If you buy, are given or inherit an apartment, a house or land in Austria, you usually pay property transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer). How much depends mainly on whether you buy or whether the property is passed on within the family. Here you'll find the key rules, sample calculations and deadlines at a glance.
Purchase
3.5% of the purchase price, but at least of the property value.
Family, gift, inheritance
Tiered rate on the property value: 0.5%, 2% and 3.5%.
Spouses
Shared home passed to your spouse: up to 150 m² tax-free.
Deadline
Report to the tax office by the 15th of the second month after the contract.
How high is property transfer tax in Austria?
On a purchase, you pay 3.5% of the purchase price, but at least of the property value.
The Ministry of Finance and the federal business service portal (Unternehmensserviceportal) both confirm this. Property transfer tax is set by a federal law. That's why there are no regional differences: Vienna and Lower Austria have the same 3.5% as Tyrol, Styria or Vorarlberg.
What does “at least of the property value” mean? If the purchase price is unusually low, the tax office uses the property value (Grundstückswert) instead. It's calculated with an official method: either with the flat-rate model (the Ministry of Finance's property value calculator) or with 71.25% of the value from the real estate price index (Immobilienpreisspiegel) of Statistics Austria. If the real value is provably lower, that value counts.
Example (sample figures): You buy a house for €400,000. The property transfer tax is 3.5% of that, so €14,000.
Purchase or family: how big the difference is (sample figures; “purchase” = 3.5% when buying from someone outside the family, “family” = tiered rate for a gift, inheritance or purchase within the family; property value assumed to equal the price):
| Value | Family instead of purchase |
|---|---|
| €300,000 | €2,250 instead of €10,500 |
| €500,000 | €7,750 instead of €17,500 |
| €700,000 | €14,750 instead of €24,500 |
Within the family, the property value counts, not the market price. It's calculated with an official method and is often below what the property would fetch on the market.
On a purchase, the fee for registration in the land register (Grundbuch) comes on top of property transfer tax. It's 1.1% (1.2% for a mortgage lien, meaning the security for a loan). The temporary exemption from this fee expired on June 30, 2026 (more in Land register: the fee exemption has ended). No extension has been announced. In the example above, that adds €4,400 in registration fees. You'll find all closing costs together in our overview Closing costs in Austria.
How does property transfer tax work for gifts, inheritances and within the family?
Here, a tiered rate on the property value applies, not 3.5% of the purchase price.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the tiered rate applies when a property is transferred for nothing or for only a small payment (for example as a gift) and when it's passed on within the family. The tiers:
- 0.5% on the first €250,000
- 2% on the next €150,000
- 3.5% on everything above that
Sample calculations (sample figures):
- Gift, property value €300,000: 250,000 × 0.5% plus 50,000 × 2% = €2,250
- Inheritance, property value €500,000: 250,000 × 0.5% plus 150,000 × 2% plus 100,000 × 3.5% = €7,750
Inheritance: By law, an inheritance always counts as a transfer free of charge. So the property value is taxed. There's no general tax-free allowance, only an exception for spouses (see below).
Buying within the family: The tiered rate applies even when a purchase price is paid, for example when one sibling sells to another. The law always treats transfers within the family as free of charge, so the property value is taxed.
Who counts as family? According to the Ministry of Finance: spouses and registered partners, unmarried partners with a shared main residence, parents, children, grandchildren and parents-in-law or children-in-law, stepchildren, adopted and foster children, siblings, nieces and nephews. Whether someone counts in your specific case is best clarified with a notary or tax advisor.
Giving in stages doesn't help: transfers between the same people within five years are added together. If you give away a property in parts, you still end up in the higher tiers.
There's an exception for spouses: if the shared home goes to your spouse or registered partner, up to 150 m² of living space is tax-free; tax is due only on the part above that. For an inheritance, the home must have been the main residence. For a transfer during your lifetime, further conditions apply. Read more about inheriting in Inherited a property in Austria? What you need to know before selling.
Watch out, a common mistake: a “reduced 2% rate for the family” only applies to agricultural and forestry land and is calculated from the assessed value (Einheitswert). For normal apartments and houses, the tiered rate applies.
Who pays property transfer tax?
On a purchase, the purchase contract decides who bears the tax.
By law, though, buyer and seller owe the tax jointly, no matter what the contract says. So if the buyer doesn't pay, the tax office can also come to you as the seller. In practice, the buyer usually pays. The notary or lawyer handling the contract calculates the tax and pays it to the tax office.
When is property transfer tax due?
The purchase must be reported by the 15th of the second month after the month in which the contract was signed.
The notary or lawyer almost always does this through FinanzOnline. Within this deadline, they can also calculate the tax themselves. It's then paid by the 15th of the second month after that calculation.
Example: purchase contract in March, deadline May 15.
If nobody calculates the tax themselves, the tax office sends a tax assessment (Bescheid). Then the deadline stated in it applies.
Can you leave the kitchen or furnishings out of the price?
That's not a safe way to save.
Some people set a separate price for the kitchen or furniture in the purchase contract, so the tax is only calculated on the rest. But only genuinely movable furnishings that you could take with you are tax-free. Anything that's built in and made to fit the rooms, such as a custom fitted kitchen, usually counts as part of the apartment and is taxed along with it.
Whether something is a fixed part of the apartment or movable furnishings can often only be decided case by case. Many tips about the “furnishings trick” online come from Germany and don't apply in Austria. An inflated price for furnishings can lead to a back-payment demand from the tax office.
What does this mean for you as a seller?
Property transfer tax affects you mainly through your buyer's costs.
- Keep closing costs in view: 3.5% property transfer tax plus the 1.1% registration fee, which applies again, weigh on your buyers' financing. That can play a role when you negotiate the price.
- Selling to family members: the tiered rate on the property value applies even to a purchase. That can be much cheaper for the buyer. Your own tax on the sale is the real estate income tax (Immobilienertragsteuer), and you still need tax advice here.
- Value furnishings realistically: don't inflate the price of the kitchen and furniture. It causes trouble with the tax office and the buyer.
Planning to pass a property on within the family or sell it? Have a notary or tax advisor work out the property value and the tax first. If you're selling to outside buyers, we're happy to help you present the closing costs clearly to interested buyers. That makes negotiating easier. Find out what your property is worth with our free valuation.
