Tax when you sell property: 15% of the gain

Sources: Law 29/2023 · Instruction 34/2023 · Law 85/2025 · Instruction 5/2026

Tax = 15% × (sale value − purchase value)

If the difference is negative, the gain counts as zero and there is no tax (article 17). The law does not allow costs to be deducted from investment income unless it says otherwise (article 24), so the agency commission, the notary and renovation are not deducted.

Sale value: the contract or the reference price

The sale value is the higher of the contract price and the reference price (article 17). ASHK compares the price per m² in the contract with the reference price of the zone or city, reduced by 1% for every full year since the title of ownership was first acquired, by at most 30% (instruction no. 34/2023, point 2.1).

Reference prices by city and zone

Purchase value

The purchase value is the value of the last registered act on which tax was calculated: a purchase, exchange, inheritance, gift, renunciation or revaluation (point 3.1). It is made available to notaries when a transfer is requested.

• Bought in euros or dollars

  The purchase value is converted into lekë at the exchange rate of the day of purchase (point 3.3). Keep the contract and the payment orders.

• No registered value

  For buildings without a purchase value, including flats privatised under Law no. 7652/1992, the purchase value is the cost per m² of the National Housing Entity (EKB) in the year of registration (point 3.2).

• Inherited

  The value registered in notarial acts or in a revaluation counts; without one, the EKB cost of the year the certificate of inheritance was registered (point 4.3).

Sources: Law 29/2023 · Instruction 34/2023 · VKM 457/2023

1. 1

   Write in the preliminary contract who pays what. By law the tax is paid by the seller.

2. 2

   The notary prepares the sale contract. The purchase value registered at ASHK is made available to notaries when a transfer is requested.

3. 3

   The individual seller pays the 15% tax before the property is registered in the buyer's name. ASHK does not register the transfer until the payment is confirmed (article 17).

4. 4

   In a sale with retention of title, in instalments, the tax is paid when the last instalment is paid, unless the parties ask for the transfer at signing.

5. 5

   If the gain is above 1,200,000 lekë, also declare this income and the tax paid in your annual income return.

In a gift, inheritance or renunciation, the tax is paid by the person who receives the property (instruction no. 34/2023, chapter III).

The costs guide explains the usual split between buyer and seller. Who pays what in a sale

Sources: Law 29/2023 · Instruction 34/2023 · Tax administration

• No gain

  If the sale value does not exceed the purchase value, the tax is zero. The sale value is never taken below the reference value.

• Gift or inheritance within the family

  Gifts and inheritance between first- and second-degree legal heirs (under the Civil Code: children, spouse and parents) and between brothers and sisters are exempt (Law no. 29/2023, article 60; instruction no. 34/2023, point 4.2).

• Other gifts and inheritance up to 5,000,000 lekë

  For immovable property they are exempt up to this amount per taxpayer. Above it, the tax is calculated as for a sale and paid by the person who receives the property.

• Land exchanged for flats

  When you give land to a builder in exchange for floor space, no tax arises at the exchange; it is calculated when you sell a flat you received (article 17; point 6.1).

• Forced sale

  A sale at auction by a bailiff or by public legal entities does not fall under this instruction (point 6.4).

• The seller is a company

  Builders registered as a business and other legal entities do not pay this tax for individuals: they pay the taxes of their own business regime (points 3.1, 3.2 and 6.6).

The exemption covers the gift or the inheritance itself. When you later sell an inherited property, the 15% tax applies normally, with the purchase value under point 4.3.

Sources: Law 29/2023 · Instruction 34/2023 · Civil Code

Until 31 December 2026, owners can revalue their property for a 5% tax on the increase in value, and an application filed by then is completed later if the tax is paid by 31 March 2027 (Law no. 85/2025; instruction no. 5/2026). After a revaluation, the gain on a sale is calculated from the revalued value. It matters most when the registered value is far below the expected sale price.

Example 3 in figures: a flat registered at 3,000,000 lekë, revalued by a licensed valuer at 8,000,000 lekë and later sold for 10,000,000 lekë.

Revaluing first saves 493,000 lekë.

Revaluing can also raise the annual building tax: the registered revaluation value is the reference for its base (VKM no. 132/2018, article 2, point 1.2), and for homes the tax is 0.05% a year (Law no. 9632/2006, article 22/2), 500 lekë for every 1,000,000 lekë of taxable value.

Sources: Law 85/2025 · Instruction 5/2026 · VKM 132/2018

1. 1

   A simple gain

   A flat bought in 2019 for 6,000,000 lekë, a registered and taxed value, is sold in 2026 for 9,000,000 lekë, above its reference value.

   Gain

   9,000,000 − 6,000,000 = 3,000,000 lekë

   Tax

   15% × 3,000,000 = 450,000 lekë

   Open in the calculator
2. 2

   When the reference price is higher than the contract

   An 80 m² flat in Durrës, in a new building, whose title was first acquired in March 2016 when it was bought for 3,860,000 lekë, is sold in October 2026 for 4,500,000 lekë. The reference price in Durrës is 67,500 lekë per m²; after 10 full years it is reduced by 10%, to 60,750 lekë per m² and 4,860,000 lekë for 80 m². As this is higher than the contract, ASHK uses it as the sale value.

   Gain

   4,860,000 − 3,860,000 = 1,000,000 lekë

   Tax

   15% × 1,000,000 = 150,000 lekë

   Open in the calculator
3. 3

   Revalued before the sale

   A flat registered at 3,000,000 lekë is revalued by a licensed valuer at 8,000,000 lekë and later sold for 10,000,000 lekë. The revaluation tax is 250,000 lekë and the ASHK fee 7,000 lekë; after it, the gain is calculated from the revalued value (Law no. 85/2025, article 1).

   Without revaluation

   15% × 7,000,000 = 1,050,000 lekë

   With revaluation, in total

   257,000 + 15% × 2,000,000 = 557,000 lekë

   Open in the calculator
4. 4

   A privatised flat

   Instruction no. 34/2023 gives this example itself: a 120 m² flat in Gjirokastër, privatised and registered in 1999, is sold for 4,300,000 lekë. The purchase value is the EKB cost of 1999, 35,724 lekë per m², so 4,286,880 lekë.

   Gain

   4,300,000 − 4,286,880 = 13,120 lekë

   Tax

   15% × 13,120 = 1,968 lekë

   Open in the calculator

Sources: Instruction 34/2023 · VKM 457/2023 · Law 85/2025

Official texts, read on 1 October 2026:

• Law no. 29/2023 “On income tax”, consolidated text of 16.1.2026: articles 15, 17, 24 and 60 (qbz.gov.al)
• Joint instruction no. 34 of 29.12.2023 on the tax on income from transferring immovable property (qbz.gov.al)
• VKM no. 457 of 26.7.2023: reference prices for homes (qbz.gov.al)
• Civil Code (Law no. 7850/1994), articles 360 to 364: legal heirs (qbz.gov.al)
• Tax administration: questions and answers on the annual personal income return (tatime.gov.al)
• Law no. 85/2025 “On the revaluation of immovable property” (qbz.gov.al)
• Joint instruction no. 5 of 19.2.2026: revaluation, ASHK fees and deadlines (qbz.gov.al)
• VKM no. 132/2018, consolidated text: article 2, point 1.2 (qbz.gov.al)