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Closing Costs in Austria: 6.6 to 11.5% Explained

Updated: 2026-08-01 · Reading time: 9 min · ImmoLens editorial team

In Austria, too, buying a home costs considerably more than the purchase price. Closing costs run to roughly 6.6 to 7.1% of the purchase price without a broker, and around 10 to 11.5% with a broker and financing. Unlike in Germany, the transfer tax is uniform nationwide, but there are separate items on top: a percentage-based land registry fee, the mortgage registration fee for your loan, and contract drafting by a notary or lawyer, for which no statutory tariff exists.

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The items in detail

Transfer tax: 3.5%, uniform nationwide

For an ordinary purchase, the Austrian transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) is 3.5% of the consideration, usually the purchase price (section 7 para 1 no 3 GrEStG 1987). The reduced graduated rates of 0.5 to 3.5% apply only to gratuitous transfers and transfers within the family, not to purchases on the open market. Unlike Germany, where the federal states charge between 3.5 and 6.5%, there is no regional variation in Austria. A much-discussed exemption for first-time buyers does not exist as of August 2026; the government programme merely contains a mandate to examine one.

Land registry: 1.1% registration plus filing fee

Registering ownership costs 1.1% of the assessment base (GGG TP 9 lit b no 1), plus a fixed filing fee of around €47 for electronic and €66 for paper filing. If you take out a loan, registering the mortgage costs an additional 1.2% of the registered lien amount (GGG TP 9 lit b no 4), usually the loan amount.

Contract drafting and escrow: 1 to 3% plus VAT

In Austria the purchase contract is drafted by a notary or lawyer, who usually also acts as escrow agent (Treuhänder): they hold the purchase price, clear existing encumbrances and handle the land registry entry. There is no statutory tariff for this. Market rates are 1 to 3% of the purchase price plus 20% VAT, with flat-fee offers increasingly common. Our calculator uses a gross estimate of 2.4%. It pays to get two or three quotes; lawyers often charge well below the notarial chamber guideline rates.

Broker commission: capped at 3% plus VAT per side

The buyer's commission is capped by regulation: for purchase prices above roughly €48,449 at 3% plus 20% VAT, i.e. 3.6% (ImmobilienmaklerV 1996 section 15). For purchases, the broker may act for both sides and charge both. The 2023 landlord-pays rule (Bestellerprinzip) applies only to residential rentals, not to purchases. Buying privately without a broker saves you the full 3.6%.

Sources

• GrEStG 1987 section 7 (tax rate)
• Ministry of Justice on the expired fee exemption (sections 25a to 25c GGG)
• WKO commission calculator (ImmobilienmaklerV)
• oesterreich.gv.at (land registry and fees)

As of 2026-08-01. All figures are orientation values and no substitute for legal or tax advice.