Northern Cyprus property costs for foreign buyers: official rates
Foreign buyers of property in Northern Cyprus pay a set of charges defined in the Official Gazette and in tax regulations: a Land Registry transfer fee that rises with each property bought, stamp duty on the sale agreement, value added tax on housing, a service fee on the permission to purchase, and an annual immovable property tax. This note sets out each figure as published by the Turkish Cypriot authorities and read on 12 November 2026. It is general information, not tax or legal advice, and a Northern Cyprus property overview gives the wider legal setting.
The Land Registry transfer fee
Fees for registering a sale are set by a regulation under the Land Registry and Cadastre Department (Fees and Charges) Law. The current schedule appeared in Official Gazette no. 197 on 7 October 2026 and, by its own wording, stays in force until and including 5 January 2027. For a sale to a foreigner it fixes a total that depends on how many properties the buyer has acquired: 4 percent for the first, 5.5 percent for the second and 6 percent for the third. The schedule splits each total into three columns: a transfer element, a TMK element (TMK is the Immovable Property Commission, which handles claims by former owners) and a housing element.
| Property bought by a foreigner | Total fee | Split (transfer / TMK / housing) | Arithmetic on a declared value of TL 10,000,000 |
| First | 4% | 3 / 0.5 / 0.5 | TL 400,000 |
| Second | 5.5% | 4 / 1 / 0.5 | TL 550,000 |
| Third | 6% | 5 / 1 / none | TL 600,000 |
The last column is arithmetic only. The schedule says registration fees are first charged on the market value the acquirer declares on the day, and the final fee is calculated on the value as settled by the Land Registry. It also lists a 1 percent fee on registering a mortgage, paid by the borrower, and a fee for an ownership search document of TL 149 per petition plus TL 71 per item of information. How such a search fits into a pre-purchase review is covered in a guide to checking a North Cyprus title deed.
One recent change is worth noting. Gazette no. 196 of 6 October 2026 printed a schedule that gave 4 percent as the general rate for sale transfers; Gazette no. 197 the next day printed 3 percent. The foreign-buyer table was identical in both issues.
Stamp duty and VAT
The Stamp Law 19/1963, in the consolidated text that includes amendments up to Law 2/2026, taxes an agreement that states a fixed sum at 5 per thousand (0.5 percent) on the first TL 89,000,000 and 1 per thousand on any amount above that. On the TL 10,000,000 used above, that is TL 50,000. Law 52/2008, which governs foreign acquisitions, says only that taxes, duties, fees, withholding and VAT arising from a transfer are paid by buyer and seller as the legislation provides, so the allocation between the parties follows other rules and the contract.
The VAT rates regulation, consolidated as of 4 November 2026, sets 5 percent for immovable property and for housing with a closed area of up to 300 square metres, and 10 percent for housing with a closed area of 300 square metres or more. The 7 October 2026 consolidation carried the same rates. The regulation lists rates by type of goods and does not say which individual sales are taxable, so whether a particular sale carries VAT is a question for the Revenue and Tax Department.
Permission to purchase and its fee
Under Article 8 of Law 52/2008, a foreign buyer needs a Council of Ministers permission. Applicants pay a service fee equal to half the gross monthly minimum wage in force at the time of application. The Revenue and Tax Department states that the gross monthly minimum wage has been TL 70,893 since 1 July 2026, which makes the fee TL 35,446.50. The law directs half of it to the Immovable Property Commission compensation account and the rest to Land Registry services. If a permission lapses for unpaid charges, a repeat application costs twice the application fees, and a third application for the same property by the same buyer is not allowed.
Timing rules differ between texts. The consolidated law gives 60 working days from the permission’s publication in the Gazette to pay taxes and fees, and six months to complete the transfer. Decree-Law 89/2026, published in Gazette no. 147 on 7 August 2026, provides 75 working days for transfer fees and one year for the transfer, and says that unpaid taxes and fees block permanent or temporary water and electricity connections. Which period applies on a given day depends on the decree-law’s status, which readers should confirm.
The annual immovable property tax
Owners pay property tax under a regulation that took effect on 1 January 2025. It is the latest property tax schedule listed on the Tax Department’s regulations page as of 12 November 2026; no 2026 edition appeared there. The base amounts per square metre depend on the type of building, and surcharges apply by the dwelling’s category.
| Item | Amount in the 2025 regulation |
| Normal construction (frame buildings) | TL 6.60 per sq m up to 120 sq m; TL 7.15 per sq m from 120 sq m |
| Simple construction | TL 3.20 per sq m |
| Swimming pool | TL 35.60 per sq m |
| Surcharge by category | 10% (fourth), 25% (third), 40% (second), 60% (first) |
| Buildings from 2000 or earlier | 15% reduction |
| Building plot | TL 0.72 per 10 sq ft |
Reading the figures together
The charges come from separate instruments with different review dates: the fee schedule runs to 5 January 2027, the permit fee moves with the minimum wage, and the VAT regulation is amended often. A guide to Northern Cyprus property taxes and fees sets purchase, ownership and sale charges side by side. Every number above should be matched against the current Gazette or department page on the day a contract is signed.
Sources: basimevi.gov.ct.tr (Official Gazette no. 196 of 6 Oct 2026, no. 197 of 7 Oct 2026, no. 147 of 7 Aug 2026); mevzuat.gov.ct.tr (Law 52/2008 as consolidated with Law 39/2024, read 12 Nov 2026); vergi.gov.ct.tr (VAT rates regulation consolidated 4 Nov 2026; Stamp Law 19/1963 consolidated to Law 2/2026; 2025 Immovable Property Tax regulation; minimum wage notice effective 1 Jul 2026; all read 12 Nov 2026).