15% transfer tax: what a €300,000 Greek holiday home would cost

A €300,000 holiday home bought by a person who is tax resident outside the EU and EEA would carry €45,000 in transfer tax under Greece’s proposed 15% rate, against €9,270 today. The rate is in a bill tabled in Parliament on 3 November 2026. It is not yet law.

The numbers

Today the buyer pays transfer tax of 3% of the taxable value plus a 3% municipal surcharge on the tax itself, which makes 3.09% in total, under Article 27 of the Property Tax Code (Law 5219/2025) and the tax authority’s (AADE) guidance. Article 16 of the bill, put to consultation on 18 October 2026 and tabled in Parliament on 3 November 2026, sets the rate at 15% of the taxable value of the home for buyers who are tax resident outside the EU and EEA. The bill does not say whether the 3% municipal surcharge, which Article 27 levies on the tax due under that article, would apply on top; if it does, the total is 15.45%. This is still to be confirmed.

Who would pay and who would not

The test in the bill is tax residence, not nationality. The new paragraph 1A of Article 27 applies when a home is bought by a natural person who, at the time the tax liability arises, is tax resident in a country outside the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA). On that wording:

• A British, American, Canadian, Australian, Israeli or Swiss tax resident buying a holiday home in Greece would pay 15%. The United Kingdom and Switzerland are outside the EU and EEA.
• A non-EU national who is tax resident in Greece or in another EU or EEA country would not be caught.
• An EU national, including a Greek citizen, who is tax resident outside the EU and EEA would be caught, unless they qualify for the first-home exemption in Article 42 of the Property Tax Code, which the tabled bill keeps out of the 15% rate.
• Companies are outside the measure, which refers to natural persons only.
• Only homes are covered. The bill refers to the purchase of a home (katoikia) and does not define the term further; shops, offices and other non-residential property stay at 3%.
• Article 52(8) of the bill applies the rate to final contracts drawn up from 1 July 2027. A preliminary contract signed before that date but completed after it would, on the current wording, fall under the 15% rate.

The bill contains no exemption for Golden Visa buyers and none for the €250,000 Golden Visa route under Law 5100/2024 (change of use of a building to residential, or restoration of a listed building). Our report on the bill and our free guide go through the text.

What is driving it

The bill’s regulatory impact analysis, tabled with it in Parliament, says the aim is to curb demand for homes from buyers in third countries, which it links to rising prices and to residents’ reduced access to housing. The reasoning was first stated in the draft 2027 state budget, which the Ministry of National Economy and Finance sent to parliament on 5 October 2026. Table 2.5 of the draft budget lists the increase of transfer tax to 15% for home purchases by tax residents of third countries, from July 2027, under the heading of measures for the housing problem, next to the new “My Home III” mortgage scheme. The same table puts the extra revenue at €0 in 2026 and €41 million in 2027. The ministry’s announcement of 18 October 2026 presents the bill as the one carrying the measures announced at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair. We reported the budget on 8 October.

What it means for buyers

EU or EEA tax resident

Nothing changes. A German, Dutch, French or Norwegian tax resident buying a holiday home in Greece keeps paying 3.09% of the taxable value, before or after 1 July 2027. The other buying costs are set out in our cost of buying page.

Non-EU tax resident buying a resale

This is the group the bill aims at. On a €300,000 resale, transfer tax would rise from €9,270 to €45,000, or €46,350 if the surcharge applies. A final contract signed before 1 July 2027 pays today’s rate. A buyer who is close to a purchase has about eight months on the bill’s timetable. The tax is declared and paid before the final contract is drawn up, according to AADE.

Buying a new build with VAT

New builds are a separate case. A newly built home sold by a developer carries VAT at the standard 24% rate (Article 26 of the VAT Code, Law 5144/2024) instead of transfer tax, unless the developer has applied for the VAT suspension, in which case transfer tax applies. The suspension runs to 31 December 2026 under Article 70 of the VAT Code, and Article 17 of the same bill would extend it to 31 December 2027. So from 1 July 2027 a non-EU tax resident buying a new build under suspension would pay 15% transfer tax rather than 24% VAT, on the bill’s wording. Which regime applies depends on whether the developer has applied for the suspension for that building.

Golden Visa buyer

Golden Visa applicants are third-country nationals; those who are tax resident outside the EU and EEA would fall under the bill in full. At the €800,000 threshold that Law 5100/2024 sets for Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 residents, transfer tax would rise from €24,720 to €120,000, or €123,600 with the surcharge. The bill offers no Golden Visa exemption. See our Golden Visa section for the thresholds.

Diaspora buyer

A Greek citizen who lives and pays tax in the United States, Canada or Australia would be treated like any other non-EU tax resident. The first-home exemption that AADE lists for Greeks and for people of Greek descent from Albania, Turkey and the former Soviet Union requires permanent residence in Greece, or settling in Greece within two years of the purchase, so it does not help a holiday-home buyer who stays abroad. The tabled bill keeps buyers who qualify for that exemption (Article 42 of the Property Tax Code) out of the 15% rate, but adds no other exemption.

What happens next

Public consultation closed on 1 November 2026, and the bill was tabled in the Hellenic Parliament on 3 November 2026. Committee debate began on 6 November 2026, and the text can still change before the plenary vote. The surcharge question, the treatment of preliminary contracts and proof of tax residence at the notary are the points to watch in the final text. Our regulation tracker records the status of each rule, the buying cost calculator works out today’s costs, and our holiday homes section covers the rest of the purchase.

How we got these numbers

Today’s tax is 3% of taxable value plus 3% of that tax, so €300,000 × 3% = €9,000, plus €270, which is €9,270. The proposed rate is 15% of taxable value, so €300,000 × 15% = €45,000. If the 3% municipal surcharge also applies to the new rate, the total is €45,000 × 1.03 = €46,350, or 15.45%. The extra cost is the difference between the proposed figure and today’s figure. The same arithmetic gives the €500,000 and €800,000 rows. We assume the taxable value equals the price. Figures exclude notary, lawyer, Cadastre and agent costs.

Sources

• Hellenic Parliament: text of the bill tabled on 3 November 2026, Article 16 and Article 52 (Greek)
• Hellenic Parliament: regulatory impact analysis of the bill, Article 16 (Greek)
• Law 5219/2025 (Property Tax Code), Article 27: tax rates and municipal surcharge
• AADE: property transfer tax (FMA) for residents abroad
• Ministry of National Economy and Finance: Draft State Budget 2027, Table 2.5 (5 October 2026)
• Ministry of National Economy and Finance: draft bill posted for public consultation (18 October 2026)
• Law 5100/2024: Golden Visa thresholds

Buyers should confirm how this applies to them with a Greek lawyer or accountant.