Every year some apartments in Ukraine are sold less than three years after purchase: a move, a divorce, an urgent need for cash, an investment unit bought at the foundation stage that the owner decided not to keep. The Tax Code does not forbid such a sale, but it charges 10% of the price for it, and, unlike almost any other income tax, it charges it not on the profit but on the full amount of the deal.
That is the key detail most sellers only discover at the notary's desk. Below: how much tax applies when selling an apartment owned less than 3 years in Ukraine in 2026, from which day the clock runs, where the rate becomes 23%, and how to sell an apartment held under three years with the smallest loss.
In short
- The first sale of the year of an apartment owned under 3 years: 5% PIT + 5% military levy = 10% of the contract price, but not below the appraised value.
- On a UAH 3,000,000 apartment that is UAH 300,000, even if it was bought for UAH 2,900,000: no cost deduction applies at the 5% rate.
- A second sale in the year of an object held under 3 years: 18% + 5% = 23%, but with documented purchase costs deducted.
- The three years run from the date of state registration of title; for a new build, from registration after commissioning.
- An inherited apartment can be sold tax-free at once; a gifted one cannot.
Selling an apartment owned less than 3 years in 2026: what Article 172 says
Clause 172.1 of the Tax Code exempts one sale of housing per calendar year from tax, provided the property has been owned for more than three years. An apartment held for less does not meet that formula and falls under clause 172.2, which has two rates. The full picture for every type of sale, including inheritance, non-residents and land, is in the tax on selling an apartment in Ukraine 2026 piece; this page covers only the apartment held under three years.
| Situation in 2026 | PIT | Military levy | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First sale of the year, held under 3 years | 5% | 5% | 10% |
| Second and later sales of objects held under 3 years | 18% | 5% | 23% |
| For comparison: first sale of the year, held over 3 years | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Inherited housing, first sale of the year (any holding period) | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Non-resident, apartment held under 3 years | 18% | 5% | 23% |
The 5% military levy has applied since 1 December 2024 (it was 1.5% before) and is charged only where PIT is due.
The base is the contract price, but not below the appraised value from the Unified Database of Valuation Reports. Understating the price on paper does not work: the notary must check it against the appraisal, and the tax is calculated on the higher of the two.
Why 10% of the price, not of the profit
A deduction for purchase costs exists, but the Code allows it only for income taxed at 18%: third and later sales, and second and later sales of objects that do not qualify for the exemption. No deduction applies at the 5% rate.
In practice: an apartment bought for UAH 2,700,000 two years ago sells for UAH 3,000,000. The profit is 300,000, but the tax is 5% and 5% of 3,000,000, or UAH 300,000. The entire profit goes to the state. If the price has not risen, the seller pays the same 300,000 out of pocket.
| Sale price | 10% tax | In dollars (UAH 44.85/$, 9 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| UAH 2,000,000 | UAH 200,000 | ≈ $4,500 |
| UAH 3,000,000 | UAH 300,000 | ≈ $6,700 |
| UAH 4,500,000 | UAH 450,000 | ≈ $10,000 |
| UAH 6,000,000 | UAH 600,000 | ≈ $13,400 |
That makes a sale within three years unprofitable almost whenever the price has grown by less than 10% over the holding period. According to LUN, the median one-room apartment in Kyiv rose about 5% in dollars over the year, so for a typical apartment bought a year or two ago the tax wipes out the gain entirely and adds a loss on top.
How the ownership period is counted: three traps
The clock runs from the date of state registration of title, not from the contract, payment or move-in date. Hence three traps.
New build. An investor paid for an apartment in 2022, the building was commissioned in 2025, title was registered in December 2025. The three years end in December 2028, although the money went in six years earlier. A sale in 2026 is a sale of an object held under three years. A sale before commissioning is a separate regime; see selling a new build before commissioning.
