European Property Tax Guide 2023

This popular investment has not escaped the notice of Government’s or tax authorities, with some having faced internal protests as real estate prices, especially in the most popular destinations, keep rising, pushing local residents out as foreigners buy houses and apartments to rent.

Each Government takes its own approach to tackling and taxing the issue of property ownership by foreign nationals: while a few apply directly legal restrictions, most opt for raising more tax revenue from foreign property owners in some form. Ownership transparency has also increased through property registers or specific registers of beneficial ownership where an ownership structure is used. This, combined with the introduction of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), has greatly increased the level of transparency for individuals with real estate and bank accounts in many countries throughout the world. Under the CRS financial institutions release information each year to their domestic tax authorities in over 100 countries who share that information with tax authorities in the owner’s home country.