Question 1

What is this article about?

Accepted Answer

How much does a gift agreement cost? The fee is determined by the complexity of the transaction and the value of the property. The minimum fee is HUF 110,000; for properties of average value, it is approximately 0.2% of the market value. • What does the base fee include? Free preliminary advice, obtaining the title deed (property sheet), map copy and heritage protection data, drafting and countersigning the agreement, submitting the NAV (Hungarian Tax Authority) data sheet, and full representation before the land registry office until the registration decision is issued. • Attorney vs. Notary: For higher-value properties, the attorney's fee is considerably more favourable than the fixed notarial fee schedule laid down by ministerial decree. • Mandatory official costs: The land registry procedural fee is a fixed HUF 10,600 per property (plus an additional HUF 16,000 for expedited proceedings). • Duty exemption within the family: Gifts between lineal relatives (parent, child, grandparent, grandchild), spouses, registered partners and siblings are 100% exempt from duty, and there is no obligation to report them to NAV either. • Duty rate in other cases: If the transaction is not exempt, the property acquisition duty is 9% for residential property and 18% for other property (e.g. building plot, garage, holiday home). • Personal income tax (PIT): When real estate is gifted, neither the donor nor the recipient incurs any personal income tax liability.

Question 2

What does the attorney's fee for a real estate gift agreement include?

Accepted Answer

The attorney's engagement fee includes preliminary legal advice, checking the title deed, identities and registers, drafting and countersigning the agreement, completing and submitting the related tax authority (NAV) data sheets, and representation before the land registry office until ownership is registered.

Question 3

Is the notarial or the attorney's fee more favourable for a gift agreement?

Accepted Answer

The notarial fee for a gift agreement is set by legislation (a Ministry of Justice decree) and increases with the value of the property. For an average property worth 50–60 million forints, the notarial fee including the flat-rate expense charges can exceed HUF 300,000, while an attorney's fee for the same transaction is available on considerably more favourable terms. At our firm, you can expect an attorney's fee of around HUF 110,000–120,000 for a simple gift agreement.

Question 4

When is gifting real estate exempt from duty?

Accepted Answer

A gift enjoys full exemption from duty if it is made between lineal relatives (parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren), spouses, registered partners or siblings (including half-siblings and adopted siblings). In these transactions, the acquisition of property does not even have to be reported to NAV.

Question 5

How much is the gift duty if no family exemption applies?

Accepted Answer

If the recipient does not fall within the exempt circle of relatives (for example, an aunt gifts to her nephew), the duty payable is 9% for residential property and associated rights of pecuniary value, and 18% for all other types of real estate (garage, building plot, holiday home).

Question 6

Is PIT (personal income tax) payable on a property received as a gift?

Accepted Answer

No. The recipient acquires property, not income, so the rules applicable to them are not those of personal income tax but – unless exempt by virtue of the family relationship or another ground for exemption – those of the property acquisition (gift) duty.

Question 7

Does the donor have to pay PIT (personal income tax) when gifting away their property?

Accepted Answer

No. The donor receives no consideration/income, since the transaction is gratuitous, so there is no PIT liability either. If the donor were to accept consideration, it would be conceptually impossible to speak of a gift.

Question 8

What fixed official costs must be paid on top of the attorney's fee?

Accepted Answer

In every real estate register procedure, the administrative service fee (land registry procedural fee) must be paid to the land registry office, which is HUF 10,600 per property. If the client requests an urgent (expedited) procedure, the additional official fee is HUF 16,000. In addition, obtaining the title deed costs HUF 4,800 per copy (once the allowance of 2 free requests per year for private individuals, which may lawfully be used for a property one owns, has been used up).

Question 9

When can the attorney's fee be higher than the base fee?

Accepted Answer

If the involvement of the guardianship authority is required (e.g. where a minor or a person under guardianship, typically the recipient, is involved), if a foreign recipient from outside the EU needs a permit from the government office, or if the donor's ownership has not yet been registered, for example due to pending probate proceedings.

Question 10

How long does it take for the land registry office to register ownership?

Accepted Answer

The processing time is 60 days. By requesting an expedited procedure, this can be halved to 30 days, for an additional fee of HUF 16,000.

Question 11

Can the gift duty be reduced if the donor reserves a usufruct?

Accepted Answer

Yes. 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.

Real estate

Legal help for real estate contracts in Hungary.