Taxes When Buying Property in Northern Cyprus

• Property Registration Process
• Main Taxes and Fees When Buying
• Capital Gains Tax (STOPAJ)
• Transformer Fee
• Annual Property Tax

Property Registration Process

In general, the property purchase process in Northern Cyprus includes:

1. Signing the sale and purchase agreement.
2. Registering the agreement with the tax office and land registry (TAPU).
3. Submitting an application to the Council of Ministers for permission to transfer the title.
4. Transferring the title to the new owner.

Main Taxes and Fees When Buying

Foreigners pay 17.5% of the property value, excluding additional charges:

• 0.5% stamp duty (if the agreement is registered late — up to 1.5%). Stamp duty is calculated on the property price in the contract + VAT + TRAFO + furniture/maintenance.
• 6% cadastral fee when registering the agreement with the tax office and land registry. If the official deems the property value understated, tax is paid on the assessed value.
• 5% VAT is paid to the developer according to the contract (often upon receiving the keys). If no payment date is indicated, VAT is paid at the title transfer.
• The remaining 6% is paid within 60 working days after purchase approval if the title is not divided. For divided titles — 6 months to transfer individual titles and pay taxes.

Capital Gains Tax (STOPAJ)

STOPAJ depends on professional activity:

• Professional sellers (selling apartments) — 4%.
• Sellers of more than two apartments per year — 4%.
• Non-professional sellers (one apartment per year) — 2.75%.

Important: This tax applies to future sales of properties with transferred titles. Some developers pass STOPAJ to buyers, which is regulated by contract.

Transformer Fee

The fee for electricity, water, and telephone connection is from £1,500 to £3,500, up to £5,000 in luxury villas. Usually paid to the developer upon receiving the keys.

Annual Property Tax

The tax is calculated based on the size of the living area and is usually paid once a year, in spring. Payments can be split into two parts: April and October.

Approximate rate in the TRNC — €0.3 per m², annually indexed by the municipality in Turkish lira.