International buyers considering a home in Greece will need to pay close attention to a major tax change announced by the Greek government for 2027.
Under the proposed new framework, the property transfer tax on residential purchases by certain buyers from countries outside the European Union and European Economic Area will rise from 3% to 15%.
Once the existing municipal levy is included, the effective transfer-tax burden would increase from 3.09% today to 15.45% for buyers who fall within the new rules.
For someone looking to buy a holiday home, villa or second residence in Halkidiki or elsewhere in Greece, this is not a minor increase in closing costs. Depending on the value of the property, it could add tens of thousands of euros to the capital required to complete a purchase.
However, the headline “15% tax for foreign buyers” is too simplistic.
The measure does not apply to every foreign national, every international buyer or every type of Greek property. There are important exemptions, distinctions and details that prospective buyers should understand before making a decision.
What is the current property transfer tax in Greece?
Under the current system, the standard property transfer tax in Greece is 3% of the property's taxable value.
An additional municipal levy equal to 3% of the main transfer tax is also charged. This brings the effective tax rate to approximately 3.09%.
For a property with a taxable value of €300,000, for example, the current calculation is approximately:
Main transfer tax: €9,000
Municipal levy: €270
Total transfer tax: €9,270
This should not be confused with the total cost of purchasing property in Greece.
Depending on the transaction, buyers may also need to budget for notary fees, legal services, Land Registry or Cadastre costs, real estate agency fees and other expenses associated with completing the acquisition.
What is changing for certain non-EU property buyers?
The Greek government has announced that the main property transfer tax will increase from 3% to 15% for qualifying residential purchases by certain third-country buyers.
Including the municipal levy, the effective rate would become 15.45%.
The financial impact is substantial.
For the same €300,000 taxable property value, the transfer-tax cost could increase from approximately €9,270 to €46,350.
That is an additional €37,080 before considering any other acquisition expenses.
For buyers looking at higher-value holiday homes and villas, the difference becomes even more significant.
Taxable property valueCurrent effective tax 3.09%New effective tax 15.45%Difference€200,000€6,180€30,900€24,720€300,000€9,270€46,350€37,080€500,000€15,450€77,250€61,800€800,000€24,720€123,600€98,880€1,000,000€30,900€154,500€123,600
These examples illustrate transfer tax only. They do not represent the full cost of buying property in Greece.
Who could be affected by the new 15% transfer tax?
This is where the distinction becomes important.
The announced measure is aimed at residential purchases by certain individuals from third countries, meaning countries outside the European Union and European Economic Area.
Based on the details published so far, EU and EEA citizens are outside the scope of the new increased rate.
The announced framework also provides exceptions for certain categories, including long-term residents in Greece and specific groups that already receive particular treatment under Greek first-home tax rules.
This means that nationality alone may not always be sufficient to determine a buyer's final tax position.
The authorities have used references both to third-country citizens and to tax residents of third countries when describing the measure. The final legislation will therefore be important in establishing exactly how nationality, residency status and tax residence interact.
Prospective buyers should avoid assuming that they either qualify or are exempt until their individual status has been checked against the final legal framework.
What does this mean for British buyers after Brexit?
For British buyers, this development deserves particular attention.
The United Kingdom is no longer part of the European Union or European Economic Area. As a result, UK nationals purchasing residential property in Greece could potentially fall within the category targeted by the announced rules unless they qualify for an applicable exemption or residency status.
For a British buyer considering a €500,000 villa in Halkidiki, for example, the difference between today's effective transfer tax and the announced new rate would be approximately €61,800.
That is large enough to influence the overall purchasing budget, the type of property being considered and potentially the timing of the acquisition.
The same need for careful assessment applies to buyers from other non-EU/EEA markets such as the United States, Israel, Türkiye, Serbia, China and several other countries.
Not every buyer from these countries will necessarily be treated identically. Individual residency and legal status will matter.
The new rate is aimed at residential property
Another important point is the type of real estate being purchased.
The announced 15% rate specifically targets residential property.
According to the government's current outline, the increase is not intended to apply in the same way to commercial property, land or other non-residential real estate categories.
This distinction can be particularly relevant in Halkidiki, where international buyers may consider very different types of real estate:
holiday apartments,
detached houses and villas,
plots of land,
commercial properties,
tourism-related properties,
or buildings intended for redevelopment.
The legal classification of the property therefore becomes an important part of the acquisition analysis.
A buyer considering a finished villa and a buyer purchasing a plot on which to build a villa should not automatically assume that the announced transfer-tax treatment will be identical.
Why this matters for buyers in Halkidiki
Halkidiki has traditionally attracted a significant international second-home market.
Many buyers are not purchasing their primary residence in Greece. They are acquiring a holiday home, a family property by the sea, a second residence or an asset that combines personal use with longer-term investment considerations.
That makes acquisition costs particularly important.
A buyer comparing a €400,000 property in Greece with a second-home opportunity in another Mediterranean destination should not compare asking prices alone.
The relevant figure is the total amount of capital required to complete the acquisition.
Under the announced tax regime, two buyers purchasing exactly the same property could potentially face materially different tax treatment depending on their status.
