Updated:
- The gain on selling a residential apartment or house with its land, owned for more than two years, is exempt from personal income tax (Tax Code, Art. 82(1)(f.a)). The two years run from the date of the title document drawn up for registration (Art. 82(4)).
- Owned two years or less, residential property is taxed at 5% of the gain (not of the price); other assets at 20%. File and pay by the 15th of the month after the sale (PwC, 2 September 2026).
- Ministry of Finance Ruling No. 143 of 14 May 2026 reaches us only through law-firm summaries; we did not find the original. The sources we read set no separate rules for non-residents.
The two-year rule: what is confirmed
The primary source is the Tax Code of Georgia (matsne.gov.ge, current consolidated version, last amended by Law No. 1888 of 15 October 2026). Art. 82(1)(f.a) exempts from income tax the surplus from selling a residential apartment (house) with its attached land owned for more than two years. The “no economic activity” condition sits in sub-paragraph f.c, for other assets; the residential sub-paragraph lacks it.
The rest comes from law-firm summaries (Andersen, Kreston, Eurofast, ExpatHub) of Ministry of Finance Ruling No. 143 of 14 May 2026; its official text we could not open.
- Confirmed by the Code: more than two years of ownership, no tax on the gain.
- Per summaries of Ruling No. 143: renting out before the sale keeps the exemption; “residential” means an independently registered unit designed for living and connectable to utilities; developers and regular property traders get no exemption.
- Confirmed by the Code, Art. 82(4)(a): the two years run from the date of the title document drawn up for registering the right with the registry (for a purchase normally the sale contract; the Code does not name it), not from the date of the registry entry. If title is not registered, from the moment it arises. If a single registered property is divided, the new property takes the ownership date of the original.
- Confirmed by the Code, Art. 82(4)(a2): the moment of sale is the date of the document on the basis of which the transfer of ownership is registered in the registry (if nothing is registered, the moment the right passes). The month of that document is the month of sale for the declaration.
- Confirmed by the Code, Art. 82(4)(a1): if you are the first-line heir of the testator or donor, their ownership period is added to yours. Art. 82(4)(c) puts in the first line the spouse, child (including adopted), grandchild, great-grandchild and his or her child, parent and adoptive parent. The article does not mention adding periods for other relatives.
- Not confirmed: how the period runs when buying a new build before completion (the article does not name this case); how many sales count as “systematic”.
Rates and status: resident or non-resident
The English text of Art. 81(3) says “provision”, not “sale”; law firms and the Ministry ruling apply it to sales. A tax resident is someone in Georgia 183 days or more in any continuous 12-month period ending in the tax year (Art. 34(2) of the Code; PwC). Any partial day counts as a day (Art. 34(5)), but time in Georgia “for treatment or leisure” does not count towards the 183 days (Art. 34(4)(d)); ask a tax adviser how this applies to your case. For residents, Art. 80(1) takes total annual income as the tax base, but Art. 82(1)(u) exempts a resident’s income (including gains) that is not Georgian-source, and PwC says the same. So we do not write that residents are taxed on worldwide income; for this sale it changes nothing, because a gain on a Georgian apartment is Georgian-source. Non-residents pay only on Georgian-source income, and Art. 80(4) names the non-resident who sells property: tax on gross Georgian-source income less related deductions.
Chambers (Real Estate 2026) says gains on Georgian real estate are generally taxable in Georgia, subject to double-tax treaties. We found no separate non-resident rate and no rule denying them the exemption, but no Revenue Service confirmation either: ask a Georgian accountant.
| Situation | Rate | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Residential with land, owned over 2 years | 0% (exempt) | Code, Art. 82(1)(f.a) |
| Residential with land, owned 2 years or less | 5% of the gain | Code, Art. 81(3); PwC; law firms |
| Non-residential, land, other assets, trading as a business | 20% (general rate) | Code, Art. 81(1); Eurofast, Kreston |
How the gain is computed
Tax is charged on the gain: the sale price minus the value of the asset. Under Art. 148 that value includes acquisition costs and other costs that increase it; for assets received free, the market price on receipt. Summaries of Ruling No. 143 add that documented renovation or construction costs count; earlier they were often ignored.
- Included: purchase price, acquisition costs, renovation backed by contracts and payment records.
- Not confirmed: whether the agent’s commission, notary and registration costs of the sale are deductible. Do not deduct them without an accountant’s confirmation.
Filing and paying: by the 15th
Since 1 January 2024 the tax period for an individual’s income from selling property outside business activity is the calendar month (Art. 135(5)); declaration and payment are due by the 15th of the month after the transaction. PwC (reviewed 2 September 2026) and the law firm Revera confirm this, including for non-residents; in the Code itself see Art. 135(5) (accounting period: calendar month) and Art. 153(12) (return by the 15th of the month after the accounting month). Before registering the new owner, the registry must notify an individual seller of the duty to report and pay the tax (Art. 153(6)).
Sources disagree: PB Services (15 September 2026) gives “April 1 of each year”, the older annual procedure. We follow the Code and PwC.
- Identify the month of the transaction: under Art. 82(4)(a2) it is the month of the document on the basis of which the transfer is registered (normally the sale contract), not the month of the registry entry.
- File in your rs.ge personal account. Per PB Services, access comes from a Revenue Service branch or a representative with a notarised power of attorney; how a non-resident does it online is not officially confirmed.
