How do you sell a property in Austria?

The essentials in brief

• The money is paid via the escrow account (Treuhandkonto). The seller receives the purchase price once the buyer is entered in the land register – usually four to eight weeks after the accepted offer, provided no approval for third-country nationals is required.
• Real estate gains tax (ImmoESt): 30% of the profit. The notary or lawyer calculates it and deducts it from the purchase price.
• Selling your own main residence is tax-free if you have lived there continuously for at least two years since the purchase, or for at least five of the last ten years.
• Watch out in 2027: for properties acquired before 1 April 2002, the tax on contracts signed from 1 January 2027 rises from 4.2% to 6% of the purchase price.
• Energy certificate (Energieausweis): mandatory for the seller. The HWB and fGEE values must appear in the listing.
• Seller's agent commission: max. 3% plus VAT. A sole agency agreement with private individuals should not run longer than six months.

The seven steps at a glance

The seven steps in detail

1. Determine the value

The asking price determines how quickly you sell. Set it too high and the flat lingers on the portals and has to be reduced later. Set it too low and you give money away. The starting point is the prices actually achieved for comparable properties, the condition, the floor, outdoor space and the level of the reserve fund. How agents and appraisers calculate this is explained in the guide Property valuation.

2. Prepare documents and the energy certificate

Buyers and banks ask for the same documents. If you have them all ready from the start, you sell faster and negotiate from a stronger position. The list is in the checklist below.

The energy certificate is mandatory. You must show it to prospective buyers in good time before their purchase offer, and hand it to the buyer within 14 days of signing the contract. It must be no more than ten years old. The heating demand (HWB) and the overall energy efficiency factor (fGEE) must already be stated in the listing. If they are missing, the seller and the agent risk administrative fines of up to €1,450.

3. Engage an agent

You engage the agent in writing. The agreement states the commission, the asking price and the term. As the seller, you pay a commission of no more than 3% of the purchase price plus 20% VAT.

A sole agency agreement (Alleinvermittlungsauftrag) means that only this agent markets your property. It must be agreed expressly and in writing. For private sellers, it should not run for more than six months. In return, the agent is obliged to market the property actively. If you sell through another agent during the term, an agreed commission may still become due.

4. Market and show the property

Good photos, a floor plan and an honest description attract the right buyers. Before a viewing, the agent checks whether the prospective buyer can finance the purchase. That way, fewer but more serious buyers come to view. How long marketing takes depends above all on how close the asking price is to the market.

5. Accept the purchase offer

The purchase offer (Kaufanbot) is the buyer's written offer. Once you accept it, the purchase contract is concluded – so check it carefully before you sign:

• Price and any furnishings included in the sale
• Handover date that fits your move
• Conditions: a financing proviso is common but needs a clear deadline
• for buyers from third countries: approval from the land transfer authority, which extends the process
• who drafts the contract and handles the escrow

6. Purchase contract and escrow

A notary or lawyer drafts the purchase contract and holds the purchase price in an escrow account (Treuhandkonto). Your signature must be certified. In parallel, three things happen:

• Priority notice (Rangordnung): at your request, a priority notice for the intended sale is entered in the land register. It secures the buyer's priority for one year.
• Releasing encumbrances: if a loan is still outstanding, it is paid off from the purchase price. Your bank confirms the outstanding amount and consents to the mortgage being deleted. For home loans taken out since March 2016, the compensation to the bank for early repayment at a fixed rate is capped at 1% of the amount repaid; 0.5% if no more than one year remains until the agreed end of the loan contract — what counts is the remaining term of the loan contract, not the end of the fixed-rate period. With a variable rate, no compensation is due, provided the agreed notice period is observed. What changes for new loans from 2027 is explained in the guide Property financing.
• Real estate gains tax (ImmoESt): whoever drafts the contract calculates it and deducts it from the purchase price. For this they need your original purchase contract and receipts for major investments.

7. Handover and payout

Handover takes place on the agreed date, usually once the full purchase price is in the escrow account. Record meter readings, keys and condition in a handover report. Cancel your energy contracts and notify the building management. If you are moving out, de-register or re-register your residence within three days.

Once the buyer is entered in the land register, the escrow agent pays out: first your bank, then the tax, and the remainder to you.

Real estate gains tax: how much tax is due on a sale?

Since 2012, any profit from selling a property has been taxable, regardless of how long you owned it. The tax rate is 30%. How the profit is calculated depends on when you bought.

Bought from 1 April 2002 (Neuvermögen – new assets). The actual profit is taxable: sale price minus purchase price including costs (transfer tax, land register, agent, contract), plus construction and improvement expenses such as an extension or replacing all windows. Routine maintenance does not count. For let properties, any depreciation already claimed is deducted. Selling costs such as your agent's commission do not reduce the taxable profit.

Bought before 1 April 2002 (Altvermögen – old assets). Here the tax is calculated on a flat-rate basis. For contracts up to 31 December 2026, the tax is 4.2% of the sale price. If the land was rezoned as building land after 1987, the rate is 18%. For contracts from 1 January 2027, the rates rise to 6% and 21% respectively. What counts is the date of the purchase contract, not the date of payment.

If land was rezoned after 31 December 2024, the rezoning surcharge (Umwidmungszuschlag) under § 30 Abs. 6a EStG must also be checked: it increases the positive income from the sale of the rezoned land by 30% — this is not a tax rate that is 30 percentage points higher. Whether old assets (Altvermögen) exist depends on whether the property was tax-relevant (steuerverfangen) on 31 March 2012; a purchase before 1 April 2002 is only a guideline for this.

When is a sale tax-free?

• Main residence: you have lived there continuously for at least two years since the purchase, or for at least five of the last ten years before the sale. What counts is where you actually live, not just where you are registered. You must give up the main residence when you sell. The exemption covers land up to 1,000 m².
• Self-built building: the building (but not the land) is exempt if you built it yourself and it has not been let in the last ten years.

If your other income is low, the standard progressive rate may be cheaper than 30%. You choose this option in your tax return.

Who pays what on a sale?

What applies to let flats and buy-to-let units (Vorsorgewohnung)?

An existing lease does not end with the sale. As a rule, the buyer takes it over, deposit included. For investors this is often a point in its favour; for owner-occupiers it is a reason to rule the property out. That determines which buyers you should approach.

If you reclaimed input VAT when buying a Vorsorgewohnung and sell it within 20 years without charging VAT, you must repay part of it. The alternative is to sell with VAT. Clarify this with your tax advisor before you set the price.

Checklist: documents for the sale

• ☐ current land register extract
• ☐ energy certificate, at most ten years old
• ☐ for flats: condominium ownership agreement (Wohnungseigentumsvertrag) and utility value assessment (Nutzwertgutachten)
• ☐ minutes of the last owners' meetings, renovations already approved
• ☐ level of the reserve fund (Rücklage), current monthly contribution, latest operating cost statement
• ☐ plans; for a loft conversion, extension or house: building permit and completion notice or occupancy permit
• ☐ if let: tenancy agreement, deposit, record of rent payments
• ☐ for tax purposes: your original purchase contract, receipts for renovations, registration certificate as proof of main residence
• ☐ if a loan is outstanding: loan agreement and contact person at the bank
• ☐ official photo ID

How ImmoLöwin supports your sale

We set a price based on real comparable sales, put the documents together and check buyers' financing before the viewing. For the purchase contract and escrow, we work with vetted notaries and lawyers who work quickly and charge fair fees. We reach buyers in German, Russian, English and Ukrainian. Discuss a sale.