If you decide to buy a residential property in the Republic of Croatia, you should take into account that in addition to the tax that you pay when purchasing a property (real estate transfer tax at a rate of 3% where the buyer and seller are individuals, and where an entrepreneur sells the real estate, the rules get a bit more complex), every property owner in the Republic of Croatia is obliged to pay annual property tax (cro. porez na nekretnine).
Property tax ranges from 0.60 to 8.00 EUR/m2 of usable area of the property, depending on the decision of the municipality or city in which the property is located, so for example, for a 250.00 m2 house on the Adriatic coast the annual property tax will be – in the city of Zadar 150.00 EUR, and – in the city of Umag 2,000.00 EUR.
Below you can see an overview of property taxes in certain popular tourist locations on the Adriatic coast.
| Property Tax | Year 2025 |
| City of Zadar | 0.60 EUR/m2 |
| City of Split | 1.99 EUR/m2 |
| City of Korčula (Island of Korčula) | 4.00 EUR/m2 |
| City of Šibenik | 5.00 EUR/m2 |
| City of Dubrovnik | 5.00 EUR/m2 – Zone I 4.00 EUR/m2 – Zone II 3.00 EUR/m2 – Zone III 2.00 EUR/m2 – Zone VI 0.60 EUR/m2 – Zone V |
| City of Rovinj | 6.25 EUR/m2 |
| Municipality of Bol (Island of Brač) | 7.50 EUR/m2 |
| City of Vis (Island of Vis) | 8.00 EUR/m2 |
| City of Umag | 8.00 EUR/m2 |
Property tax is not paid if you use the respective property for permanent residence, or if you rent it out under a lease agreement for permanent residence with a duration of at least ten months. This means that if residential property is rented out on a long-term basis to third parties for example, for business purposes, and not for permanent residence, it is possible that in addition to the tax liability based on the lease agreement, a tax liability for property tax will also arise, however it remains to be seen what the practice of the tax authority will be in this case.
If it is a newly built property, the obligation to pay property tax arises a little bit later, on the day of enforceabiltiy of the use permit, or where and when the newly built property is being used without a respective use permit, on the day of the start of the respectiv use thereof.
Exemptions from payment are also prescribed for municipalities and cities, and in certain cases where and when the residential purpose of the real estate is not functionally possible, as well as in other cases prescribed by law.
For example, a short-term exemption from property tax exists for real estate that is recorded in the company’s business books as property intended for sale, when and if less than six months have passed from the date of entry thereof in the business books until 31 March of the tax relevant year, as well as for property taken over in exchange for unpaid receivables, when and if less than six months have passed from the date of taking over ownership over the respective real estate until 31 March of the tax relevant year.
