Changes in the sales and transfer of real estate will bring the new year, since from the end of January not all “transfers” will take place at the tax office, but will begin and end at notary offices.
The corresponding applications will need to be submitted electronically by the notary’s office, and taxpayers will be spared the queues and hassle at the tax office.
Recently, Giorgos Pitsilis, head of the Independent State Revenue Authority (ISRA), presented more than 200 notaries with a new electronic application for filing tax returns for property transfers.
Transfer of real estate
The instructions for the new application will be published in the first decade of January, so after the submission of comments from the notaries, it will go into production at the end of January 2020.
In the coming months, the remaining declarations will be electronized for capital tax transactions (taxation of donations, inheritances, etc.) with the goal of eliminating the efforts of citizens, enterprises and notaries in 2020 to attend tax inspections for these transaction transactions
Transfer declarations will be filled out electronically by a notary, and taxpayers will confirm the correctness of the declaration data via electronic applications and submit the declaration.
The details of the declarations are recorded electronically directly in the database of the ISRA and there is no need for their registration by the tax office at the time of filing the declaration.
The tax will be calculated at the time of application based on its data. Documents that result in a tax deduction or exemption will have to be sent to the tax office later by a notary for verification and confirmation.
“Trouble” in the tax authorities
According to the Ministry of Economy in 2019, thousands of property owners rushed to “get rid” of property or buy it in order to save on burdens (property taxes). In particular, in the 9-month period from January to September, transfer tax revenues were € 220 million, while parental transfer revenues reached € 185 million, up 32% over the same period last year.
According to market participants, sales in 2019 are also a result of increased demand recorded both in the center of Athens and in tourist areas for the purpose of renting properties through the online platform Airbnb and other companies specializing in short-term rentals.