Purchase tax

[patricia]

Hi,everyone

I did try to search this before asking the question, can some one tell me when do I need to pay the property purchase tax, I have signed the contract some time ago
still not got my name on the title yet though, my lawyer to say the least is vague and distant, so Bl____y frustrating.

Your comments appreciated.

Patricia

[zvekov]

A pre-requisite to getting name on land registry(title) will be proof of tax paid...

so you must get a move on. The last i remember someone quoted me, was 30 days after signing of contract. But it also may require the tax office to establish the value of the property. Best march up to tax office.

[crojoe]

but you can pay this over time, and not one lump sum. You just have to start with the first instalment then you can register your name as owner in land registry.

[Carol]

Patricia, you have something like 30 days to pay your tax bill but you can't pay it until you have received it! (Obvious really, isn't it?)
The process is:-
1. Buy the property
2. Contact the local tax office to notify them of the purchase with a few weeks of the sale. Give them a copy of your purchase contract as well as various forms and ideally a couple of photos.
3. Wait until they send you a bill
4. Pay it.

A lot of people seem to think their bill will be 5% of whatever the purchase price stated in the contract is, but it won't. Instead it will be 5% of the tax officers valuation of what the house was worth at the time of the sale (this is why the photos are a good idea).

How long the tax office takes to send their valuations out vary from place to place and from officer to officer. Maybe it has been speeded up recently with the need to gather taxes but it used to be about a year or more on much of the coast and the islands. the only way to get them to send out your bill faster used to be to go in person and charm the tax officers in to doing you a favour.

[marcojo]

After paying the tax, are the land registry records automatically updated with the new owner details, if not are you aware of the procedure? Thanks.........

Patricia, FYI - After receiving our OIB numbers, we went to the Ministry of Finance to request a tax bill. They gave us a simple form to complete about the house, which we took back the following day.
The bill was ready 3 days later, which we paid immediately and the Ministry stamped the house purchase contract to show receipt of payment.

[Carol]

Registering the property ownership at both the court (land registry) and at the katastar are separate processes. Don't wait until your tax is sorted out to go to the land registry. Do it immediately upon buying the property because they will put a plombe on your house which will make it impossible for the seller to sell a 2nd time whilst you await all the bureaucracy to work through.

When I say "you" as in you should do this, I mean you or your lawyer/ estate agent/ friend should do this. Just make sure that someone does and if you want to play it safe then ask them to get a receipt (racun) to show that the papers have been submitted. Leaving good contact details also helps smooth out potential problems.

[riki]

My lawyer registered the property as being sold with Katastar and after all documentation was finalised the property was transferred. About 3 months later, the tax office sent me a bill, which I paid. Point is, my property was in my name before payment of tax.

[zvekov]

With all these procedures you don't need a lawyer(by law) and that some times confuses the issue.

it would be nice to know the exact administrative procedure required for registering your property (by law)... Obviously it will be wise to use a lawyer, but the question is what exactly needs to be done

Any lawyers or administrators out there?