Last updated: October 13, 2026
The property transfer tax is paid when the deed is signed. The proposal is that all residential deeds signed after the effective date — July 1, 2027, awaiting a parliamentary vote — will use the new rate of 15%. Not the day the property is chosen. Not the day the deposit is paid.
That single mechanism shapes everything else in this update.
A family decision held for five, seven, or ten years should not be made by a date that has not yet been legislated. First decide whether it makes sense on its own merits, then check whether the timing works. A property that does not make sense at 3.09% does not become sensible because a tax rise is coming. A property that does make sense deserves one more question — whether its title transfer timeline holds up under scrutiny.
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Our team in Lisbon can spend 30 minutes lining up routes, costs, and timelines with you, side by side.
Schedule a 30-Minute Call Compare All ProgrammesWhat exactly is changing?
One variable moves: the transfer tax rate on residential property bought by non-EU nationals. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the measure at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair as part of a housing package of approximately €2.2 billion, and the Ministry of Finance set out further detail in the days that followed. The government’s stated aim is to curb residential demand from outside the EU and ease price pressure on local households.
| Item | Current Rule | Proposed New Rule (announced September 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax rate | 3%, approximately 3.09% with the municipal surcharge | 15%, approximately 15.45% with the municipal surcharge |
| Who pays | All buyers | Natural persons who are nationals of countries outside the EU; EU citizens stay at the current rate |
| Property covered | All real estate | Residential property only; commercial premises, land, and industrial property excluded |
| Tax base | The higher of the agreed price and the state-assessed “objective value” | Expected to stay the same |
| Effective date | — | July 1, 2027, subject to final legislation |
| Legislative status | — | Not yet law. The measure is expected in an omnibus bill that must go through public consultation, a parliamentary vote, and publication in the Government Gazette |
Sources: Greek government housing package and Ministry of Finance statements, September 2026, as reported by To Vima and summarised by Greek law firm Ballas, Pelecanos & Associates. This table will be updated when the bill text is published.
What is not changing?
This half of the update matters as much as the first.
- The Greece Golden Visa programme rules are unchanged. Investment thresholds, residency rights, and family eligibility stay as they are.
- Non-property routes are unaffected. Fund subscriptions involve no property transfer, so no transfer tax arises.
- Commercial property and land keep the current rate. Offices, retail units, warehouses, hotels, and development land remain at approximately 3.09% for every buyer.
- EU citizens are unaffected. Anyone who already holds EU citizenship continues to buy at the current rate.
Put plainly: the measure changes the cost of completing a residential purchase, not the eligibility structure of the Greece Golden Visa.
How much more does each Golden Visa tier cost?
At the minimum investment for each tier, the additional transfer tax is approximately €29,800 at €250,000, €47,600 at €400,000, and €95,300 at €800,000 at the 15% base rate. See Greece Golden Visa properties for a breakdown of which tier applies to which property type. With the municipal surcharge applied to the new rate, each figure rises slightly.
| Golden Visa Property Tier | Where It Applies | Current Tax (≈3.09%) | Proposed Tax (15%) | Difference | Difference incl. Surcharge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €250,000 | Commercial-to-residential conversions and listed-building restorations | ≈ €7,725 | €37,500 | ≈ €29,775 | ≈ €30,900 |
| €400,000 | Most regions of Greece | ≈ €12,360 | €60,000 | ≈ €47,640 | ≈ €49,440 |
| €800,000 | Attica (incl. Athens), Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants | ≈ €24,720 | €120,000 | ≈ €95,280 | ≈ €98,880 |
Why does the title transfer date matter more than the rate?
Under the announced package, the 15% rate applies to residential deeds signed from July 1, 2027, and the transfer tax is paid before the notary signs.
Completing a Greek purchase first requires a Greek tax number (AFM), a Greek bank account, a source-of-funds review, and title due diligence; a buyer who cannot travel also needs a power of attorney drafted for the purpose. For conversion and development projects, the date a property becomes title-ready may itself fall in 2027.
