For years, non-EU buyers have paid the same transfer tax as everyone else in Greece, and that is about to change. On 6 September 2026, at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that the government intends to raise the real estate transfer tax from 3 per cent to 15 per cent for buyers from third countries, meaning outside the European Union and the European Economic Area. No bill has been published, so this is an intention, not yet a law.
The reporting is detailed enough to act on, and that matters for anyone with a client mid-purchase. A Greek news outlet, ProtoThema, set out the rate, the exemptions still under discussion and the confusion over the start date in an article on 29 September 2026. Here is what an agent needs to know, and what stays open.
Greece Plans a 15 Per Cent Tax on Non-EU Buyers
The measure is aimed at natural persons who are citizens of a third country, and the rise is steep: five times the current charge. EU citizens keep paying 3 per cent, because the change is defined against EU and EEA membership rather than against residence on its own. Possible exemptions may be introduced for members of the Greek diaspora and for long-term residents, the government has said, but it has not named who would qualify or how many years of residence would be needed. That framework stays unknown until the bill appears.
For an agent, the practical point is that a client’s passport now matters as much as their budget. A buyer from Istanbul, London, Tel Aviv or Dubai falls inside the scope; a buyer holding a French or German passport does not. Nothing in the announcement changes the process of buying, only the bill at the end of it, and even that is still a proposal.
What the Transfer Tax Costs Today and Tomorrow
Today every buyer in Greece pays transfer tax of 3 per cent on the taxable value, which is the higher of the agreed price and the objective tax value of the property. A municipal surcharge of 3 per cent is calculated on the transfer tax itself, not on the property value, which lifts the effective rate to 3.09 per cent.
Under the announced measure the headline rate for non-EU natural persons would be 15 per cent, or 15.45 per cent with the surcharge. On a property valued at 800,000 euro, the reporting puts the transfer tax at about 120,000 euro, against roughly 24,000 euro under the current rules. That is the 12-point gap buyers already in negotiation are racing to close.
| Buyer | Rate today | Announced rate |
|---|---|---|
| Greek and EU citizens | 3.09 per cent effective | Unchanged |
| Non-EU natural persons | 3.09 per cent effective | 15.45 per cent effective |
| Corporate entities | 3.09 per cent effective | Not covered by the measure |
| Tax on an 800,000 euro home | About 24,000 euro | About 120,000 euro |
Who Pays and How Big the Non-EU Market Is
The sums involved are large enough to matter, and they cluster on Athens and the wider region of Attica. Bank of Greece data put total foreign investment in Greek real estate at 2.05 billion euro in 2025. Of that, about 1.2 billion came from third-country, non-EU buyers, the exact group the announced tax targets.
Within that group one country leads clearly. Turkey tops the table with 214.4 million euro invested in 2025, just ahead of Switzerland at 210.8 million. Hong Kong follows at 115.5 million, then Israel at 88.2 million and the United States at 88 million, close enough to be read as level.
- The United Arab Emirates, with 67.2 million euro.
- The United Kingdom, with 63.3 million euro.
- China, with 49.8 million euro.
The Date Is Not Settled and That Matters
The start date moved within days of the announcement. 1 January 2027 was the date the Prime Minister first referred to. Two days later the Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, presenting a 2.2 billion euro housing support package, cited 1 July 2027 as the most likely date. Both are intentions rather than commitments, because the bill has not been published and the transitional provisions are unknown.
For a client, the date of the law matters less than the date of the transfer. What counts is not only when a measure takes effect but when the legal transfer of ownership completes. A reservation agreement or a preliminary contract signed today does not guarantee a completed transfer within 2026, and the risk is highest for off-plan or under-construction projects, where completion can slip past a deadline by months.
That is why the coming months are likely to bring a surge in completed sales. Buyers already in due diligence will push to close under the current regime, and sellers with foreign clients have a reason to keep the timetable tight. The surge is an expectation from the reporting, not a certainty, and it could cool as quickly as it builds if the date slips again.
What Canada and Spain Suggest About Demand
The report reaches for two comparisons. British Columbia introduced a 15 per cent foreign buyer tax in Vancouver in 2016, later raised to 20 per cent. In the region, the share of foreign buyers in transactions dropped sharply within months, and price growth slowed in high-demand neighbourhoods. Spain has since proposed a 100 per cent tax on property bought by non-EU buyers, an even harsher idea that is also still only a proposal.
Neither case is a forecast for Greece, and the reporting is careful to say so. Greek demand is spread across many nationalities, the tax would hit natural persons rather than companies, and the country’s relative affordability is a draw that a single charge may not erase.
Corina Saias, Managing Director of Premier Realty, argues that the luxury real estate market in Attica has had one of the most consistent growth trajectories in Europe over the past five years, with cumulative price increases approaching 50 per cent since 2021. In her reading, the tax raises the entry cost for one group of buyers but does not remove the structural advantages of relative affordability, location and safety. She expects the strain to fall hardest on non-EU buyers spending between 250,000 and 800,000 euro, because the extra burden changes the return for that tier. The market, she says, will not collapse; it becomes more complex, more bureaucratic and more demanding in how deals are structured, with demand shifting from natural persons towards corporate vehicles.
What Agents Should Tell a Client This Autumn
Saias also makes the point agents should hold on to, which is that timing is now the centre of the conversation. Practical advice, until the bill lands, looks like this.
- Check the buyer’s citizenship, not just where they live. A passport from outside the EU or EEA is what pulls the higher rate into play.
- Read the completion date, not the reservation date. A preliminary contract signed today does not fix the tax that applies when ownership passes.
- Ask about the transitional provisions in writing, and expect the answer to change until the law is published.
- Talk through the corporate route honestly. A company may change the maths, because the measure targets natural persons rather than companies, but it brings its own filing, accounting and disclosure duties.
- Set expectations on price. Buyers in the 250,000 to 800,000 euro band are the ones whose returns move most.
None of this is a reason to talk a client out of Greece, and none of it is a reason to promise the old rate will hold. The honest position is that the rate, the exemptions and the date are all still moving, so the safest plan is the one that treats completion, not announcement, as the deadline.
Questions Agents Ask About the Greek Tax Change
Does the 15 per cent rate apply to every foreign buyer?
No. It is aimed at natural persons who are citizens of countries outside the EU and the EEA. EU citizens keep paying 3 per cent, and corporate entities are not covered by the announced measure at all. Whether a given buyer qualifies for a diaspora or long-term-resident exemption cannot be answered until the bill is published.
When will the higher transfer tax actually start?
Nobody knows yet. In his original speech the Prime Minister referred to 1 January 2027, and the finance minister then cited 1 July 2027 as most likely. Until the bill is published and the transitional provisions are written, both dates are plans, and a third date is possible.
What if the client has already signed a preliminary contract?
It helps, but it does not guarantee anything. What matters is when the legal transfer of ownership completes. A reservation or preliminary agreement signed today can still leave the buyer exposed if the deed is not registered before the new rate begins, and off-plan or under-construction projects carry the greatest risk.
Can a non-EU buyer use a company to avoid the tax?
It may change the arithmetic, because the measure targets natural persons rather than corporate entities. But the reporting expects exactly this shift, and a company brings filing duties, accounting costs and disclosure that a direct purchase avoids. It is a structure to cost properly with a lawyer, not a trick.
Will the tax cool prices in Athens?
On the reporting’s reading, an adjustment in buyer behaviour is more likely than a collapse. International comparisons saw foreign demand fall and price growth slow, but Greek demand is broad and Athens remains relatively affordable. Premier Realty’s reading is that the market becomes harder to navigate, not that it empties.