- Pay by the same date (PB Services: from a Georgian bank account; take details from rs.ge) and keep the receipt.
- 1
Holding period
From the date of the title document (contract): over 2 years 0%; two years or less 5% of the gain
0% or 5% - 2
The gain
Sale price minus purchase price and documented renovation
- 3
Contract
Notary or House of Justice; seller bears costs unless agreed
- 4
NAPR registration
₾150 for 4 days, ₾270 for 1 day, ₾350 on the day of filing
₾150–350 - 5
Declaration
Personal account on rs.ge, by the 15th of the month after the sale
by the 15th - 6
Pay the tax
By the same date; late: 5% or 10% fine plus 0.05% per day
5% / 10%
Tax Code; PwC (2 September 2026); NAPR; Chambers; Revera
Non-resident details and deductibility of selling costs are not confirmed.
Registering the sale and the seller’s costs
Title passes on registration at NAPR, not on signing (Chambers). The contract is usually concluded before a notary or at a House of Justice. Georgia has no separate transfer tax, and a private seller is outside VAT (Chambers). Under Art. 479 of the Civil Code the seller bears contract and registration costs unless agreed otherwise (Chambers).
| Item | Amount | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Title registration: 4 working days / 1 day / same day | ₾150 / ₾270 / ₾350 | NAPR tariff |
| Confirming the parties’ signatures | ₾7 | NAPR tariff |
| Notary | no figure | depends on the deal value |
| Agent’s commission | no verified figure | terms in the agency agreement |
Typical pitfalls
- Undervalued price in the contract. The gain is computed from the transaction price: state the real price, backed by bank transfers. Whether the Revenue Service tests prices against the market we did not establish.
- Currency. Payments are in dollars, tax in lari; a foreign-currency transaction is generally converted at the National Bank’s official rate on the transaction date (Andersen). Our inference: the dollar price may be unchanged while the lari gain is not zero. Check with an accountant.
- Resale before registration and series of sales: assigning rights under a preliminary contract is taxed at 20%, as is trading property as a business (Eurofast).
Worked example (illustrative)
Invented numbers, not market data or a forecast. In dollars for simplicity; in practice the calculation is in lari at the National Bank rate. Bought for $100,000, documented renovation $8,000, sold for $125,000. Selling costs are not deducted because deductibility is not confirmed.
| Scenario | Gain | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owned over 2 years | $17,000 | 0% | $0 |
| Owned 2 years or less | $17,000 | 5% | $850 |
| Series of sales as a business (per Eurofast) | $17,000 | 20% | $3,400 |
Your home-country tax and what to check
Georgia taxes the gain on its own property. Whether you report the sale at home and how Georgian tax is credited depends on your country and any double-tax treaty: check with a tax adviser; we make no claims about other countries’ taxes.
Before the deal you need a local lawyer and a check with an official source (rs.ge, napr.gov.ge): this guide is not legal or tax advice. To verify: the original Ruling No. 143, how the two years run for a new build, non-resident status, a declaration at 0%, deductibility of selling costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tax do I pay when selling an apartment in Georgia?
None on the gain if you owned it more than two years (Tax Code, Art. 82(1)(f.a)). If two years or less, 5% of the gain: sale price minus purchase value including documented renovation.
From when do the two years count?
From the date of the title document drawn up for registering the right with the registry (for a purchase normally the sale contract), not from the date of the registry entry, up to the date of the document on which the sale is registered (Tax Code, Art. 82(4)(a), (a2)). The testator’s or donor’s period is added if you are their first-line heir (Art. 82(4)(a1)). For a new build and unusual cases, check with an accountant.
Does a non-resident pay tax when selling property in Georgia?
Yes, the income has a Georgian source (Art. 80(4)). We found no separate non-resident rate; confirm with an accountant that the exemption applies to you.
When must I file after selling property in Georgia?
Since 2024, by the 15th of the month after the sale, with payment by the same date (PwC, September 2026). One source gives 1 April, but that is the older annual procedure.
Can I deduct renovation costs and the agent’s fee?
Documented renovation counts toward the asset’s value, per summaries of Ruling No. 143. The agent’s and notary’s fees we could not confirm.
Sources: Tax Code of Georgia, Legislative Herald (Arts. 34, 80, 81, 82, 121, 135, 148, 153, 272, 274; version with Law No. 1888 of 15.10.2026) · Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 34 (English text, consolidated version of 15.10.2026) · PwC Tax Summaries: Georgia, tax administration (2 September 2026) · PwC Tax Summaries: Georgia, residence (2 September 2026) · PwC Tax Summaries: Georgia, income determination · PwC Tax Summaries: Georgia, taxes on personal income · NAPR: fees for registering rights to immovable property · Chambers: Real Estate 2026, Georgia · Kreston Georgia: Ministry of Finance Ruling No. 143 (20 May 2026) · ExpatHub: selling property in Georgia, 2026 rules · Eurofast: Georgia’s new rules on real estate sales tax (4 September 2026) · Andersen Georgia: Capital Gains Tax in Georgia (March 2026) · Andersen Georgia: Tax Obligations upon Sale of Residential Property (October 2025) · Revera Legal: changes in declaring income from the supply of property (from 2024) · PB Services: individual property taxes in Georgia (15 September 2026)