Cyprus Property Transfer Fees and VAT Calculator

What a buyer actually pays on top of the price

Two charges decide the real cost of acquiring property in Cyprus, and they are mutually exclusive rather than cumulative. A purchase that carries VAT does not carry transfer fees. A purchase that does not carry VAT carries transfer fees, reduced by half.

The calculator below applies the Department of Lands and Surveys scale and the VAT rules as they stand, so you can see the figure before you commit to a price. It is an indicative tool and not a valuation, for the reasons set out under it.

Before you rely on a figure

Transfer fees are assessed on the value the Land Registry puts on the property, which is not necessarily the price in your contract. Eligibility for the reduced VAT rate depends on conditions this tool does not test. Send us the contract and we will give you the figure that applies to your purchase.

The calculator

Indicative result

VAT
Transfer fees on the scale
Transfer fees payable

Figures are rounded to the nearest euro. This tool does not assess eligibility for the reduced VAT rate and does not value the property.

Transfer fees

The scale, and the half that is not charged

Transfer fees are charged by the Department of Lands and Surveys when title passes into your name, on a rising scale:

3 per cent on the first €85,000, which is €2,550
5 per cent from €85,001 to €170,000, a further €4,250
8 per cent on everything above €170,000

Where the purchase is not subject to VAT, the fees on that scale are reduced by 50 per cent. Where the purchase is subject to VAT, no transfer fees are payable at all.

Buying in joint names changes the arithmetic. Fees are calculated on each share rather than on the property as a whole, so two buyers taking a half share each are assessed on half the value each, and each runs through the lower bands separately. On a purchase above €170,000 that is a real difference rather than a rounding one, which the calculator shows.

The value is the Land Registry's, not yours. The fees are assessed on the value the Land Registry attributes to the property at the date of transfer, which may not be the figure in your contract. A price materially below what the Registry considers the property to be worth does not reduce the fee.

VAT

Nineteen per cent, or five, or none

A resale property does not carry VAT. That is why transfer fees exist on it, and why the 50 per cent reduction matters.

A new property carries VAT at the standard rate of 19 per cent, unless the buyer qualifies for the reduced rate on a primary and permanent residence.

The reduced rate of 5 per cent

The reduced rate applies to the first 130 square metres of buildable area, provided that its value does not exceed €350,000. Beyond that the position is proportional:

where the value is up to €350,000, the reduced rate is applied proportionally to the square metres of buildable area when it is over 130 and up to 190
where the value is between €350,001 and €475,000, the reduced rate is applied to the value up to €350,000, proportionate to the square metres over 130 and up to 190

The reduced rate does not apply at all where the total buildable area exceeds 190 square metres, or the total value of the residence exceeds €475,000. The standard rate then applies to the whole.

Different limits apply to a person with a disability, for whom the reduced rate applies to the first 190 square metres irrespective of total area, and to large families with at least four children, where the area is increased by 15 square metres for each additional child beyond three, without affecting the value thresholds. Transitional provisions also exist for developments whose planning applications predate 31 October 2023. None of these is modelled by the calculator.

The reduced rate carries a ten year commitment. A beneficiary who stops using the residence as their primary and permanent home within ten years must notify the Tax Department within thirty days and pay the difference between the reduced and standard rate for the unexpired period.

What the tool cannot do

Where the figure stops being reliable

It calculates. It does not advise, and there are four points at which a real purchase departs from the arithmetic.

The Land Registry's valuation. Transfer fees follow the Registry's value, not the contract price. Where the two differ the fee follows the Registry.

Eligibility for the reduced rate. The 5 per cent rate requires a responsible declaration to the Tax Department and turns on conditions about the buyer and the property that no calculator can test.

What is actually being sold. Where a purchase is by assignment of contractual rights rather than by transfer of a registered title, the charging points and their timing are different. That situation is set out under title deed problems and buying at auction.

Everything else in the transaction. Legal fees, the Council of Ministers permit where the buyer is not an EU national, mortgage costs and the searches that belong before signature are separate. The sequence is set out under Property Due Diligence.

Sources

Where these figures come from

The transfer fee scale and the arithmetic in the calculator follow the Department of Lands and Surveys transfer fees calculator, including its note that fees are computed on whole shares, so a share is entered at the share's own value.

The reduced VAT rate mechanics follow VAT Circular 11/2023 of the Tax Commissioner, issued on 28 November 2023, which sets out the application of the 5 per cent rate on a primary and permanent residence, the proportional treatment between 130 and 190 square metres, the outer limits of 190 square metres and €475,000, and the ten year obligation.

The rule that no transfer fees are payable where VAT applies, and that fees are reduced by 50 per cent where the purchase is not subject to VAT, is stated in those terms in the published technical summaries of Cyprus property taxation.

Rates and thresholds change. The figures were checked on 15 August 2026 and are not updated automatically.

Frequently asked questions about Cyprus property transfer fees and VAT

Do I pay both VAT and transfer fees?

No. The two are mutually exclusive. Where the purchase is subject to VAT no transfer fees are payable, and where it is not subject to VAT the transfer fees on the scale are reduced by 50 per cent.

What are the transfer fee rates?

Three per cent on the first €85,000, five per cent from €85,001 to €170,000, and eight per cent above €170,000, charged by the Department of Lands and Surveys when title passes into your name.

Does buying in joint names reduce the fees?

It can, because fees are calculated on each share rather than on the property as a whole, so each buyer runs through the lower bands separately. On a purchase above €170,000 the difference is material rather than cosmetic.

When does the 5 per cent VAT rate apply?

To a primary and permanent residence, on the first 130 square metres of buildable area where its value does not exceed €350,000, with proportional treatment between 130 and 190 square metres and between €350,001 and €475,000. It does not apply at all where the buildable area exceeds 190 square metres or the value exceeds €475,000.

What happens if I stop living in the property?

The reduced rate carries a ten year commitment. A beneficiary who ceases to use the residence as their primary and permanent home within ten years must notify the Tax Department within thirty days and pay the difference between the reduced and standard rate for the unexpired period.

Is the figure the calculator gives me the figure I will pay?

Treat it as an indication. Transfer fees are assessed on the value the Land Registry attributes to the property, which may not be your contract price, and eligibility for the reduced VAT rate turns on conditions the tool does not test. Send us the contract for the figure that applies to your purchase.

Who leads this work

Between them the partners bring more than 40 years of practice in Cyprus. Every matter is run by one of them.

Andreas Kleanthous

Partner

Litigation, personal injury and insurance claims, debt recovery, administrative law, real estate, wills and probate.

Klitos Platis

Partner

Litigation, corporate and commercial matters, property and construction, including pleadings, interim applications and trial preparation.

Written on this subject

Property Due Diligence in Cyprus

Property

Buying a Resale Property in Cyprus

Property

All our writing is on the writing index. Related: Property and Litigation & Debt Recovery.

For the figure that applies to your own purchase, send us the contract or the draft, the title reference and the price, with a note of whether the seller is a developer and whether this will be your permanent home. Kleanthous & Platis LLC, Nicosia. Telephone +357 22 680 330, office@kleanthousplatis.com.

This page is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and their application can change, and individual circumstances differ. For advice on your own matter, contact Klitos Platis at klitos@kleanthousplatis.com or telephone +357 22 680 330.

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