Every property market has two prices: the one on the listing, and the one you actually pay once taxes, duties, agents, lawyers, and registration fees pile on. In Spain the gap runs 10 to 14 percent. In the UK, stamp duty alone can take 5 percent. In Germany, budget 10 percent before you get keys.
In Georgia, the gap is close to zero, and this article itemizes it line by line so you can budget a purchase to the dollar.
The worked example
Take a real scenario: a 75,000 USD one-bedroom apartment in Saburtalo, Tbilisi, bought by a foreign buyer from the registered owner. Here is the complete cost stack.
Purchase taxes and stamp duty: 0 USD. Georgia charges no transfer tax, no stamp duty, and no VAT on secondary residential sales. This is not a promotional rate; it is the permanent structure of the system.
NAPR registration fee: about 20 to 75 USD. Registering the ownership transfer at the National Agency of Public Registry costs roughly 50 GEL for standard four-day processing or around 200 GEL for same-day service. This is the only mandatory state cost of the entire transaction.
Agent commission: usually 0 USD for the buyer. On resale transactions in Georgia the commission convention is seller-pays, typically 2 to 3 percent. Confirm this in writing before viewings, because exceptions exist, especially where a buyer's agent is separately engaged.
Legal review: 300 to 800 USD, optional but recommended. No notary or lawyer is legally required for a standard sale. For a foreign buyer, an independent lawyer to review the contract and re-check the registry is the best value line item on this list. For off-plan purchases, treat it as mandatory in spirit.
Translation and power of attorney: 50 to 300 USD, situational. Contracts are commonly bilingual. If you buy remotely, add consular notarization or an apostilled power of attorney.
Currency and transfer costs: 0.5 to 1.5 percent if unmanaged. The quiet cost most buyers miss. Moving 75,000 USD through banks with poor exchange handling can leak more than every official fee combined. Using a sensible transfer service or negotiating with your bank keeps this near the bottom of the range.
Total on our 75,000 USD example: roughly 500 to 1,500 USD all-in, under 2 percent even at the generous end, and most of it optional professional services rather than tax.
What it costs to own
The purchase is only the entry price, so here is the annual picture.
Property tax: 0 for most, small for the rest. Georgia's annual property tax is income-linked: households with worldwide income under 40,000 GEL are fully exempt, and above that the municipal rates range from 0.05 to 1 percent of market value. The full mechanics, brackets, and filing dates are in our property tax guide.
Utilities and building fees: modest. A typical Tbilisi apartment runs 50 to 120 USD a month in utilities depending on season, plus building service fees in newer developments, commonly 0.5 to 1 USD per square meter monthly.
Rental income tax, if you let it out: 5 percent flat for registered individual landlords. One online registration, then 5 percent of gross rent.
What it costs to leave
Sell after owning for more than two years and the capital gain is entirely untaxed. Sell within two years and the gain is taxed at 5 percent. There is no exit fee, no non-resident surcharge, and the sale registers at NAPR with the same small fee the purchase did.
The costs that are not on any official list
An honest cost guide includes the ways buyers overspend without noticing:
- Buying off-plan without checking the developer. The discount for buying early is real, and so is the risk when the developer's land is mortgaged or the permit is incomplete. Verification costs nothing compared to what it prevents.
- Skipping the registry check. Confirming that the seller is the registered owner and the title is clean is fast and cheap. Deposits paid before that check are the most expensive mistake in this market.
- Paying tourist prices. Prices are negotiable, particularly on the secondary market. Foreign buyers who never counter leave several percent on the table, which dwarfs every fee in this article.
The full purchase process, from shortlist to registration, is walked through step by step in our guide to buying property in Georgia as a foreigner.
The bottom line
Budget the listing price, plus about 1 to 2 percent for professional services and transfers, and you have the true cost of buying in Georgia. There is no hidden second bill. That transparency, rare in property markets, is a large part of why foreign money keeps arriving.
When you are ready to attach these numbers to real apartments, the current verified listings show live prices in Tbilisi and Batumi, every one checked against the state registry before it went live.
Figures reflect the standard individual case as of 2026 and are general information, not legal or tax advice.