Tax reduction scheme on property transfers extended to September

The registration date of the final deed on property transactions eligible for reduced tax rates has been extended by three months from the end of June to the end of September, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced on Monday.  

The scheme was first introduced as a temporary COVID-19 measure for promise of sale agreements in June 2020 and subsequently extended. It provides for a reduced tax and stamp duty rate of 5 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively on the first €400,000 of a property's value. 

Caruana said that 8,615 promise of sale agreements had been registered in terms of the scheme by the end of December and it is these promise of sale agreements which must be concluded by September to benefit from the scheme. 

The deadline for the publications of the deeds was extended to the end of September on advice from notaries and banks, who needed more time for research on the properties, Caruana said. 

He said that last year 26,000 contracts benefited from favourable tax rates, saving their owners a total of €151 million on properties having a total value of €5.1 billion. 

The 8,615 contracts yet to be signed have a total value of €1.7 billion and are set to benefit from €50...