Do you pay tax when selling a flat in Latvia?
Usually yes — but many sellers pay nothing, entirely lawfully. Selling real estate attracts capital gains tax — 20%, and from 2025, 25.5% — charged on the profit, not on the whole sale price. No tax is due if the property has been owned for more than 60 months (counted from the entry in the Land Register) and for at least 12 consecutive months within that period it was your declared place of residence. A second route: the property has been owned for more than 60 months and for the last 60 months was your only real estate. And a third: you reinvest the proceeds in a functionally similar property within 12 months of the sale.
📋 The rules
- Tax: 25.5% of the profit (from 2025)
- Exemption: 60 months of ownership
- And 12 months of declared residence
- Or: your only property for 60 months
- Or: reinvestment within 12 months
🔓 Exceptions
- The 60 months run from the day the property was entered in the Land Register
- The 12 declared-residence months may be any 12 within the 60-month period
- For inherited or gifted property the acquisition value is set by special rules
⚠️ Penalties & fines
It is the Land Register that decides. The 60 months run from the day the property was registered in the Land Register — not from the purchase contract or from the day you got the keys. If that entry was delayed, the exemption is delayed with it, and many people discover this only when they come to sell, when nothing can be changed. Good news on the declared residence: the 12 months can be any 12 months within the last 60 before the sale contract — they need not be the most recent. If no exemption applies, the tax is 25.5% of the capital gain, that is, of the difference between the sale price and the acquisition value. For inherited or gifted property the acquisition value is determined by special rules — and that is where the costliest mistakes are made.
📎 Official sources
- VID · Capital gains income tax →
- likumi.lv · Personal Income Tax Law →
- LV portāls · Capital gains tax →
❓ Frequently asked
How much is the tax?
Capital gains tax used to be 20 percent, and from 2025 it is 25.5 percent. It is charged on the profit — the difference between the sale price and the acquisition value — not on the whole sale sum.
When is no tax due?
When the property has been yours for more than 60 months and for at least 12 consecutive months within that period it was your declared place of residence. That is the most commonly used exemption of the three.
When do the 60 months start?
From the day the property was registered in the Land Register, not from the signing of the purchase contract. If registration was delayed, the exemption period starts later, and sellers discover it too late.
Must the declared residence be recent?
Not necessarily. The 12 months of declared residence may be any 12 months within the last 60 months before the date the sale contract is concluded, so an earlier period counts just as well.
What about inherited or gifted property?
For those the acquisition value is set by special rules, since there is no purchase price. This is where the costliest mistakes occur, so it is worth checking the calculation against VID guidance before selling.
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