Guide

Selling a house in Czechia: documents, process and tax

Updated 29 July 2026 · 6 min read
The short version: the Czech property transfer tax has been abolished — neither buyer nor seller pays it any more. What remains is income tax on the gain, and most sellers are exempt: if you acquired the property before 2021 and have held it five years, or acquired it from 2021 and have held it ten years, or lived in it for two years immediately before the sale, or use the proceeds for your own housing within a year. The holding period runs from registration in the Land Registry, not from signing.

Selling a Czech house is not complicated, but two things catch foreign owners out: the paperwork you are expected to produce, and the assumption that a transfer tax still exists. It does not.

What to prepare

How a sale runs

  1. Preparation — documents, certificate, valuation, small repairs.
  2. Advertising and viewings.
  3. Reservation agreement, setting out the property, price and conditions.
  4. Purchase contract, drafted for the specific property; a mortgage on the buyer’s side adds a charge agreement.
  5. Attorney or notarial escrow of the purchase price — the standard and safe route for both sides.
  6. Application for registration in the Land Registry.
  7. Handover of the house, the documentation and the utility accounts.
Sequence matters

Get the certificate and the documentation together before you photograph and list the property. A house in a better energy class, with the paperwork in order, sells faster and for more.

Tax, in plainer terms

Transfer tax: abolished. Nobody pays it.

Income tax on the gain: you are exempt if any of the following applies — you acquired the property before 2021 and have owned it at least five years; you acquired it from 2021 onwards and have owned it at least ten years; you lived in it for at least two years immediately before selling; or you use the proceeds within one year for your own housing needs. The ownership period is counted from registration in the Land Registry, which can differ by weeks or months from the date you signed. Where exempt income exceeds five million crowns there is also a duty to notify the tax office.

Tax treatment depends on details — inheritance, business use, part-lets, multiple properties. If you are a foreign tax resident, your home country may also have something to say about the gain. Have this checked by a Czech tax adviser before you sign, not after.

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Official sources

Czech-language sources. They are the authoritative texts; this page is a plain-English summary of them.

Related

GuideThe Energy Performance Certificate GuideBuying a house: what to check GuideWhat Czech law actually requires

General information about Czech rules as of 2026, not legal advice. Requirements depend on your specific property and can change. Where it matters, follow the applicable regulations and consult a qualified professional.