Cyprus property transfer fees explained
The transfer fee is what the Land Registry charges when a property is registered in your name, and the buyer pays it. On a new build where VAT was charged, there's normally no fee at all.
By Maximilian BerentzenLast updated 11 November 2026
| Purchase price | VAT certificate produced | No VAT charged |
|---|---|---|
| €200,000 | €0 | €4,600 |
| €350,000 | €0 | €10,600 |
| €500,000 | €0 | €16,600 |
Both columns assume the Director of Lands accepts the price you declare. If he doesn't, see "New build or resale?" below.
✦ verified 11 November 2026 · Cyprus Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS) — Sale/Exchange page
The Land Registry has its own calculator too: DLS transfer fee calculator.
The short version
How much will you pay?
3% on the first €85,000, 5% on the next €85,000, 8% on the rest, and then half off on most resales.
Each rate only applies to the slice of the price in its band, not to the whole price. You'll also see the fee called transfer tax; the law and the Land Registry call it a fee.
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| €0 – €85,000 | 3% |
| €85,001 – €170,000 | 5% |
| €170,001+ | 8% |
✦ verified 11 November 2026 · Cyprus Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS) — Sale/Exchange page
On a €350,000 resale that comes to €21,200 before the reduction and €10,600 after it.
It doesn't depend on your nationality or where you live: a buyer from outside the EU pays exactly what a Cypriot pays. If you're not an EU or EEA citizen you do need a permit to buy, but that's a separate step and doesn't change the fee.
And stamp duty?
Gone, for anything signed from 1 January 2026.
Signed in 2025 or earlier? It still needs stamping.
If at least one party signed your contract on or before 31 December 2025, it still has to be stamped, at the old rates. Since 1 April 2026 you apply through the Tax Department's Tax For All portal, and the district tax office then stamps the original.
The rule for older documents and the Tax For All procedure come from the Tax Department's notices of January and March 2026.
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New build or resale?
If VAT was charged on your purchase, there's no transfer fee. If it wasn't, you pay the fee, halved.
If VAT was charged, the Land Registry asks for a certificate from the VAT Department, and normally no fee is due. If it wasn't, you pay the fee, with the 50% reduction. How the VAT side works, including the reduced rate, is in VAT on property.
One catch on new builds. If the Director of Lands thinks the VAT price is below market value, he can charge you the fee on his market value minus the fee on the price you declared.
Worked example
A new build declared at €300,000 but assessed by the Director at €380,000 isn't nil. The fee on €380,000 minus the fee on €300,000 comes to €6,400 on the full bands. Whether the 50% reduction then applies to that amount isn't settled in the law or the Land Registry's published guidance, so it could be half that: €3,200.
When do you pay it?
When the property is registered in your name at the District Land Office. Not when you sign, and not when you deposit the contract.
The fee is charged to whoever the property is transferred to, so it's the buyer's to pay.
If your contract was signed and deposited after 2 December 2011, the VAT rule and the 50% reduction apply however long it takes for the title to be transferred. Since neither now has an end date, this rarely changes anything today.
Does buying in two names help?
Usually, yes. Each buyer's share is assessed separately, so each share runs through the lower bands again.
| Ownership | Value per buyer | Gross fee | After 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| One name | €350,000 | €21,200 | €10,600 |
| Two names | €175,000 | €14,400 | €7,200 |
| Three names | €116,667 | €12,400 | €6,200 |
✦ verified 11 November 2026 · DLS Transfer Fees Calculator usage note
It isn't a discount for buying together; it's simply how the fee is worked out. Each buyer's share, and the price for it, is stated on the transfer declaration.
An uneven split saves less. 80/20 produces a materially worse result than 50/50, so two names don't automatically halve the fee.
Buying in stages: if you buy a share and then another share of the same property within two years, the second fee is worked out on the combined value, minus what you've already paid. It doesn't affect two different people each buying a share.
