Do I pay tax on the gain if I sell a flat or a house?
It depends: the gain from selling property is taxed at an income-tax rate of 25%, but that rate falls with years of ownership and disappears after 15 years. What is taxed is the gain — the difference between the sale and the acquisition value, not the whole price. The base rate is 25% and drops for every full five years of ownership: to 20% after 5 years, 15% after 10 years, and after 15 years there is no tax at all. Here is the biggest trap: many articles still quote 27.5%, which was the rate only in 2020 and 2021 — a March 2022 amendment returned it to 25%. A second myth is that the tax always applies: you do not pay it if you had registered permanent residence and actually lived in the property for the last three years before the sale, or if you sell after 15 years. Do not confuse this tax with the 2% real-estate transfer tax, which is charged on the whole price and also falls on the seller. You must file the assessment return with FURS within 15 days of the sale.
📋 The rules
- What is taxed is the capital gain — the difference between the sale and the acquisition value of the property (Article 132 ZDoh-2), not the whole sale price.
- The base rate is 25% and falls with the holding period: 20% after 5 years, 15% after 10 years and 0% after 15 years of ownership.
- The 27.5% rate applied only in 2020 and 2021; a March 2022 amendment to ZDoh-2 restored 25% from 1 January 2022 — older figures are outdated.
- There is no tax if you had registered permanent residence and actually lived in the property for the last 3 years before the sale, or if you sell after 15 years of ownership.
- You must file the return with FURS within 15 days of the disposal; this tax is separate from the 2% real-estate transfer tax, which the seller pays on the whole price.
🔓 Exceptions
- On gifting property to a spouse or child and on inheritance in the first heir class you can claim a deferral of the tax assessment — the tax is not charged now but carried over to the next disposal.
- The acquisition value also includes purchase costs and investments (transfer tax, notary, registration, documented capital investments), which lower the taxable gain; without receipts they are not recognised.
- If you sell the property at a loss (cheaper than you bought it), there is no gain tax; a loss on real estate generally cannot be offset against gains from other transactions.
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Whoever fails to file the return within 15 days of the sale commits a tax offence: FURS can impose a fine and assess the tax of its own motion, since every property transfer runs through a notary and the land register, so the deal is never hidden. Unpaid tax brings default interest and tax enforcement with seizure, increased by procedural costs. Particularly risky is concealing the true price — stating a lower figure in the contract to make the gain look smaller: that is tax evasion, for which FURS uses a comparable market value and adds a penalty. An overlooked trap is the acquisition value: without receipts for investments those investments are not recognised, so the taxable gain, and the tax, are higher than you expect. Whoever »flips« a flat within a few years pays the top 25% rate, because the relief for the holding period has not yet accrued.
📎 Official sources
- PISRS · Personal Income Tax Act (ZDoh-2, Article 132) →
- FURS · buying and selling property →
- e-uprava · taxes on real estate →
❓ Frequently asked
What is the rate of tax on the gain from selling property?
The base rate is 25 percent of the gain, that is of the difference between the sale and the acquisition value. It falls with the holding period: after five years it is 20 percent, after ten years 15 percent, and after fifteen years of ownership no tax is due at all.
Is the rate really 27.5 percent?
No, that is an outdated figure. The 27.5 percent rate applied only in 2020 and 2021, and a March 2022 amendment to the income tax act returned it to 25 percent from the start of 2022. Articles and calculators that still quote 27.5 percent have not been updated.
When do I not have to pay the tax?
There is no tax if you had registered permanent residence and actually lived in the property for the last three years before the sale, or if you sell it after fifteen years of ownership. Exemption is also possible through deferral when gifting to a spouse or child.
Is this the same as the 2 percent real-estate transfer tax?
No, these are two different taxes. Income tax on the gain taxes only the profit at up to 25 percent, while the two percent transfer tax is charged on the whole sale price; both usually fall on the seller, the transfer tax when the deal is not subject to VAT.
By when must I file the return?
You must file the return for assessment of income tax on the gain with the financial administration within 15 days of concluding the deal or disposing of the property. FURS then issues a decision, and you pay the tax by the deadline stated in it; delay brings interest and possible tax enforcement.
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