If your building permit was delayed, you may still qualify for the old — and far more generous — regime. But the clock is running.
Διαβάστε αυτό το άρθρο στα ελληνικά.
The old VAT regime for a primary residence was genuinely generous: 5% on the first 200 m² of buildable area, with no cap on the total size of the property and no cap on its value.
The current regime is considerably tighter — a reduced rate on a smaller area, with limits on both size and value.
On a mid-sized house, the difference between the two is measured in tens of thousands of euros.
And the window is still open.
What changed in April 2026
Amending Law 109(I)/2026, published in the Official Gazette on 24 April 2026, extended the transitional provisions of Law 42(I)/2023.
The reason for the extension is specific: delays attributable to the planning authorities. Many applicants met the criteria but ran out of time because their building permit had not been issued.
On 4 May 2026 the Tax Department issued a clarification setting out which cases fall within the extension.
Two deadlines — and the difference is your building permit
31 December 2026 — this one is still open
It applies where:
- the planning permit application was submitted, or the planning permit was issued, by 31 October 2023; and
- the building permit was issued after 1 January 2025, or has not yet been issued.
In these cases the Tax Commissioner may examine the Declaration up to 31 December 2026.
One point that gets missed: if the building permit has not been issued at the time of the VAT application, the application must be accompanied by the building permit application — so that the delay is demonstrably the authority’s and not the applicant’s.
15 June 2026 — this one has passed
It applied where the planning permit application was submitted by 31 October 2023, but the building permit was issued on or before 31 December 2024.
The 2026 amendment did not move this deadline.
How to tell whether it applies to you
Three dates, in this order:
- Your planning permit — was the application submitted, or the permit issued, by 31 October 2023? If not, the transitional regime does not apply to you.
- Your building permit — was it issued after 1 January 2025, or is it still pending? If so, your deadline is 31 December 2026.
- If the building permit was issued on or before 31 December 2024 — the deadline was 15 June 2026 and it has passed.
The Declaration is submitted through the Tax For All (TFA) system.
Why an architecture practice is writing about VAT
Because the test that decides everything is not a tax question — it is a permitting one.
Whether you qualify for the more favourable regime turns on when the planning application was submitted and when the building permit was issued. If it is still pending, it turns on whether there is a filed application that proves it.
Those facts sit in your project file, not your tax file. And for a number of owners, the very delay that was the problem is now the condition keeping them inside the better regime.
The tax filing itself is your accountant’s or lawyer’s work. What we can do is tell you exactly where your permitting sits and give you the dates and documents they will need.
Is your building permit still pending?
If your planning permit dates from 2023 or earlier and your building permit was delayed or is still outstanding, it is worth checking now rather than in December.
Call us on 24 650846 or get a quote and we will tell you where your file stands.
This is general information as at the date of publication and is not tax or legal advice. The conditions and deadlines for the reduced VAT rate should be confirmed with the Tax Department and your own tax adviser.
From Christos Christou Architecture Studio — CGP Christou LLC, Larnaca.
