sits inside a €2.2 billion package that also includes a €2 billion subsidised mortgage programme, phased electricity cost reductions, and the abolition of ENFIA in small settlements.

When would the 15% rate take effect?

This is where the coverage diverged, and it matters more than the rate itself.

The Prime Minister’s speech and the first wave of reporting pointed to 1 January 2027. When the Ministry of National Economy and Finance presented the package on 7 September, the date given was 1 July 2027. Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis is named on the July date.

Six months is a meaningful difference if you are buying off-plan or into a development with a delivery schedule. Until a bill is tabled, treat 1 July 2027 as the working assumption and the January date as superseded reporting rather than a live alternative.

Expert tip: If you are evaluating a project right now, the question to ask is not when the law starts. It is when your deed transfers. Reserving a property in 2026 does not mean the title moves in 2026.

What would the 15% rate cost?

The headline rates are 3% and 15%. The rates you actually pay are 3.09% and 15.45%, because a municipal surcharge of 3% of the tax itself is added on top.

Tax is calculated on the higher of the purchase price or the objective value, so use whichever is greater for your own estimate. For everything else that sits on top of the purchase price, see our full breakdown of purchase costs in Greece.

Who falls within scope?

Based on what has been published so far, the higher rate is expected to apply where the buyer is an individual who is a national of a third country, meaning outside the EU and EEA, buying residential property.

That line is broader than the countries named in the speech. American, British, Canadian, Australian and Swiss buyers are third-country nationals under the same definition as Chinese, Turkish and Israeli buyers. If you hold a passport from outside the EU and EEA and no second EU passport, you are on the affected side of the line.

Greek nationals, EU nationals and EEA nationals are not included in the published description. Commercial property, land and other asset classes are not included either.

What is still unclear?

These are open questions, not omissions. None of them have answers until the bill text appears.

• Dual nationality. A buyer holding both a third-country and an EU passport has no defined treatment. Nor is it clear at what point in the transaction citizenship would be assessed, or what documents would be required.
• Existing Greek residence permit holders. Whether third-country nationals already resident in Greece fall inside or outside the measure is unresolved. At least one report suggests carve-outs for long-term residents, but this has not been confirmed by the Ministry.
• Purchases through companies. The measure as described targets individuals. How purchases through Greek or EU corporate structures would be treated is undefined.
• Transitional provisions. Reservations, deposits and preliminary agreements signed before the effective date have no stated treatment. This is the single most consequential gap for anyone mid-transaction.
• Golden Visa treatment. Every real estate investor in the Greek Golden Visa programme is a third-country national by definition. Unless the legislation carves the programme out, the 15% rate would apply across its property routes. That includes the €250,000 conversion and restoration route, which is the one route that adds housing stock rather than absorbing it. Several industry bodies have argued it should be exempted on exactly that basis.

How does this interact with the new-build VAT suspension?

This is the part most coverage has missed, and it creates two cliffs six months apart.

New-build properties would normally attract 24% VAT rather than transfer tax. Greece has suspended that VAT, most recently under Law 5246/2025, and the suspension currently runs to 31 December 2026. While it holds, qualifying new builds pay the 3.09% transfer tax instead, which is why so much foreign capital has moved into new construction.

If the VAT suspension lapses at the end of 2026 and the 15% transfer tax arrives in mid-2027, the cost structure for a non-EU buyer changes twice inside seven months, in different directions depending on the asset. Whether the suspension is extended again in the budget is now a more important question for foreign buyers than it was a month ago.

For how transfer tax, VAT and the rest of the tax stack fit together, see our guide to Greek property taxes in 2026.

What if you are already in a transaction?

Exposure depends on structure and timing, not on nationality alone. The determining factor is when the deed transfers relative to whatever effective date the final legislation sets, and whether transitional provisions protect agreements signed earlier.

Because no transitional provisions have been published, no advisor can responsibly promise you are unaffected. What we can do is assess each live transaction individually against its own timeline and contract structure. Beta Estate is reviewing every transaction currently in progress with our legal advisers in Greece, and we will contact buyers directly where the timeline could place a purchase within scope.

