# Immovable Property Tax (IPT)



## Chris & Andrea (Feb 15, 2008)

Hi All, Have been reading with interest an article in 'Cyprus News' entitled Developers Scamming Buyers' over Property Tax. I thought the article worthy of 'noting' by all forum members.
Identified by the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG); who have obtained legal opinion ~ It would appear it is common practice for some developers to over charge buyers thousands of Euros in IPT pocketing the difference.
Examples given are charging a buyer €1700 when only required to pay the Inland Revenue €25! or one developer on a large development charging buyers €600 each and only paying €17 per buyer to the Inland Revenue.
The legal advise is to challenge any such claim by a developer asking for proof of payment of the alleged sum to the Inland Revenue. There are other examples of developers withholding title deeds until their demands are met by unsuspecting buyers. As the imposition can go on for some years the demand could come as a nasty shock for the unsuspecting? 
Please refer to the article for further information.
Kind Regards, Chris


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

We haven't paid or been asked to pay IPT at any stage. I believe it only applies to property valued over £100k CYP.


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## Chris & Andrea (Feb 15, 2008)

Yes you are quite right. Based on the market value of property as of the 1st January 1980 your exempt from tax if this value is below CY100,000, so there's often nothing to pay.
Otherwise the rates are stepped 100-250,000 0.25%
250-500,000 0.35% then over 500,000 it would be 0.4%
Bottom line though is don't be conned by unscrupulous developers/builders.
Regards, Chris


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

I am horrified about the number of people who say that they use a solicitor recommended by their developer or even the developer's own solicitor. Doing this is potentially a conflict of interest, you wouldn't be able to use your vendor's solicitor in the UK and I am surprised that people do it abroad.

What I didn't know until after we had employed a solicitor, was that the Consulate in Nicosia publishes a list of reputable solicitors. I believe it is available on the internet.


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