In short
A registered flat in Georgia is sold with a written contract and registration of the buyer at the National Agency of Public Registry. If you have owned it for more than two years, an individual's gain is exempt from income tax. With a shorter holding period you pay 5% on the gain and declare it by the 15th of the following month. Before the proceeds go abroad, your bank checks where the money comes from.
The sale in four stepsIf the flat is not finished and not registered in your name, you are not selling property but assigning your contract. Different rules apply.
Assigning an off-plan contractProcess
How an individual sells a registered flat. Ownership passes only on registration.
Order a current registry extract. It must show you as owner and be free of mortgages or attachments; otherwise clear them before or at completion. Find your purchase contract and the invoices for fitting out, as they determine the gain.
Under the Civil Code, selling immovable property requires a written contract. Many sellers sign it at a Public Service Hall, where it is lodged for registration at the same time. No notary is required.
The National Agency of Public Registry registers the buyer as owner. The standard procedure takes 4 working days and costs GEL 150. The contract says who pays. It should also say when the money moves. An escrow account at a bank that pays out on registration protects both buyer and seller.
After more than two years of ownership the gain is exempt. Otherwise individuals pay 5% on the gain from a flat: sale price less purchase price and documented fitting-out costs. Since 1 January 2024 you file and pay by the 15th of the month after the sale.
A representative can sign for you and apply for registration. The notarised power of attorney should name the flat by cadastral code, a minimum price, the account for payment and an end date. Signed abroad, it needs an apostille and a Georgian translation.
The transfer abroad goes through your bank. Under anti-money-laundering law it checks the source and purpose of the money and may ask for the contract and the registry extract. Ask before the sale which documents it needs, and allow a few days.
Before you sell
The tax rules are simple. Mistakes tend to involve the holding period, the paperwork or the market itself.
Under the Finance Ministry's Public Ruling No. 143, the two years run from the date of the document on which the registration of your ownership is based. For self-built houses, the clock starts when the house is registered as immovable property. If you inherited the flat or received it as a gift and are a first-order heir of the deceased or donor, their period of ownership is added to yours. If you bought off-plan, confirm before selling which document counts.
Only costs you can prove reduce the taxable gain: the purchase price and spending on fitting out and renovation. Invoices without your name or without a link to the flat carry little weight. Keep them from day one.
Someone who buys and sells flats in a systematic and organised way is treated as running a business. Neither the 5% rate nor the two-year exemption then applies. Since the amendment of 8 June 2026, owning several flats is not enough on its own to count as trading.
Write the price actually paid into the contract. A lower figure reduces your gain on paper, but it is a false statement to the Revenue Service. If the price is paid through a bank account, the real amount is on record anyway.
How quickly a flat sells depends on location, condition and supply. Resales compete with new builds that developers offer on instalment plans. Do not count on having the money by a fixed date.
Frequently asked questions
Tax, holding period, selling remotely, proceeds and your home country.
Not if you owned it as an individual for more than two years; the gain is then exempt. With a shorter holding period you pay 5% on the gain, meaning the sale price less the purchase price and documented fitting-out costs.
Since 1 January 2024, individuals declare a taxable gain on the sale of assets by the 15th of the following month and pay by the same date. The annual return due before 1 April does not cover it.
Yes. A representative with a notarised power of attorney can sign the contract and apply for registration. Limit the power to this flat, a minimum price and an account in your name.
By bank transfer from your Georgian account. Under anti-money-laundering law the bank will ask for evidence of where the money comes from, such as the contract and the registry extract. Check with the bank before the sale which documents and timescales apply to your transfer.
Germany exempts the gain under its treaty with Georgia; our German tax page explains how. UK residents pay capital gains tax on the sale, with credit for any Georgian tax.
Last reviewed on November 2, 2026. Sources: Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 183 (written form and registration) (matsne.gov.ge), Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 81(3) (5%), Art. 82(1) and (4) (exemption after more than two years, start of the period) and Art. 153 (matsne.gov.ge), as cited in Public Ruling No. 143, Order of the Minister of Finance No. 497 of 26 December 2023 amending Order No. 996 on tax administration, Art. 333 (return and payment by the 15th of the following month, from 1 January 2024) (matsne.gov.ge), Ministry of Finance of Georgia, Public Ruling No. 143 of 14 May 2026, amended by No. 175 of 8 June 2026 (matsne.gov.ge), National Agency of Public Registry (napr.gov.ge): fees and terms, Law of Georgia on Facilitating the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (matsne.gov.ge). This guide is not legal or tax advice.
Read next
Selling before completion, German tax and the ongoing taxes in Georgia.
Keep the contract, the invoices and the registry extract, and you will sell faster and pay the right tax.