Buying property in Estonia: costs of the notary fee, VAT and land register state fee, with worked examples

Costs of buying property in Estonia: the quick answer

Buying an apartment in Estonia requires a notarised deed and the buyer’s entry in the land register, the kinnistusraamat (§§ 64¹, 119 and 120 of the Law of Property Act). Those two steps generate the costs set by law. The official calculator of the Notarite Koda, the Chamber of Notaries, sums them up in three items: the notary fee, VAT and the state fee (riigilõiv).

Using the official tables in force and the assumptions explained below, these are the totals:

• €100,000 apartment, paid in cash: €507.79.
• €100,000 apartment with an €80,000 mortgage: €607.09.
• €250,000 apartment, paid in cash: €1,263.44.
• €250,000 apartment with a €200,000 mortgage: €1,504.85.

These figures follow the method of the official calculator. The exact amount for your deal comes from the calculator itself or from the notary, who must tell you the land register state fee (§ 39 (2) of the Notary Fees Act).

How the notary fee is calculated

The notary fee is not negotiable: it is set by the Notary Fees Act (Notari tasu seadus, NotTS), and its § 2 (3) forbids notaries to agree on different rates. The calculation has three steps:

1. Transaction value

   This is the price declared by buyer and seller (§ 3 (2)). If it is lower than the property’s usual value, the value is set from other reliable data, such as the taxable value of the land, the registered mortgage or the insured sum (§ 3 (3)).

2. Single full fee from the table

   With that value you look up the täistasu (single full fee) for the matching band in the table in § 22. For example, in the band ending at €102,260 it is €160.40, and in the band ending at €255,650 it is €390.50.

3. Doubled, because a sale is two-sided

   A contract with two or more parties costs twice the full fee (§ 23). If the sale contract, the real agreement transferring ownership and the land register application are in the same deed, nothing extra is charged for the last two (§ 25).

The Chamber of Notaries gives this example: for a sale declared at €50,000 the single full fee is €83.70, and because the contract is two-sided the notary fee is 2 × 83.70 = €167.40, plus VAT.

VAT at 24% on the notary fee

A notary’s professional activity is subject to VAT (§ 2 (2) of the Value-Added Tax Act) and the standard rate has been 24% since 1 July 2025 (§ 15 (1)); the wordings already published for 1 October 2026 and 1 January 2027 keep it. Every notarial document must state the fee and the VAT added to it (§ 40 (3) of the NotTS). The official calculator applies VAT to the notary fee only, not to the land register state fee, and our examples do the same.

The land register state fee (riigilõiv)

Entering you in the kinnistusraamat carries a state fee set by the State Fees Act (Riigilõivuseadus, RLS), based on the transaction value and the table in its Annex 2 (§ 74). As the Chamber of Notaries explains, the entry is made once the state fee has been paid, and the notary gives you the amount and the payment details.

• Entry of the new owner: the full rate from the table (§ 76 (1)): €110 in the band ending at €102,260 and €295 in the band ending at €255,650.
• Buying from a relative: 50% of the full rate if you are a descendant or ascendant, spouse or registered partner of the registered owner (§ 76 (2)), and 75% if you are their brother or sister or a descendant of a sibling (§ 76 (3)).
• Entry of the mortgage: its value is 2/3 of the mortgage sum (§ 359 (1)) and, when it is entered together with the transfer of ownership, 50% of the full rate is charged (§ 77 (2)).

If VAT is added to the purchase price, that VAT is not deducted when the value for the state fee is set (§ 347 (2)).

Buying with a mortgage: what changes in the calculation

When the sale and the mortgage are notarised at the same time in a single deed, the NotTS applies three rules: the value of the sale drops to 2/3 of the price (§ 5 (2)), the value of the mortgage is 2/3 of its sum (§ 9 (1)), and the values of the transactions in one document are added together (§ 5 (1)). That is why the official calculator takes (price + mortgage sum) × 2/3 as the base, then applies the table and doubles the fee.

On the state fee side, the mortgage adds its own entry at 50%, calculated on 2/3 of the mortgage sum. Note that the mortgage sum entered in the register is not necessarily the same as the loan, and the higher it is, the higher both the notary fee and the state fee. Ask for the exact figure before you sign.

Four worked examples, step by step

Assumptions behind the four examples:

• You buy an apartment (korteriomand) and the declared price is the transaction value.
• You are not related to the seller, so the full owner-entry rate applies.
• With a mortgage, the mortgage sum is 80% of the price, and the sale and the mortgage are notarised at the same time in one deed, as the official calculator assumes.
• No remote notarisation, no notary deposit account, no out-of-office appointment and no extra copies — each of these can add to the bill.
• VAT at 24% on the notary fee only.

