Spain is considering a 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU buyers. While the goal is to ease the country’s housing problem, property tax is a major source of income in many European countries.
According to the European Commission, property tax as a share of GDP in the EU ranges from 0.3% in Czechia and Estonia to 3.7% in France in 2023. The EU average is 1.9%.
But how much property tax do governments collect across Europe? What share of total tax revenue comes from property taxes? And how much does real estate transfer tax amount to as a percentage of GDP?
Euronews Business takes a closer look at property tax revenues across Europe.
What share of GDP does property tax make up?
In the EU, property tax contributes to the highest share of GDP in France (3.7%) and the lowest in Czechia and Estonia (both 0.3%).
When European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, the UK, and Turkey are included—using some OECD data—the UK ranks slightly above France, though both are around 3.7%.
Belgium is also above 3%, at 3.2%. Spain ranks fifth at 2.5%, followed by Greece at 2.7%.
Other countries with a share above 2% include Iceland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, and Portugal.
Property tax accounts for less than 1% of GDP in nearly half of the 32 countries on the list. It is especially low in Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Czechia, all below 0.5%.
Among Europe’s five largest economies, Germany has a significantly lower share at 1% compared with the others. Italy ranks fourth at 2.1%, while France and the UK top the list.
The chart above shows that Northwestern Europe collects a higher percentage of their GDP through property tax, while Eastern Europe and the Baltics collects a lower share. In Southern Europe, the picture is more mixed, though often on the higher side.
According to the OECD, property taxes include all recurrent and non-recurrent levies on the use, ownership, or transfer of property. They cover taxes on immovable property or net wealth, inheritance and gift taxes, and taxes on financial and capital transactions.
What about revenues from property taxes?
The UK collected the most property tax revenue in 2023 at €115 billion (£100bn), followed by France at €104.5 billion. These two countries dominate property tax revenues, with third-place Italy collecting just €45.3 billion.
Germany and Spain complete the top five, collecting €41.4 billion and €36.8 billion respectively. The EU total stands at €318.8 billion.
Belgium (€18.8 billion), Switzerland (€17.9 billion), the Netherlands (€14.4 billion), and Poland (€10.7 billion) also collected over €10 billion in property tax revenue in 2023.
In 10 EU countries, property tax revenue is below €1 billion, with Estonia the lowest at €110 million.
Property tax as a share of total taxation
The share of property taxes making up total taxation varies widely across Europe. In 2023, in the EU, it ranges from 0.8% in Estonia and Czechia to 8.4% in France, according to the European Commission. The EU average was 4.7%.
In addition to France, seven other EU countries had property tax shares above 5%: Belgium (7.4%), Greece (7%), Spain (6.7%), Portugal (5.9%), Luxembourg (5.7%), Italy (5.1%), and Denmark (5.1%).
In Germany, property taxes account for just 2.5% of total taxation.
Shares of property transfer tax across Europe
Property transfer taxes, expressed as a share of GDP, indicate the importance of real estate sales as a source of government revenue in some countries. These taxes apply to financial and capital transactions, mainly involving buying, selling, and stamp duties.
According to the OECD, this share was 1% of GDP in Italy in 2023, followed by Belgium, Portugal, and Spain (all 0.8%).
In France, property transfer taxes accounted for 0.7% of GDP, compared with 0.6% in the UK and 0.3% in Germany.
Spain’s proposal for a property 100% tax for non-EU buyers is sparking debate across Europe. In May 2025, during hearings at the European Parliament, José García Montalvo, Professor of Economics at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, said housing tax policies may not be the most efficient way to address certain problems in the housing market.
“Constant policy changes and lack of coordination between tax policy and housing supply measures undermine the effectiveness of housing tax policies leading to unpredictable market outcomes and persistent problems of affordability,” he said.
Diana Hourani from the Personal and Property Taxes Unit of OECD, noted that there is significant scope to enhance the efficiency, equity and revenue potential of many different types of housing taxes in OECD countries.
“Improving these taxes can, in many cases, also ease upward pressure on house prices,” Hourani added.
