Revenues from real estate sales returned to a growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2026, following a slight decline in 2025 compared to 2024.
In particular, last March, revenue from transfer taxes rose by 20% despite the turbulence and uncertainty caused by hostilities with Iran, confirming the momentum of the Greek real estate market, which continues to be a key driver of growth.
The data from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) on the trend in revenue from real estate transfers during the period January–March are revealing of the state of the real estate market.
During the period in question, the total tax on transfers of buildings, plots of land, and agricultural parcels amounted to €149.37 million, up from €130.86 million in the corresponding period of 2025, marking an increase of 14.14%.
Specifically, for transfers of buildings, the transfer tax increased by 14.28%, reaching €125.53 million, compared to €109.84 million in the first quarter of 2025. For transfers of plots of land and agricultural parcels, the assessed tax amounted to €23.84 million, up from €21.02 million last year, representing a 13.42% increase.
Specifically in March, the transfer tax assessed on building sales amounted to €44.29 million, compared to €36.97 million in March 2025 (an increase of 19.8%).
The picture is also positive for transfers of plots of land and agricultural land. The transfer tax assessed amounted to €8.57 million, up from €7 million in the corresponding month of the previous year, marking an increase of 22.44%.
Overall, revenue from transfer taxes on buildings, plots of land, and agricultural parcels in March reached €52.85 million, compared to €43.97 million in March 2025, marking a 20.2% increase.
The upward trend in the real estate market during the first months of this year is particularly significant, as 2025 had been preceded by a decline in revenue from transfers. Specifically, total real estate transfer tax stood at €607.93 million, down from €656.49 million in 2024, marking a decrease of €48.56 million or 7.4%.
The tax-free threshold
Transfers related to inheritances, gifts, and parental gifts also increased in the first quarter of this year. Taxes and fees amounted to approximately €60.4 million, compared to €56.95 million in the first quarter of 2025 (a 6% increase). This increase is also linked to the maintenance of the high tax-free threshold of €800,000 for parental gifts and donations between first-degree relatives, which continues to encourage the transfer of assets.
Specifically, in March 2026, inheritance taxes and fees amounted to €16.73 million, up from €14.65 million in March 2025, an increase of 14.21%. At the same time, taxes and fees on gifts, parental, and other benefits increased by 34.9%, reaching €5.32 million, up from €3.94 million last year
Under Scrutiny
Real estate transfers are constantly on the AADE’s “radar,” particularly following the increase in the tax-exempt threshold for parental benefits and gifts to €800,000 (previously €150,000) in October 2021.
For this year, the Tax Authority plans to conduct audits on 5,900 cases involving real estate transfer taxes, gifts, parental gifts, inheritances, and amended E9 declarations.
At the forefront of these audits are 2,000 cases of taxpayers who were exempted from transfer and inheritance taxes due to the purchase of a primary residence, as well as 1,080 cases of tax-exempt parental gifts and monetary donations, for which the high tax-exempt threshold of 800,000 euros applied.
The audits of the 1,080 cases of monetary donations-parental gifts will primarily concern cases of taxpayers who took advantage of the provisions for the increased tax-exempt threshold of 800,000 euros, which applies only to gifts between first-degree relatives (between parents and children, between spouses, and between grandparents and grandchildren) to transfer large sums of money with full tax exemption to their siblings, cousins, or other distant relatives, thereby circumventing the relevant provisions.
In other words, audits will be conducted to identify whether there are any hidden cases “triangular” transactions in which a person related in the first degree to both the donor and the recipient of the funds acted as an intermediary, so that all donations are tax-exempt up to 800000 euros, and the final recipient, although receiving the money from a relative who does not belong to the first category, avoids paying the 20% or 40% gift tax applicable to other categories of relatives.
In addition, 320 additional cases involving the submission of amended E9 forms—which resulted in ENFIA credit balances—will be thoroughly investigated, as well as 2,500 cases of taxpayers who filed tax returns for transfers, gifts, parental gifts, and inheritances for buildings, plots of land, and agricultural parcels located in areas outside the system for objectively determining the taxable value of real estate.