Buying real property

The transfer tax for real property units is 4%.  The buyer usually pays the tax.

If you buy real property, you will be expected to file a request for registration of the transfer of title to you.  If there is a leasehold right involved, you should file a similar request to officially confirm the transfer.  The requests should be submitted within six months of signing the contract to the municipal surveyor's office of the area where the property is located.  The office will demand that you present a receipt showing that transfer tax is paid.  When paying transfer tax, remember to use the special bank form for paying transfer tax to the Tax Administration.

No additional submissions to the Tax Administration are required. 

When the buyer is a tax consortium

When two or more people buy the real property unit jointly, and they are not deemed spouses for tax purposes (for more information, see Marriage), the tax authorities will view the real property as a consortium.  For this reason, Tax Administration will print the word consortium (verotusyhtymä; beskattningssammanlutning) on all official decisions and all pre-completed forms that deal with this unit of real property.  Nevertheless, the forming of a consortium has no other impact or significance. 

Please check the correct title recipient

If the previous owner has neglected the registration of the transfer of title, the buyer has retroactive responsibility spanning ten years, which means that there may be an obligation to pay transfer tax, including any late-payment interest, for any previous occasions when the real property unit changed hands.  However, this obligation is not applicable if the buyer acquired the property in an auction after a foreclosure. 

Real estate tax

If you are a buyer of real property, you will have an obligation to pay real estate tax regularly.  The taxpayer of this tax is the registered owner on the first day of the year (1 January).  This means that even if the property is sold during the calendar year, the seller will still be required to pay real estate tax for that year.  The new owner is also jointly responsible for real estate tax concerning the calendar year when the contract was signed.