Tax on the Sale of Real Estate in Kazakhstan: What to Pay and When

You have sold, or are only planning to sell, an apartment, house, dacha or plot and want to understand whether you will have to give part of the money to the state. Everyone's situation is different: some inherited the property, some bought it with a mortgage, some own only a share, and some are not tax residents of Kazakhstan. Both the rate and the obligation to pay itself depend on each of these details.

It is easy to make a mistake here, because intuition suggests the wrong answer. Many believe that only the seller pays tax on profit, that the ownership period is counted from the date of registration, and that expenses can be confirmed by anything. In practice, the tax authority calculates the base differently, and an incorrect declaration or a missed deadline turns an ordinary transaction into additional assessments with penalties.

Tax on the Sale of Real Estate: Who Pays and in Which Cases

The obligation to pay tax on the sale of real estate arises for the seller at the moment income from the disposal of the property is received, not after the transaction is registered. So the question "do I need to pay tax on the sale of an apartment" is decided not by the stamp in the contract, but by the fact that the money has been received. If you sold an apartment in Almaty and received payment, the income has already arisen — regardless of when the parties formalised the transfer of title.

Everything then depends on two things: whether you are a tax resident of Kazakhstan and how long the property has been in your ownership. These two circumstances determine the seller's tax status and affect whether the sale of the apartment is taxable. As long as income has been received and the ownership period does not provide an exemption, the obligation to declare and pay remains. Check these parameters before filing your reports so that you can correctly calculate the tax on the sale of the apartment.

• Income received — tax has already arisen
• The seller's residency is the key criterion
• The ownership period determines whether there will be an exemption
• Registration of the transaction by itself does not create tax

When the sale of real estate is exempt from tax: ownership period and other conditions

A sale of real estate without tax is possible if the property has been in ownership longer than the minimum period established by law. In that case, the income from the sale is not taxed, and no declaration needs to be filed. For most residential properties this period is one year, but for certain categories it may differ.

Exemption from tax on the sale of real estate depends not only on the ownership period. The status of the property also matters — whether it is residential or commercial — as well as the basis on which it was acquired. To confirm your right to the exemption, keep the documents:

• the purchase and sale agreement or another document confirming acquisition
• an extract from the real estate register or a technical passport
• the acceptance and transfer act or payment documents
• a certificate of registered rights as at the date of sale

Tax on the sale of real estate: comparison of rates for residents and non-residents

The tax rate on the sale of real estate depends on the seller's status and the type of property: for residents, taking into account the ownership period; for non-residents, it is higher, with no exemption based on the ownership period.

Tax on the sale of commercial real estate depends on whether it is used in business. Use the table below as a guide:

• Resident — pays tax on the income, but the ownership period may exempt them from it.
• Non-resident — the exemption based on the ownership period usually does not apply, and the rate is higher.
• Residential property — the calculation is tied to the ownership period and the seller's status.
• Non-residential property — its designation and the nature of its use are taken into account.
• Mixed case — the status and the type of property are assessed together.

The table shows the logic of the calculation, not the rate: the actual amounts depend on the seller's status, the holding period and documented expenses.

Tax return on the sale of real estate: deadlines, form and supporting documents

After the transaction, the seller must file an income tax return with the tax authority at their place of residence. Attach to the return documents confirming the amount of expenses on acquiring the property: the sale and purchase agreement, a receipt or payment documents, a statement confirming the transfer of money. If there are no supporting documents, the tax may be calculated on the entire amount of income without taking costs into account — the base will be higher and you will have to pay more.

You can complete the return on the sale of an apartment through the taxpayer's account or on a paper form. In it, state the income from the sale, the deduction in the form of acquisition expenses, and attach the supporting documents. Prepare in advance:

• the sale and purchase agreement and the acceptance and transfer certificate
• payment documents: receipts, payment slips, bank statements
• documents confirming the expenses on purchasing this property
• identity card and IIN
• title documents for the real estate sold

Tax on the sale of real estate acquired by inheritance or as a gift

If an apartment or house was acquired by inheritance or as a gift, the tax on the sale of an inherited apartment and the tax on the sale of real estate received as a gift are calculated differently than in the case of a purchase. In such cases, the holding period is counted not from the moment the keys were actually handed over or from the moment of residence, but from the date the right of ownership arose: for an heir, this is the day the inheritance is opened; for a donee, it is the date the right is registered in the register. It is this period that determines whether the sale qualifies for the exemption.

Confirming acquisition expenses can be difficult, because the owner themselves did not pay money for the property. The Tax Code allows reliance on the documents of the previous owner — the deceased or the donor: the sale and purchase agreement, payment documents, valuation reports. If the papers have not been preserved, the income cannot be reduced by expenses, and the entire sale amount will be the base. Therefore, before filing the return, it is worth collecting:

• the certificate of the right to inheritance or the gift agreement;
• the title documents of the previous owner;
• the contract under which the property was once purchased;
• receipts, payment orders, written acknowledgements of settlement;
• a valuation report as at the date of acquisition.

Tax on selling real estate bought with a loan or held in shares: how to calculate the base

Mortgage: the income is the balance remaining after repaying the debt, interest and bank fees, not the price in the contract. Confirm this with a bank statement on closure of the loan.

With shares, the property is sold as a whole, but each owner reports in proportion to their share — by their own tax return. Allocate the shares in the contract in advance.

• Bank statement confirming full repayment of the loan and the amount of the outstanding balance
• The contract stating each owner's share and its value
• An extract of registered rights as at the date of the transaction
• Payment documents: who received what and how much from the buyer

If the shares are not allocated in the agreement, the tax authority may distribute the income according to the title documents — check in advance that they match the actual transfer of money.

The most costly mistakes when calculating tax on the sale of real estate

Many sellers are sure that the tax can be reduced by stating an undervalued price in the real estate sale and purchase agreement. In practice, undervaluing the property in the agreement does not reduce the taxable base: the tax is calculated from the real market or cadastral value, and this creates a risk of additional tax assessment, penalties and administrative liability. Another common misconception is not filing a declaration, assuming that no tax needs to be paid. But failure to file a declaration on time entails a fine regardless of the amount of tax.

Another mistake is the lack of confirmation of expenses for the acquisition or improvement of the property. Without documents confirming the costs, the taxable base is not reduced, and the tax will have to be paid on the entire amount of income. An incorrect determination of residency status is also costly: if the seller considers themselves a resident, but under the rules of Kazakhstan's tax legislation is not one, a higher rate applies. To avoid mistakes when paying tax on the sale of real estate, it is important to understand which documents and status affect the calculation. It is better to get tax on the sale of real estate explanations for a specific situation from a specialist before the transaction.

• Understating the price in the agreement does not reduce the tax, but leads to additional assessment and a fine
• Refusal to file a declaration risks a fine even with zero tax
• The absence of documents on expenses increases the taxable base
• Incorrect determination of resident status leads to overpayment of tax

The main conclusion is simple: first determine your status — resident or not — and the period of ownership of the property, and only then calculate the base. It is precisely on these two points that additional assessments most often arise.