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.
• Tax-free is the sale of your own main residence 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: mandatory for the seller. HWB and fGEE must appear in the listing.
• Seller's broker commission: at most 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 decides how quickly you sell. Set too high, the apartment sits in listings and has to be reduced later. Set too low, you give away money. The basis is actually achieved prices 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. Whoever has them complete from the start sells faster and negotiates 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 may be at most ten years old. Heating demand (HWB) and the overall energy efficiency factor (fGEE) belong in the listing already. 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. Your commission as seller is at most 3% of the purchase price plus 20% VAT.

A sole agency agreement (Alleinvermittlungsauftrag) means only this agent offers your property. It must be agreed expressly and in writing. With private individuals it should not run longer than six months for a sale. In return, the agent must market 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 bring the right prospective buyers. Before a viewing, the agent clarifies 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. With your acceptance the purchase contract is concluded – so check it carefully before signing:

• Price and any inventory included in the sale
• Handover date that fits your move
• Conditions: a financing proviso is common but needs a clear end date
• 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 rank for one year.
• Releasing encumbrances: if a loan is still running, it is redeemed from the purchase price. Your bank confirms the outstanding amount and consents to deleting the lien. For housing 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, and 0.5% in the last year of the fixed period. At a variable rate, none applies. What changes for new loans from 2027 is explained in the guide Property financing.
• Real estate gains tax (ImmoESt): the party drafting the contract calculates it themselves 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 protocol. Cancel your energy contracts and inform 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, the remainder goes to you.

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

Since 2012, every sale of a property with a profit 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 rented properties, depreciation already claimed is deducted. Selling costs such as your broker 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, it is 18%. For contracts from 1 January 2027, the rates rise to 6% and 21% respectively. The date of the purchase contract is decisive, not the date of payment.

For land rezoned as building land after 31 December 2024, the profit increases by a further 30%.

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 the actual centre of your life, not just the registration. You give up the main residence with the sale. The exemption covers land up to 1,000 m².
• Self-built building: the building is exempt, not the land, if you built it yourself and it was not rented out 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 rented apartments and buy-to-let units (Vorsorgewohnung)?

An existing lease does not end with the sale. As a rule, the buyer takes it over including the deposit. For investors this is often an argument in favour, for owner-occupier buyers a reason to exclude the property. That determines whom you should approach.

If, when buying a Vorsorgewohnung, you reclaimed the input VAT and sell within 20 years without VAT, you must repay part of it. The alternative is a sale 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 apartments: condominium ownership agreement (Wohnungseigentumsvertrag) and utility value assessment (Nutzwertgutachten)
• ☐ minutes of the last owners' meetings, resolved renovations
• ☐ level of the reserve fund, current instalment, last operating cost statement
• ☐ plans; for a loft conversion, extension or house: building permit and completion notice or occupancy permit
• ☐ if rented: lease agreement, deposit, list of rent payments
• ☐ for tax purposes: your original purchase contract, receipts for renovations, registration certificate as proof of main residence
• ☐ for an ongoing loan: loan agreement and contact at the bank
• ☐ official photo ID

How ImmoLöwin supports your sale

We determine a price based on real comparable transactions, put the documents together and check prospective 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.