Cancellation of the Real Estate Acquisition tax in the Czech Republic

Real estate acquisition tax equaled to 4% of the total purchase price. In practice, this means that the buyer does not have to pay real estate acquisition tax anymore. Although in the Collection of Laws published on 25/09/2020, the cancellation of this tax applies retroactively – the tax obligation shall not apply for ownership entries registered in the Land Register since December 2019. 

There is also a change of the time test for exemption from the personal income tax of income from the sale of real estate not intended for housing– prolongation from the current five years newly to ten years. This modification will affect real estates acquired only after 1^th January 2021. 

These changes aim to support real estate market including acquiring one's own housing and restrict space for speculative purchases. Several attempts to cancel the real estate acquisition tax failed in the past but the COVID-19 pandemic contributed significantly to the cancellation this time.