What can change your number?
Two things: a seller who got the property through a forced sale, and a Director who thinks the price is too low.
If the seller got it through a forced sale
Property the seller got through a forced sale pays full rate
If the seller acquired the property through a forced sale, the 50% reduction doesn't apply and you pay the full scale. On a €350,000 purchase that's €21,200 instead of €10,600. It turns on how the seller got the property, not on who you are.
If the Director thinks the price is too low
The price you declare is the starting point. If the Director of Lands thinks it's below market value, he can set the market value himself, as at the date of the transfer declaration or of the contract where he accepts that date, and charge the fee on that.
You pay first, and argue after. You pay the fee as assessed and say there and then that you disagree. Lawyers call this reserving your rights. You then have 45 days from the day the transfer declaration is accepted to object in writing, and you can include a report from your own valuer. The Land Registry values the property within three months of the transfer declaration and tells you the result, and you can then take it to court.
You can get in first. Either side can hand in a report from an ETEK-registered valuer, dated within one year of the transfer or of the contract. The market value is still set by the Director.
What about gifts and exchanges?
Family gifts are worked out on 2013 values at a tiny rate. Gifts to anyone else pay the normal fee.
Gifts within the family are calculated on the property's value at 1 January 2013 prices, not today's. Gifts to anyone else pay the normal bands on today's market value, with the 50% reduction.
| Relationship | Rate |
|---|---|
| Parent to child | Nil |
| Spouses | 0.01% |
| Relatives to the third degree | 0.01% |
✦ verified 11 November 2026 · Cap. 219, Schedule, Chapter 3(b) (consolidated text on CyLaw); DLS fees schedule
A gift into a trust is charged as if it went straight to the beneficiary.
Exchanging properties costs nothing if the two are worth roughly the same. If they aren't, whoever gets the more valuable one pays the fee on the difference, halved. Between spouses or relatives to the third degree, even an unequal exchange pays nothing.
Things you may have read that aren't right
"Transfer fees were abolished in 2026."
No. Stamp duty was. Transfer fees still apply.
"The 50% off is for first-time buyers."
It isn't. There's no buyer condition at all: no first purchase, residence or nationality test.
"The 50% reduction gets renewed every year."
Not that one. It's had no end date since July 2016. What gets renewed yearly is a separate relief for borrowers handing property to their lender, currently until 31 December 2026.
"A new build with VAT gets its fee halved."
Backwards. If VAT was charged, there's normally no fee at all. The halving is for resales.
"Gifts between spouses cost 0.1%."
It's 0.01%. The fee schedule says one per ten thousand, on 2013 values.
"The top rate applies to the whole price."
Only above €170,000. Each rate applies to its own slice of the price.
Common questions
How much are transfer fees in Cyprus?
3% / 5% / 8% on the slices of the price in each band, then half off on most resales. On a €350,000 resale that's about €10,600. The calculator at the top of the page works out your own number.
Do I pay transfer fees on a new build?
Not if VAT was charged on the purchase: the Land Registry asks for a certificate from the VAT Department, and no fee is due. If the Director thinks the VAT price is below market value, he can charge the fee on his market value minus the fee on your price.
Who pays the transfer fee, the buyer or the seller?
The buyer. It's charged to whoever the property is transferred to, and it doesn't depend on nationality or residence.
When do I actually pay it?
When the property is registered in your name at the District Land Office, not when you sign the contract or pay a deposit.
Does buying in two names reduce the fee?
Usually. Each buyer's share is assessed separately against the bands, so two equal shares usually cost less than one name. Each share goes on the transfer declaration, and an uneven split saves less.
Is the 50% reduction only for first-time buyers?
No. It has no first-purchase, residence or nationality condition. The one exception is property the seller got through a forced sale, which pays the full scale.
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Every figure checked on or after 12 August 2026. Cap. 219 was amended five times between December 2023 and December 2025, none of them to the rates.