This makes early buyer qualification more important than it has been in the past.
Before narrowing down a property shortlist, an international buyer should understand not only what they want to spend on the property itself, but what their realistic total acquisition budget will be.
When is the new tax expected to begin?
The government has stated that the new regime is intended to take effect from 1 July 2027.
The delayed implementation is intended to give the market time to adjust rather than introduce the increase immediately.
For buyers already considering a Greek property, this creates an obvious question:
Should a purchase be completed before the new regime takes effect?
The answer cannot be reduced to a simple yes or no.
A rushed property purchase is rarely a good property purchase. Legal due diligence, technical checks, title verification, tax planning and assessment of the property itself remain essential.
At the same time, for a buyer who is likely to fall within the new regime and is already planning a purchase, the potential difference in transfer tax is significant enough that transaction timing should now form part of the discussion.
The final legislation will also need to clarify any transitional rules, including how transactions already underway before 1 July 2027 will be treated.
A reservation agreement, preliminary agreement and final purchase contract are not necessarily the same event for tax purposes.
Buyers should therefore avoid making assumptions based solely on when negotiations began.
Does the new tax change the Greek Golden Visa programme?
The announced transfer-tax increase and the Greek Golden Visa programme are separate issues.
The government has not announced that the 15% measure itself changes the Golden Visa investment thresholds or the fundamental structure of the residency programme.
However, the tax change could materially alter the total acquisition cost of a property transaction that also forms part of a Golden Visa strategy.
A property that satisfies a particular Golden Visa investment route could still become considerably more expensive to acquire if the buyer and the transaction fall within the scope of the higher transfer tax.
There is also a more technical issue involving properties whose use is converted, for example from commercial premises into residential accommodation.
Because the announced higher rate is specifically aimed at residential purchases, the property's legal classification at the time of acquisition may prove important.
This is an area where the final legislation and subsequent implementation guidance will matter considerably.
Anyone purchasing specifically for Golden Visa purposes should therefore assess residency eligibility and property taxation separately rather than assuming that satisfying one automatically answers the other.
Does buying through a company avoid the new rate?
The current government announcement refers to purchases by natural persons rather than legal entities.
That distinction is relevant, but it should not be interpreted as a recommendation to establish a company simply to purchase a property.
Buying real estate through a corporate structure creates an entirely different set of tax, accounting, ownership and ongoing compliance considerations.
The appropriate structure depends on the buyer's circumstances, intended use of the property and investment objectives.
A company should therefore not be viewed as a simple tax workaround. Professional legal and tax advice is essential before selecting an ownership structure.
Why is Greece introducing the higher tax?
The government has presented the measure as part of its wider housing policy.
Its stated objective is to reduce part of the external demand for residential property that it believes is contributing to higher housing prices and making access to housing more difficult for permanent residents.
According to the figures presented alongside the measure, buyers from third countries invested approximately €1.2 billion in Greek property during 2025, with an estimated €800 million relating to residential real estate.
Whether the tax increase will materially reduce foreign demand remains to be seen.
International demand is not uniform across Greece.
A foreign buyer looking for a seaside villa in a highly sought-after part of Halkidiki is participating in a very different property market from a domestic buyer looking for a first home in an urban residential district.
The effect of the measure is therefore unlikely to be identical across every region, price category or property type.
What international buyers should calculate before choosing a property
The most important practical change is that international buyers should move away from thinking only in terms of asking price.
The purchasing decision should instead be based on total acquisition cost.
Before committing to a residential property in Greece, a buyer should establish: their nationality and residency status, whether the announced higher transfer tax is likely to apply, the legal classification of the property, the taxable value used for the transaction, the expected completion date, any applicable exemptions, the total transfer tax, and the other professional and transactional expenses involved in the purchase. Only after these factors are understood can a buyer compare properties on a genuinely like-for-like basis. A €500,000 villa with an additional transfer-tax burden of more than €60,000 compared with today's system represents a substantially different investment proposition.
What is still not final?
The 15% transfer-tax measure has been officially announced and further details have been presented by the Greek government, but buyers should remember that the final legislative framework remains critical.
The law will need to define precisely who falls within the increased rate, how exceptions operate and how transitional transactions are handled.
Until that process is complete, international buyers should treat the current rules as an announced future regime rather than as legislation already in force.
This distinction is particularly important for anyone planning a transaction during 2026 or the first half of 2027.
Planning a property purchase in Halkidiki
The proposed change does not make Greece or Halkidiki automatically unattractive to non-EU buyers.
It does, however, make preparation significantly more important.
For buyers who fall within the new tax regime, the cost difference can be substantial enough to influence property selection, available budget and investment returns.
International buyers should therefore establish their likely tax position early, rather than discovering additional acquisition costs after they have already selected a property.
Halkidiki Properties works with international buyers throughout the property search and acquisition process, helping them identify suitable opportunities and coordinate the steps required to move from property selection to completion.
Where legal or tax advice is required, buyers should always obtain guidance from the appropriate qualified professionals before entering into a binding transaction.
The right property remains important. From 2027, understanding the true cost of acquiring it may be just as important.
