The Lifetime Tax Bill of a Home Abroad: What You Really Pay to Buy, Hold and Sell, One Number Per Country
Published on: July 5, 2026
Please note: This article is general information, not tax or financial advice. The rates and worked figures below are indicative planning baselines for 2026, they change, vary by region and bracket, and your own country may tax the same property on top. Confirm your position with a qualified local tax adviser before you commit.
Most buyers research the purchase tax, budget for it, and stop there. But a property abroad is taxed at three separate moments: when you buy it, every year you hold it, and again when you sell it. Two homes with an identical sticker price in two different countries can carry lifetime tax bills that differ by tens of thousands of euros, and the gap usually opens up at purchase and at exit, not in the annual holding tax everyone worries about.
This guide puts all three stages side by side for six of the most-bought markets by international buyers: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey. Rates are current for 2026. Because tax law changes and because your own country will often tax the same property on top, treat every figure as a planning baseline to confirm with a local adviser before you commit.
The three tax moments, explained
1. Acquisition (buy). A one-off transfer tax or purchase tax, paid at completion. This is usually the single largest tax you will ever pay on the property, and it is almost always higher than buyers expect because agent, notary and legal fees stack on top of it.
2. Ownership (hold). An annual municipal or property tax, charged every year you own, usually calculated on an official assessed value (cadastral / rateable / objective value) that is typically well below market price. Non-residents who let the property also pay income tax on the rent.
3. Disposal (sell). Capital gains tax on the profit. This is where the six countries diverge most dramatically, from a flat rate on the whole gain, to a rate that tapers to zero over time, to no tax at all after a holding period, to a tax that is currently suspended entirely.
The rate table: buy / hold / sell across six countries (2026)
| Country | Buy: transfer / purchase tax (resale) | Hold: main annual tax | Sell: capital gains (non-resident individual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | 3.09% transfer tax | ENFIA (per m², modest) + supplementary tax if total value above €400k | 15% statutory, suspended through 31 Dec 2026 (currently €0 for individuals) |
| Turkey | 4% title deed fee (in practice often split 2% buyer / 2% seller) | Emlak vergisi ~0.1%-0.6% of assessed value | Progressive 15%-40% if sold within 5 years; exempt after 5 years |
| Portugal | IMT, progressive up to ~7.5% + 0.8% stamp duty | IMI 0.3%-0.45% of VPT (urban) + AIMI if share above €600k | 50% of the gain taxed at scale rates (effective ~6%-24%); 35% flat if resident in a blacklisted jurisdiction |
| France | ~7%-8% "frais de notaire" (mostly transfer duties ~5.8%) | Taxe foncière (varies; high in prime coastal areas) + IFI wealth tax if net property above €1.3m | 19% + 17.2% social charges = 36.2%, reduced by taper relief to 0% (income tax at 22 yrs, social charges at 30 yrs) |
| Spain | ITP 6%-10% (region-dependent; ~10% common on the coast) | IBI (varies by municipality) + imputed income tax 19% (EU) / 24% (non-EU) on 1.1%-2% of cadastral value | 19% flat, plus municipal plusvalía; buyer withholds a 3% retention on account at sale |
| Italy | 9% registration tax (resale second home) | IMU ~0.76%-1.06% of revalued cadastral value + TARI waste tax | 26% if sold within 5 years; exempt after 5 years |
A few structural takeaways jump out before we even reach the worked example:
- Entry cost is highest in Italy, Spain and France (roughly 7% to 10% in transfer tax, before fees) and lowest in Greece and Turkey (3.09% and an effective 2% buyer share respectively).
- Exit is where the real divergence lives. Italy and Turkey charge nothing once you have held for five years. Greece charges nothing right now because capital gains tax on property has been suspended every year since 2014 and remains suspended through the end of 2026. Portugal's exit tax is moderate because only half the gain is taxable. Spain and France sit at the expensive end, a flat 19% in Spain, and a headline 36.2% in France that only comes down with long ownership.
- The annual holding tax matters least. In most of these markets it is calculated on an assessed value far below market price, so it rarely moves the lifetime total as much as a single percentage point of transfer tax does.
Worked example: €300,000 home, held 10 years, sold for €360,000
To make the "one number" tangible, here is the same illustrative scenario applied to each country: a non-resident individual buys a €300,000 home, holds it for 10 years, and sells it for €360,000, a €60,000 gain. Purchase tax is shown on the €300,000 price; exit tax is shown on the €60,000 gain. These are approximate, illustrative figures, actual transfer-tax brackets, cadastral valuations and taper calculations vary, but they show the shape of the difference.
| Country | Purchase tax (~) | Exit CGT on €60k gain (~) | Combined buy + sell tax (~) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | €9,300 (3.09%) | €0 (suspended to end-2026) | ~€9,300 |
| Turkey | €6,000 (2% buyer share) | €0 (held over 5 years) | ~€6,000 |
| Italy | €27,000 (9%) | €0 (held over 5 years) | ~€27,000 |
| Portugal | €17,000-20,000 (IMT + stamp) | €3,800-7,200 (50% of gain at scale) | ~€21,000-27,000 |
| France | €21,000-24,000 (~7%-8%) | €12,000-17,000 (36.2% headline, reduced by 10-year taper) | ~€33,000-41,000 |
| Spain | €18,000-30,000 (6%-10%) | €11,400 (19% flat) | ~€29,000-41,000 |
Read the columns, not just the totals. Italy looks expensive on paper, €27,000 in transfer tax is the second-highest entry cost in the table, yet because capital gains tax vanishes after five years, its lifetime burden for a long-term holder is lower than Spain's or France's. Turkey and Greece are the cheapest across the board right now, though Greece's advantage depends entirely on the capital gains suspension being extended again (it has been, annually, for over a decade, but it is not guaranteed). Spain and France are the two markets where a buyer pays heavily at both ends.