Gift. The three-year condition is lifted only for inheritance. A gifted apartment counts from the date the recipient's title is registered. If parents gave an apartment in 2024, a sale in 2026 is taxed at 10%.
Share. Selling a share in an apartment is a sale of an object. Two shares of one apartment sold in the same year under separate contracts count as two sales.
Inheritance is the only exception: an inherited apartment can be sold on the day title is registered, and the first sale of the year is tax-free.
The second sale: the most expensive mistake
The sales counter runs by calendar year, not by object. An investor selling two apartments held under three years pays 10% on the first and 23% on the second. On a UAH 3,000,000 apartment the difference is UAH 390,000 purely because both deals closed in the same year.
Moving the second deal to January resets the counter. This is not a scheme or an optimisation: the Code ties the rate to the year directly, and the notary applies it by the date of certification. Analyst Ruslan Averin regards this as the only tax lever available to a private seller without an adviser, and the one most often left unused, because sellers learn of the rate on the day of the deal.
Apartment held under 3 years: how to sell with the least tax
- Wait for the three years if a year or less remains; the calculation is below.
- Split two sales across calendar years so the second does not fall under 23%.
- Keep the purchase documents: if a sale does fall under 18%, purchase costs reduce the base, and 23% of the profit is often cheaper than 10% of the price.
- Do not understate the price in the contract: tax is charged on no less than the appraised value anyway, and the tax service sees the gap.
- Check residence status: a non-resident pays 23% where a resident pays 10%.
How the tax is paid
If the buyer is an individual, the seller pays PIT and the levy personally, before notarisation. The notary checks the receipt and will not certify the contract without it. If the buyer is a company or a FOP, the buyer acts as tax agent and withholds the tax.
Notaries report every certified contract to the tax service, state notaries monthly and private notaries quarterly, with the parties, address and price. Every deal is visible to the tax service within a quarter, and a "forgotten" second sale is found automatically.
No return is required if the tax was paid at certification: clause 179.2 exempts such income from declaration. The exception is a seller using the cost deduction at 18%, who files a return by 1 May and supports the costs with documents.
Sell now or wait for three years
Waiting pays when the time left to three years is shorter than what the tax "costs" in months of ownership. The calculation for a UAH 3,000,000 apartment let at the Kyiv median of UAH 18,000 a month (about UAH 14,000 after tax and vacancy):
| Option | Seller receives | When |
|---|---|---|
| Sell now with 10% tax | UAH 2,700,000 | today |
| Wait 12 months, no price growth | UAH 3,000,000 + UAH 168,000 rent | in a year |
| Wait 12 months, price up 5% | UAH 3,150,000 + UAH 168,000 rent | in a year |
For selling now to beat a year of waiting, the cash in hand would have to earn more than 17% a year with flat prices, and about 23% with 5% growth, above the NBU policy rate of 16%. With up to 12–15 months to wait, holding is almost always better than selling with the tax. At 24 months or more, the decision rests on the price outlook and the need for cash rather than on the tax.
The only scenario where a sale at 10% is justified without calculation is when the money pays off debt at a higher rate, or when the property's price is falling faster than 10% a year. Kyiv medians show no such fall in 2026.
Non-residents
Clause 172.9 applies the same procedure to non-residents as to residents, but replaces the 5% rate with 18%. The exemption for the first sale of the year after more than three years of ownership applies to them too. A non-resident selling an apartment held under three years pays 18% plus 5% levy, 23% of the price. Residence status is worth settling before the deal, not at the notary's desk.
How to read it
Three years is not a period after which tax "decreases"; it is the line between 0% and 10% of the whole price. For a typical Kyiv apartment the difference equals two to three years of rent. A seller with no hard reason to sell right now wins by counting not the tax but the months until the registration date plus three years. A seller with two properties wins by splitting the deals across calendar years.
Related: tax on selling an apartment in Ukraine 2026 · property taxes in Ukraine 2026 · selling a new build before commissioning · buying an apartment in Kyiv step by step