Shrnutí: No real estate transfer tax is due on purchases made in 2026. The real estate acquisition tax—as people commonly refer to it by this older name—was abolished in 2020. We’ll explain who was affected by the repeal, who previously paid the tax, and what other tax obligations may be associated with a real estate transfer.
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Note: A real estate acquisition (transfer) tax was in effect until 2019. In 2020, an amendment to the law abolished this tax. The effective date for this change was March 31, 2020. The information below applies exclusively to circumstances prior to that date. For more information, see the article “Abolition of the Real Estate Acquisition Tax.”
As of November 1, 2016, the taxpayer liable for the real estate acquisition tax was exclusively the acquirer—that is, the buyer in the case of a purchase. The seller was no longer liable for the tax. Prior to this change, the transferor was generally the taxpayer in the case of a purchase or exchange; however, the contracting parties could agree that the transferee would be the taxpayer. For older transfers, therefore, the applicable regulations at the time determine the liability.
Only so-called transfers for consideration were subject to real estate acquisition tax—typically when purchasing an apartment, house, or plot of land. However, this could also include, for example, an exchange of land. Conversely, transfers of real estate made without consideration—most commonly gifts—were never subject to this tax. The law also provided for certain exceptions where the tax did not have to be paid, even in the case of a transfer for consideration. These primarily involved the first sale of new houses or apartments.
What are the tax implications of donating real estate? You can read about that in the next article.
For standard transfers recorded in the land registry, the return had to be filed by the end of the third calendar month following the month in which the registration was completed. If the land registry completed the registration in January, the deadline generally fell on the last day of April. The signing of the purchase agreement itself was not the determining factor.
When purchasing real estate today, this tax is not paid and no return is filed. The following explanation describes the historical method of paying real estate transfer tax, or tax on the acquisition of real property.
The payment was made to the tax office with jurisdiction over the property’s location. The tax could be paid by bank transfer or postal money order. To ensure the payment was correctly allocated, it was necessary to specify the appropriate tax office account number and the variable symbol. For the transfer to be valid, the funds had to be credited to the account; simply sending a payment order was not sufficient.
When the tax was determined based on the appraised value, it was paid by the deadline for filing the tax return. If the taxpayer opted for the guideline value, they paid an advance payment of 4% of the agreed-upon price by that deadline. Any additional payment was subsequently determined by the tax office’s assessment.
The real estate acquisition tax rate was 4% of the tax base. In a standard purchase, the agreed-upon price was compared to the comparative tax value. This was generally 75% of the guideline value or 75% of the appraised value as determined by an expert opinion. The higher of the two compared amounts was used to determine the acquisition value.
The tax base consisted of the acquisition value reduced by any deductible expenses. Therefore, it was not always the case that the purchase price was compared to the full market price of the real estate. The guideline value was a value established by law for tax purposes, not a simple estimate of the sales price.
Example: The purchase price was 2,000,000 CZK, and the appraised value was 3,000,000 CZK. The comparative tax value represented 75% of the appraised value, or 2,250,000 CZK. Since it exceeded the purchase price, it was used as the basis for calculation. Without any deductible expenses, the tax amounted to 90,000 CZK. This is an illustration of historical rules; this tax does not apply to current purchases.
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For certain common types of real estate, the taxpayer could use the guideline value and therefore did not need to attach an expert appraisalto the tax return. The taxpayer provided the tax office with the information necessary to determine the guideline value, such as details regarding the size, location, and technical condition of the property.
If the taxpayer chose the appraised value, they submitted an expert appraisal. Under the conditions set forth by law, they could also claim the documented fee and expenses paid to the appraiser as a deductible expense. Today, an appraisal is no longer required due to the abolition of the acquisition tax. However, an appraisal may be needed for other purposes, such as when financing a purchase with a mortgage.
In its judgment dated June 28, 2017, Case No. 4 Afs 88/2017, the Supreme Administrative Court addressed the inclusion of VAT in the tax base for the acquisition of real property. It concluded that, under the circumstances in question, the VAT paid to the seller—who was the VAT payer—was not included in the tax base. The tax authorities subsequently adopted this approach for cases where the buyer was the taxpayer as well. This case illustrates why, in a historical calculation, it was not sufficient to automatically use the full amount stated in the contract.
Drafting a purchase agreement involves several pitfalls that can jeopardize or at least delay the entire transaction. Read on to find out what to watch out for when determining the purchase price of a property.
The real estate transfer tax—commonly referred to as the former real estate acquisition tax—will not apply to purchases made in 2026. The repeal in 2020 applied to standard transfers for registrations made in December 2019 and later. For historical taxable transfers, the buyer was the taxpayer starting in November 2016, and the rate was 4% of the tax base. The tax return was generally filed by the end of the third month following the month of the transfer; depending on the chosen valuation method, the tax was paid in full or an advance payment was made first. In a standard purchase, the agreed-upon price was compared to 75% of the guideline value or the appraised value, though an expert appraisal was not always required. Payment was made to the relevant tax office, for example, by bank transfer or postal money order. The repeal of the acquisition tax did not eliminate the real estate tax, any applicable income tax owed by the seller, or other costs associated with the transfer.
You no longer pay acquisition tax. However, you must factor in the administrative fee for registration in the land registry, any costs associated with escrow of the purchase price, a review for legal defects, an appraisal for the bank, and VAT on some new construction projects.
Yes — typically, a real estate tax return. It must be filed within the statutory deadline in the year following the initial acquisition of the property. After that, you simply pay the annual tax (unless there is a change).
The fair market value continues to be used in a variety of situations: for income tax purposes in connection with sales, in inheritance matters, in the division of joint marital property, in foreclosure or insolvency proceedings, and often for bank appraisals as well.
Primarily personal income tax —though often with exemptions (typically for provable residency for a period specified by law or after a longer period has elapsed between purchase and sale).
We prepared this article for the Lidové noviny series “Law & Housing.” Be sure to check out the other articles in the series:
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Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 15 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 15 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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