If provisions or conditions are published that change the position for existing agreements, we will assess them case by case and update the buyers affected.

What if you are still deciding?

You are not required to decide on the basis of headlines. On current information the market has at least several months before any change could take effect, and the legislation could still be narrowed, delayed or reshaped between announcement and vote.

Two things are worth doing now rather than later. Establish the realistic transfer timeline for the specific property you are considering, because that timeline is what determines exposure. Then establish whether the project’s structure places it inside or outside the described scope.

Expert tip: Off-plan and development purchases deserve the closest look. A property selected in 2026 may not be ready to transfer until well into 2027, which puts the delivery schedule at the centre of the decision rather than at the edge of it.

Our due diligence checklist covers the questions to ask before committing to any Greek purchase.

Will the measure pass as announced?

Announcements made at the Thessaloniki International Fair frequently become law, but rarely in unchanged form. Previous changes to Greek property rules and the Golden Visa programme were adjusted between announcement and implementation, with transition mechanisms and timelines that let the market adapt.

Two factors make adjustment more likely than usual here. The measure has drawn immediate objection from the property industry, which argues it contradicts a decade of policy aimed at attracting foreign capital and would hit the luxury and new-development segments hardest without improving affordability for Greek households. And national elections are due in spring 2027, before the July effective date. This was the Prime Minister’s final Thessaloniki address before that vote.

The context behind the measure is real. Third-country nationals invested approximately €1.2 billion in Greek real estate in 2025 according to Bank of Greece data, with roughly €800 million of that going into homes. Apartment prices rose 8.1% in 2025 and a further 5.7% year on year in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, Golden Visa demand had already cooled sharply after thresholds rose, with 2,551 new residence permit applications in the first half of 2026 against 4,553 in the same period a year earlier.

Beta Estate’s position

We have been operating in Athens since 2018, and our view on this is straightforward. Do not act under pressure, and do not act on headlines. Do stay informed.

We are following the process closely with our legal and professional advisers in Greece, and working alongside others in the industry to put the likely effects of a change like this in front of decision makers. When a bill or detailed government clarification is published, we will assess it and set out what it means in practice for buyers and investors.

If you have a question about an existing or planned transaction, speak to our team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the 15% property transfer tax in force in Greece now?

No. It has been announced, not legislated. The current rate remains 3.09% for all buyers, and it stays there until a law is passed and takes effect.

Does this affect American, British or Australian buyers?

Yes. The measure applies to nationals of countries outside the EU and EEA, which includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Switzerland. The countries named in the Prime Minister’s speech were examples, not the full scope.

Does the 15% rate apply to commercial property? Not as described. The published scope covers residential property purchased by individuals. Commercial property, land and other asset classes are outside it, though the final legislation could define the boundaries differently.

What happens if I hold both a third-country passport and an EU passport?

This is genuinely unresolved. Neither the treatment of dual nationals nor the point at which citizenship would be assessed has been defined, and it is one of the questions the industry has asked the government to clarify.

Does this change the Golden Visa investment thresholds?

No. The thresholds are unchanged at €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki and high-demand island areas, €400,000 elsewhere, and €250,000 for qualifying conversion and restoration projects. This measure would change the tax paid on the purchase, not the amount you need to invest.

Should I rush to complete a purchase before the deadline?

Rushing a cross-border property purchase to beat an effective date that has not been set is a poor basis for a decision. The timeline is long enough to complete proper due diligence, and a purchase made badly costs more than the tax difference on most transactions.

Is Greek property still worth considering for non-EU investors?

That depends on the specific asset and what you need from it. A higher entry cost changes the arithmetic on resale-focused purchases more than on long-hold rental assets, and the answer differs between a €250,000 conversion project and an €800,000 apartment. It is a question to work through on your own numbers rather than on a national average.

This article covers an announced measure, not enacted law. We will update it when a bill or official clarification is published. Nothing here is legal or tax advice, and you should confirm your own position with a qualified Greek lawyer or tax adviser before acting.