What remains unresolved until the bill is published?
An honest admission first: until the bill text is public, no adviser can tell you with certainty whether a paid deposit or a signed preliminary agreement will secure the 3.09% rate. That includes us.
The open questions below are genuinely open. For each, we state what is settled, what is not, and what you can do now.
-
Whether deposits and preliminary agreements fix the current rate.
Settled: transfer tax is assessed at, and paid before, the signing of the deed.
Open: the government has not published transitional provisions for transactions already in progress. -
How the €250,000 conversion route is classified.
Settled: commercial property is outside the increase.
Open: conversion projects start as commercial buildings and are delivered as homes, so the property’s registered use on the day of the deed will matter. See our Greece Golden Visa properties page for how conversion units are classified under the current rules. -
Purchases through a company.
Settled: the announcement targets natural persons.
Open: some market commentary suggests company purchases fall outside the measure, but the bill text is not public, and company ownership has its own consequences for Golden Visa eligibility. -
The parliamentary timetable.
Settled: the measure takes effect only after a parliamentary vote and publication in the Government Gazette.
Open: the final wording — and Greece’s next national election is expected in the first half of 2027.
Two programmes side by side are often clearer than either one alone
Our team can walk through the Greek and Portuguese routes with you, side by side, in a 30-minute call. No commitment required.
Schedule a 30-Minute Call Compare All ProgrammesWhich route are you on?
Among the families our team speaks with, the ones reading this announcement most carefully are rarely the ones in a hurry. They tend to be parents in their forties with children approaching secondary school, comparing two or three European jurisdictions over a ten-year horizon. They do not ask which route is cheapest. They ask which one still holds up a decade from now.
They put the transfer tax into the budget — and put “bill not yet published” into the risk column of the same spreadsheet. For them, a tax announcement is not a prompt to move. It is one more data point that makes the arithmetic complete.
The Golden Portugal is an elite boutique advisory based in Lisbon, focused on Portugal, licensed as a real estate mediation company under AMI Licence No. 22641 and certified by the Investment Migration Council (IMC). On Greece, our work is to: compare the Greek property or fund route — cost, timeline, and years to citizenship; check candidate properties against tier eligibility, the 120 m² minimum, and a realistic title transfer date; and work alongside independent Greek legal counsel on title due diligence and contract terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Greece’s 15% transfer tax take effect?
The government has indicated July 1, 2027, subject to a parliamentary vote and publication in the Government Gazette. As of October 6, 2026, the bill has not been published, and the current rate of approximately 3.09% continues to apply.
Does the 15% rate affect the Greece Golden Visa?
It affects the property route, not the non-property routes. Non-EU nationals qualifying through residential property fall within the increase at all three tiers; fund, bank deposit, and government bond routes involve no transfer and are unaffected. The programme’s thresholds and residency rights are unchanged.
I have already paid a deposit. Will I pay 3.09%?
That cannot be confirmed yet. Transfer tax is assessed at the signing of the deed, and the government has not published transitional provisions for transactions in progress. Until the bill text is public, no adviser can give a definitive answer.
Which property types keep the current rate?
Under the announced package, commercial premises, offices, retail units, warehouses, hotels, and land keep the current rate. How €250,000 commercial-to-residential conversion units are classified depends on the property’s registered use when the deed is signed, and awaits the bill text.
Is Portugal introducing a similar measure?
No similar measure has been announced in Portugal. Portugal’s property transfer tax does not set different rates by buyer nationality, and the Portugal Golden Visa fund route involves no property transfer — direct real estate purchase has not been a qualifying investment for the Portugal Golden Visa since the October 2023 reform.
An option is worth most before it is needed
Tax rates change. Bills are amended. Timetables slip. The value of a well-prepared residency option does not. If you are the type of person who works out every detail before deciding, our team in Lisbon can walk through the Greek and Portuguese routes with you, side by side.
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