Annual holding tax is deliberately left out of the combined column because it is the smallest and most location-specific line. As a rough guide, budget somewhere in the €500 to €2,500 per year range on a €300,000 property in most of these countries, meaningful over a decade, but rarely the deciding factor.
Three things that quietly inflate the real number
1. Fees are not tax, but they feel like it. On top of transfer tax, expect notary, legal and agency costs. In Italy and France, all-in acquisition costs (tax + fees) commonly reach 9% to 15% of the price. In Greece, total purchase costs are lighter, around 5% to 7%. Model the all-in entry cost, not the headline transfer rate.
2. Your home country taxes it too. These figures are the local bill only. If you are tax-resident somewhere that taxes worldwide income and gains, the US, the UK, and many others, you may owe additional tax at home, usually with a credit for what you paid abroad under a double-taxation treaty. A US owner selling in Greece pays €0 in Greece today but still reports the gain to the IRS. Always map both sides.
3. The assessed value can drift upward. Annual taxes are pinned to cadastral / objective / VPT values that authorities periodically revalue. A reassessment can raise your holding tax without any change in the market. Check your assessed value on the relevant register and challenge it if it looks high.
How to use this when choosing a market
- Buying to hold long-term and pass on? Countries with a holding-period exemption (Italy, Turkey after five years) or generous inheritance rules reward patience. Italy's high entry cost amortises away over time.
- Buying to flip or sell within a few years? Exit tax dominates. Greece's current suspension and low entry cost make it the most efficient short-to-medium-hold market of the six right now, with the caveat that you should confirm the suspension is still in force at the time you actually sell.
- Buying for lifestyle in a prime location? France and Spain carry the heaviest combined tax, and France adds a possible wealth tax (IFI) above €1.3m of net property value. Neither is a reason not to buy, but price the tax in from day one.
Whatever you are optimising for, the lesson is the same: the sticker price tells you almost nothing about the lifetime cost. Buy, hold and sell taxes together can add anywhere from ~2% (Turkey, long hold) to well over 13% (France, on this example) of the property's value across an ownership cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the lowest property taxes for foreign buyers?
On a combined buy-and-sell basis in 2026, Turkey and Greece are the lowest of the six markets compared here, Turkey because capital gains are exempt after five years and entry costs are modest, Greece because capital gains tax is currently suspended and the transfer tax is only 3.09%. Italy is competitive for long-term holders despite a high 9% entry tax, because it also exempts gains after five years.
Do non-residents pay higher property tax than residents?
It varies. Annual property taxes (IMI, IBI, IMU, ENFIA) are generally charged at the same rate regardless of residency. The differences show up elsewhere: Spain charges non-EU owners a higher imputed-income and rental rate (24% vs 19%), Italy's first-home reliefs are usually out of reach for non-residents, and Portugal's capital gains treatment now matches residents and non-residents since 2023.
Is capital gains tax on property really suspended in Greece?
Yes. Greece's 15% capital gains tax on individual property sales has been suspended by successive annual budget laws since 2014 and remains suspended through 31 December 2026. In practice individual sellers, including non-residents, currently pay no Greek capital gains tax. After that date the 15% rate may resume unless extended again, so confirm the position before any sale, and note that frequent or business-like sellers can be treated differently.
How is annual property tax calculated abroad?
Almost always on an official assessed value, not the price you paid, Portugal's VPT, Spain's valor catastral, Italy's rendita catastale (revalued), Greece's objective value, Turkey's assessed value. These are typically lower than market value, which is why the annual bill is usually smaller than buyers fear.
Will I be taxed twice if I own property abroad?
Possibly, but relief usually applies. Most of these countries have double-taxation treaties that let you credit tax paid abroad against tax owed at home on the same income or gain. You generally end up paying the higher of the two countries' rates, not both in full.
Related reading on JanusHermes: our country-by-country guide to annual property taxes, our explainer on capital gains when selling property abroad, and the hidden costs of owning property abroad.
Sources & further reading: Portal das Finanças / Autoridade Tributária (Portugal); Agencia Tributaria, AEAT (Spain); service-public.gouv.fr and impots.gouv.fr (France); Agenzia delle Entrate (Italy); AADE and Law 5162/2024 (Greece); Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı, GİB (Turkey); PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries.
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This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by country and change over time, and the figures here are indicative. Always confirm the current requirements for your specific situation with a qualified local professional.
A note on the numbers: where no source is named, the market figures in this article (prices, yields, costs) are indicative estimates compiled from publicly available market data and industry reporting at the time of writing. Markets move and rules change, so treat them as a starting point and verify current figures with official sources before acting on them.
