Property transfer tax revenues increased by 14% during the first quarter of 2026, with demand remaining strong while limited housing inventory continues to keep prices at high levels. Indicative of the dynamic Greek real estate market is that in March alone, property transfer tax revenues increased by 20.2% compared to the same month in 2025, despite global turmoil caused by Middle East developments and hostilities with Iran.
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According to AADE data from January-March 2026, total property transfer taxes on buildings, plots and agricultural land reached €149.37 million, up from €130.86 million in the same period of 2025. The largest contribution came from building transfers, with taxes of €125.53 million confirmed versus €109.84 million in Q1 2025, an increase of 14.28%.
Similarly, for plot and agricultural land transfers, revenues reached €23.84 million from €21.02 million, up 13.42%.
March showed particularly strong performance. Property transfer tax confirmed on building sales reached €44.29 million versus €36.97 million in the same month of 2025, marking a 19.8% increase.
Meanwhile, plot and agricultural land transfer revenues increased by 22.44%, reaching €8.57 million from €7 million last year. Total property transfer tax revenues in March amounted to €52.85 million, versus €43.97 million in the corresponding month of 2025.
Rise in parental gifts too
Transfers connected to inheritances, gifts and parental provisions also moved upward in Q1 2026. In March 2026, inheritance taxes and fees reached €16.73 million, from €14.65 million in the corresponding month last year, up 14.21%. At the same time, taxes and fees on gifts, parental and other provisions increased by 34.9%, reaching €5.32 million from €3.94 million last year.
Overall in Q1 2026, taxes and fees from inheritances, gifts, parental and other provisions reached approximately €60.4 million, versus €56.95 million in the same period of 2025, despite the high tax-free threshold of €800,000 which continues to encourage wealth transfers.
AADE puts transfers under the microscope
Intense real estate market activity has placed transfers at the center of AADE audit mechanisms. For this year, the Tax Authority plans to conduct audits on 5,900 cases of property transfer taxation, gifts, parental provisions, inheritances and E9 amended declarations.
In the front line are 2,000 cases of taxpayers exempted from transfer tax due to primary residence status, as well as 1,080 cases of tax-free parental provisions and monetary gifts that utilized the high €800,000 tax-free threshold.
Audits will focus mainly on detecting potential “triangular” transactions through which attempts were made to transfer large sums to relatives not belonging to the first category of kinship, using intermediary persons to avoid the 20% or 40% gift tax imposed on other categories of relatives.
Additionally, 320 other cases involving E9 amended declaration submissions that resulted in ENFIA credit balances will be thoroughly examined, along with 2,500 cases of taxpayers who submitted transfer taxation declarations for gifts, parental provisions and inheritances for buildings, plots and agricultural land located in areas outside the objective property value determination system.
