Tax revenues from the sale of real estate are increasing for the first half of this year. According to information from the General Directorate of Taxes for the Albanian Real Estate Association (NAREA), for the first six months of this year, a total of 4.2 billion lek were collected from tax on income from the sale of real estate.
Revenues from this tax have increased by 26% compared to the same period a year ago. The increase in revenues can be an indirect indicator of the performance of sales in the real estate market. The increase in revenues indicates the increase in the taxable base, which can come from the increase in sales transactions, but also from the increase in prices.
Broken down by department, the vast majority of revenue from this tax comes from the Large Taxpayers Department. For the first half of 2025, almost 99% of revenue belonged to this department. This means that the tax mainly comes from sales by construction companies.
Meanwhile, revenues from regional directorates are at very low levels. According to figures from the General Directorate of Taxes, for the first six months of the year, total revenues from tax directorates, excluding DTM, were only 54 million lekë or 1.3% of total revenues. These revenues are down 26% compared to a year ago.
The small income from resale transactions carried out by individuals can be explained by the revaluations carried out in previous years, which have shrunk the taxable base, but perhaps to a large extent also by the carrying out of a large portion of transactions at fictitious prices.
But, on the other hand, real estate agents say that the revaluation process, which has been pending for more than a year, has negatively affected the property resale market. Some owners prefer to postpone putting their properties up for sale until the revaluation is completed, in order to benefit from a lower tax value.
In this sense, the decline in tax revenues from properties sold by individuals seems to confirm a downward trend in transactions in this market segment. According to the law in force, income from the sale of real estate, calculated as the difference between the sale price of the property and its purchase price (or revalued price), is taxed at a rate of 15%.
However, the government has implemented periodic revaluations of properties with a lower tax rate. Revaluations allow owners to bring the value of their property up to market levels, reducing the amount of tax paid in the event of its sale.
Last month, the Albanian government released a draft law for the next real estate revaluation for public consultation. The draft law is expected to allow individuals and businesses to revalue their properties with a 5% tax, starting from January 1, 2026./ Monitor