Example 1 · €100,000 apartment, paid in cash

• Notary fee: band up to €102,260 → €160.40 × 2 = €320.80.
• VAT at 24%: 320.80 × 0.24 = €76.99.
• State fee for the owner entry: band up to €102,260 → €110.
• Total: €507.79.

Example 2 · €100,000 apartment with an €80,000 mortgage

• Notary fee (sale and mortgage in the same deed): (100,000 + 80,000) × 2/3 = €120,000 → band up to €121,435 → €189.15 × 2 = €378.30.
• VAT at 24%: 378.30 × 0.24 = €90.79.
• State fee for the owner entry: €110.
• State fee for the mortgage entry: 80,000 × 2/3 = €53,333.33 → band up to €54,330 → €56 × 50% = €28.
• Total: €607.09.

Example 3 · €250,000 apartment, paid in cash

• Notary fee: band up to €255,650 → €390.50 × 2 = €781.00.
• VAT at 24%: 781.00 × 0.24 = €187.44.
• State fee for the owner entry: band up to €255,650 → €295.
• Total: €1,263.44.

Example 4 · €250,000 apartment with a €200,000 mortgage

• Notary fee: (250,000 + 200,000) × 2/3 = €300,000 → band up to €300,390 → €457.60 × 2 = €915.20.
• VAT at 24%: 915.20 × 0.24 = €219.65.
• State fee for the owner entry: €295.
• State fee for the mortgage entry: 200,000 × 2/3 = €133,333.33 → band up to €134,220 → €150 × 50% = €75.
• Total: €1,504.85.

These figures follow the method of the Notarite Koda’s official calculator under the assumptions above. If your deal does not fit them (a different mortgage sum, a mortgage in another deed or on another day, buying from a relative, remote notarisation), the result may differ: run it through the official calculator and confirm it with the notary.

Who pays the buying costs: buyer or seller?

Unless agreed otherwise, the buyer. § 215 (1) of the Law of Obligations Act puts the costs of delivering the item on the seller, and on the buyer the costs of accepting it and paying the price, as well as the costs of drawing up or notarising the sale contract and of the entry in a public register. The parties may agree otherwise (§ 5 of the same Act).

Towards the notary, however, everyone liable for the fee is jointly liable (§ 38 (2) of the NotTS): how buyer and seller split it is up to them. The notary may agree to payment in instalments, interest-free and over no more than six months (§ 40¹).

Other costs worth asking about

These are not in the calculator or depend on the case. Where there is no official rate, we give no figure:

• Valuation and agency fees. The Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA) lists the cost of valuation and brokerage and notary fees among the costs of a transfer, but there is no official rate: ask for the amounts in writing before you commit.
• Notary deposit account. If you pay without a loan, the Chamber of Notaries recommends depositing the price in the notary’s account before the deal. It costs a quarter of the single full fee on the deposited sum, with a minimum of €6.39 (§ 29 (3) of the NotTS). With a bank loan the price is usually not deposited: the bank transfers it after the deal.
• Remote notarisation. If the deed is notarised remotely and the act is on the official list, €20 is added to the notary fee (§ 2 (2¹) of the NotTS), plus VAT.
• Copies. According to the calculator, fees for copies may be added; a digital copy costs €12.75 (§ 31 point 15 of the NotTS).
• Notarised preliminary contract (eelleping). If you sign one, it costs a single full fee, and the later main contract between the same parties also costs a single full fee instead of a double one (§ 29 (1) points 7 and 8).
• Apartment association arrears. The buyer of an apartment is liable to the association (korteriühistu), as a surety and up to the apartment’s value, for the seller’s overdue obligations (§ 43 (2) of the KrtS). The Chamber of Notaries advises asking the seller for the association’s certificate on arrears.
• Deleting the seller’s mortgage. If it is deleted as part of the deal, it has its own notary fee (value: 2/3 of the mortgage sum, § 9 (1) of the NotTS) and state fee (25% of the full rate, § 77 (5) of the RLS). It is not in our examples: ask who will bear it.
• Land register extract before you buy: €6 for the whole register part in the e-Land Register. How to get and read it is in our Estonian land register guide.

For estate agents: explaining the costs to a buyer

With a foreign buyer, show the calculation and not just the total, and point them to the official calculator for their own case. Domuspace does not calculate fees or taxes. What it does is help with the paperwork: with the contracts module you prepare the brokerage agreement with the contact’s and the property’s details filled in automatically; in Estonia, remote signing with eID also requires an Estonian-language template.

The seller has the other side of the deal: according to the EMTA, gains from selling immovable property are generally subject to income tax, though some sales are exempt. We cover it in tax on selling property in Estonia. And if you work the Estonian market, see how Domuspace works in Estonia.

This article is for information only and is not a substitute for advice from a tax or legal professional. The figures were calculated with the official tables in force, and the details were checked on 29 September 2026 against the official sources linked above.