What Taxes Are Payable When Buying Property in Northern Cyprus?

There are 4 different taxes paid by Northern Cyprus citizens when purchasing property.VAT (Value Added Tax): This tax is paid by the buyer at a rate of 5% unless otherwise agreed. If the seller is not a professional profit-seeking company, VAT is not paid for second-hand land and residential purchases.Title Deed Transfer Fee: Unless otherwise agreed, this is paid by the buyer at a rate of 6%. However, if the buyer is an amateur (non-profit-seeking), they can pay a reduced rate of 3% (50% discount) only once in their lifetime. In subsequent purchases, a 6% tax is paid on the value approved by the Land Registry.Withholding Tax: This tax is paid by the seller. If the seller is a profit-seeking company, the rate is 4%; if they are an amateur (non-profit-seeking), the rate is 2.8%. Amateur sellers are exempt from this tax once in their lifetime.Stamp Duty: If purchasing a property in a forward-dated project, the sales contract is registered with the Land Registry. In such cases, a stamp duty of 0.5% of the sale price is paid to the tax office, ensuring the buyer’s ownership rights are legally recognized.

Different taxes apply to transfers via gift. For example:
Parent-to-child gift: 0.2%
Spouse-to-spouse gift: 0.4%
Grandparent-to-grandchild gift: 0.4% + withholding tax.

Taxes for foreign nationals are summarized in the table below.