How Much Does a Gift Agreement Cost in 2026? The Costs of Gifting Real Estate

Are you planning to gift a property to your child, or perhaps to another close relative? Or are you the fortunate recipient? Before you proceed, it is essential to understand not only the emotional but also the financial side, because choosing the wrong procedure can lead to unnecessary expenses. How much does a gift agreement cost? Below we answer this question, reviewing the attorney’s fees, procedural costs, duties and other financial implications of the transaction.

What is the attorney’s fee for a gift agreement?

In Hungary, to register ownership on the basis of contracts affecting the real estate register (such as a gift agreement), countersignature by an attorney or a notarial deed is required. The first and unavoidable cost will therefore be the fee of the attorney handling the matter. This item will be decisive in determining how much the gift agreement costs.

Attorneys’ fees on the market can vary considerably, but most firms set their prices along similar principles.

• Complexity vs. Value: Under the most up-to-date pricing approach, the attorney’s fee is determined primarily by the complexity of the transaction and the amount of work involved. In this model, the value of the property is only a corrective factor.
• Minimum Fee: Every firm has a minimum fee that applies even to the simplest, lowest-value transaction. At our firm, this amount is HUF 110,000.
• Percentage-based fee: Although fixed-fee pricing is becoming increasingly common, many people still think in percentages. For a typical Budapest residential property, the attorney’s fee at our firm is around 0.2% of the market value.

You can find out exactly how much the attorney’s fee for gifting a property is at our firm here.

What does the attorney’s fee for gifting a property include?

At our firm, the attorney’s fee for a gift agreement covers the performance of the following tasks.

• Clients usually make first contact regarding a gift agreement by phone. On such occasions we not only provide a quote for the attorney’s fee for the gift agreement but, at our clients’ request, also give advice on the terms of the gift agreement. We also send the key points of this information in writing to our clients. Advice related to the preparation of the gift agreement is free of charge.
• The questions that most concern our clients during the free consultation include, without being exhaustive: reserving or establishing a usufruct, gifting a property encumbered by a mortgage or an enforcement right, gifting to a minor, etc.
• We obtain the title deed (property sheet) before starting to draft the agreement. Of course, we always inform our clients that every natural person may obtain the title deed of a property they own free of charge twice a year via the Client Gate (Ügyfélkapu) portal.
• If the subject of the gift is a family house or a building plot, we draw attention to the need to obtain a map copy and, at our clients’ request, we obtain it.
• In every case, we retrieve the data of the heritage protection and archaeological register to make sure that the subject of the gift is not affected by any restriction in this respect.
• We draft the gift agreement and send it to our clients by email for review and comments.
• Once the text of the agreement has been accepted, the gift agreement is signed at an agreed time, usually at our office.
• We prepare the NAV data sheet that serves as the basis for assessing the gift duty and arrange for its submission.
• We represent the contracting parties in the proceedings before the land registry office until the recipient’s ownership is registered. Representation in connection with any request to remedy deficiencies or a rejection decision is also part of the basic engagement.
• The basic gift agreement fee also includes providing information on any questions arising in connection with the performance of the agreement after the gift agreement has been signed.
• We send our clients by email the land registry decision on the registration of the recipient’s ownership.

What is not included in the attorney’s fee for a gift agreement?

Certain tasks can only be undertaken if our clients expressly request them. These tasks also affect the amount of the fee for the gift agreement. Here are some examples:

• If the involvement of the guardianship authority is required to complete the gift transaction, for example where a minor or a person under guardianship (typically the recipient) is involved.
• If the recipient is a foreign national from outside the European Union and a permit from the government office must be obtained for them.
• The donor’s ownership has not yet been registered, for example due to pending probate proceedings.

Who brings and who pays the attorney in a gift agreement?

With gift agreements, it varies much more widely who engages and pays the attorney countersigning the gift agreement. Since in the overwhelming majority of cases the transactions are within the family, it differs from case to case whether it is the donor or the recipient who finds an attorney and pays the fee. This depends primarily on the nature of the family relationship. With gift agreements, there are no fixed customs such as there are for sale and purchase agreements.

Attorney or notary?

Notarial fees are not shaped by market competition. The amount of the notarial fee is regulated by Decree 22/2018 (VIII. 23.) IM of the Minister of Justice on the schedule of notarial fees. The decree on the schedule of notarial fees makes no distinction between gift agreements and sale and purchase agreements with regard to fees.

The notarial fee for a gift agreement is calculated as follows:

• base fee of HUF 86,200;
• plus 0.25% of the transaction value above HUF 10,000,000;
• plus the notarial flat-rate expense charge, which is 40% of the base fee;
• and a transcription fee of HUF 150 per page.

For a sale and purchase agreement, a notary’s fee may perhaps be competitive. For a gift agreement, this is not even theoretically possible. Nobody would want to pay a notarial fee of HUF 300,000 for a property worth 50 million forints. If an attorney were involved, clients would certainly consider this amount excessive. Fully handling a gift agreement between lineal relatives takes no more than 3–4 working hours. For higher-value properties, the notarial fee schedule can result in an hourly rate exceeding even 100,000 forints. The attorney’s fee for gifting a property usually works out more favourably than the notarial fee.

