Cross-border property facts, free to quote.

A non-resident buying a UK property that isn't their only home pays both the +2% non-resident surcharge and the +5% additional-property surcharge — a combined +7% on top of standard stamp duty. The additional-property rate jumped from 3% to 5% on 31 October 2024.

The 80-year mark is the UK leasehold cliff: once a lease falls below it, 'marriage value' kicks in and extending it can cost £20,000–£60,000 instead of £8,000–£15,000. Check the lease length before you offer.

UK residential capital gains tax for higher-rate taxpayers is 24%, cut from 28% in April 2024. Non-residents have paid CGT on UK residential disposals since April 2015.

French notaire fees run 7–8% of the price on a resale — the single highest one-off purchase tax across the UK, France, Spain and Portugal — and they aren't separately negotiable.

France's real-estate wealth tax (IFI) bites on property holdings above €1.3 million, but once you cross that line it's calculated from €800,000 up. Non-residents pay only on their French real estate.

Since January 2025 a French home rated DPE-G cannot legally be let. DPE-F loses rental eligibility in 2028 and DPE-E in 2034 — a cheap 'passoire thermique' only pays if your renovation budget beats the discount.

Spain's worst rental trap for Britons: non-EU non-residents pay 24% IRNR on GROSS rent with zero deductions, while EU/EEA owners pay 19% and can deduct mortgage interest and repairs. Post-Brexit, UK landlords sit in the harsher bracket.

Even an empty Spanish flat owes tax every year: non-residents file Modelo 210 on a deemed income of ~1.1% of cadastral value at 19%, plus IBI and community fees — typically €3,500–€4,500/yr all in.

Spain abolished the property route to its Golden Visa on 3 April 2025. You can still buy freely as a non-resident — but a purchase no longer buys residency, so don't pay for a 'Golden Visa' that no longer exists.

Portugal's purchase taxes top out at a flat 7.5% IMT for homes over €1 million, plus 0.8% stamp duty (Imposto de Selo) — but real estate stopped qualifying for the Golden Visa back in October 2023.

Non-residents pay 28% IRS on Portuguese rental income by default; the simplified regime taxes just 35% of gross at 25% — an effective ~8.75% — for short-term AL lets, where new licences are frozen across central Lisbon.

Greece's Golden Visa now runs on a three-zone map: €800,000 in Zone A (Attica, greater Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini), €400,000 elsewhere, and €250,000 only for commercial-to-residential conversions or listed-building restoration. Tiers also require a single property of at least 120 m².

Turkish citizenship by investment is keyed to a $400,000 official appraisal value — not the sale price — with a 3-year hold annotated on the title deed. A $420k sale that appraises at $360k fails the test, so get the valuation before signing.

Among the UK, France, Spain and Portugal, France hits hardest at purchase (7–8% notaire) but is gentler to hold; Spain punishes British landlords with 24% gross rental tax; Portugal sits in the middle; the UK is the most predictable but has the priciest leasehold traps.