How much does the land registry procedure cost when gifting a property?

In addition to the attorney’s fee, you must also budget for the fixed official fees associated with registering ownership.

• Administrative service fee (land registry procedural fee): The fee for the land registry procedure, payable for the registration of ownership. It amounts to HUF 10,600 per property.
• Fee for obtaining the title deed: Although the attorney obtains the title deed in order to prepare the agreement, private individuals can request it free of charge twice a year via the Client Gate. If this allowance is used up, or if the attorney obtains it, the fee may be as much as HUF 4,800 per copy.
• Expedited procedure fee (optional): If registration is urgent, an expedited procedure can be requested, which halves the 60-day processing time to 30 days. The fee for this is an additional HUF 16,000.

When and how much gift duty has to be paid?

The most significant cost that may arise is the gift duty. The good news is that in the most common cases the recipient is exempt. However, if there is no exemption, this item is the main factor determining how much the gift agreement costs.

What is the rate of the duty?

If the gift does not fall within an exemption, the duty is calculated on the net value of the acquired property at the following rates:

• For residential property and associated rights of pecuniary value (e.g. usufruct): 9%. This means a cost of HUF 90,000 for every million forints.
• For all other real estate (e.g. holiday home, building plot, garage): 18%.

Who is exempt from paying the duty?

The law grants a full exemption for the most common family transactions. No gift duty is payable if the gift is made between the following:

• Lineal relatives: parent and child, grandparent and grandchild, great-grandparent and great-grandchild, and vice versa, including relationships based on adoption.
• Spouses.
• Registered partners.
• Siblings: including half-siblings and adopted siblings.

In these cases, the gift does not even have to be reported to NAV.

How can the duty base be reduced with a usufruct?

If the gift is subject to duty (e.g. an aunt gifts a property to her nephew), the base of the duty payable can be reduced. If the ownership and the usufruct are acquired by two different persons, the owner pays duty only on the market value reduced by the value of the usufruct. The same applies if the donor reserves the usufruct for themselves, or if a third person acquires it, even if duty-free.

Do You Have to Pay Personal Income Tax When Gifting Real Estate?

Surprising as it may be, many people ask us how much personal income tax is due when gifting real estate. Fortunately, neither the donor nor the recipient has to pay personal income tax, but the question is justified insofar as the recipient may in fact have to pay a levy. Let us briefly review the logic behind this.

The donor’s PIT “liability”

Personal income tax is payable on income earned, which is revenue less expenses. The question thus answers itself. Since a gift agreement is a gratuitous transaction, the donor receives no revenue, so it is conceptually impossible to speak of income. It follows that the donor cannot have any PIT liability.

The recipient’s “income tax”

This situation can be a little trickier, since the recipient acquires a property free of charge. One might think that this is a form of income on which personal income tax must be paid. However, the law distinguishes between earning income and acquiring property. The law treats the gratuitous acquisition of real estate not as income but as the acquisition of property; we speak of acquiring property when an asset (real estate, a car) or a right of pecuniary value (usufruct) is acquired. Income gives rise to PIT, whereas the acquisition of property gives rise to a duty. So, if you like, “income tax” must also be paid on a property received as a gift, only it is called gift duty.

What incidental costs should you expect when gifting a property?

To get an accurate picture of how much a gift agreement costs, you should not forget the items that are only indirectly related to the gift but are relevant to the overall budget.

• Home insurance: It is advisable for the recipient to take out comprehensive property insurance on the property immediately upon acquiring ownership. This covers any damage that may occur. It typically costs a few thousand forints a month, or a few tens of thousands of forints a year.
• Moving: If the gift also involves moving house, you need to budget for the costs of this too. Depending on the size of the household, a professional removal company may charge anything from a few tens of thousands of forints to several hundred thousand forints.

How much does it cost in total to gift a flat worth 60 million forints?

Let us look at two typical cases using the example of a Budapest flat worth HUF 60 million.

1. Scenario A: A parent gifts to their child (DUTY-FREE)

• Attorney’s fee: HUF 110,000
• Land registry procedural fee: HUF 10,600
• Gift duty: HUF 0 (lineal relatives)
• Total: HUF 120,600

1. Scenario B: An aunt gifts to her nephew (SUBJECT TO DUTY)

• Attorney’s fee: approx. HUF 150,000 (more complex transaction)
• Land registry procedural fee: HUF 10,600
• Gift duty: HUF 60,000,000 * 9% = HUF 5,400,000
• Total: HUF 5,560,600

The examples clearly show that while the costs of the most common gifts within the family are relatively low, transactions subject to duty can be extremely expensive. Summarising the expenses on paper in advance can help avoid unpleasant surprises later.

How can a property gift be carried out most cost-effectively?

How much does a gift agreement cost? As you can see, the question can become complicated. The most important thing is to find out thoroughly about the options, especially the duty exemption rules. An experienced attorney not only drafts the contract but also helps you find your way through the legal maze and identify the most cost-effective solution, avoiding pitfalls with serious financial consequences.