TRNC Stamp Duty 2026: Rate, Deadline and Penalty

Short answer: In Northern Cyprus (TRNC), stamp duty is five per thousand (%0,5) of the price stated in the residential sales contract and, unless otherwise agreed, is paid by the buyer. Under the Stamp Law, a contract can be stamped without penalty within one month after signing; if more than one month passes, a penalty equal to the tax is added, and if more than six months pass, the penalty doubles. For a 150.000 £ contract, the tax is 750 £.

This article is for buyers who are about to sign, or have recently signed, a residential sales contract in the TRNC. Based on the wording of the law, we explain how stamp duty is calculated, who pays it and where, how the penalty increases if payment is late, which exchange rate is used for a contract written in sterling, and how the deadline works for contracts signed in Turkey.

How much is stamp duty in the TRNC?

In the TRNC, stamp duty on a residential sales contract is five per thousand of the sale price stated in the contract. This tax, officially called “stamp tax”, is regulated in the schedule to Stamp Law No. 19/1963 under the heading “agreements making a certain monetary amount conditional” and is commonly known as stamp duty or stamp paper.

According to the schedule, the rate is five per thousand for the first 89.000.000 TL of the price, and one per thousand for the amount above this. Assuming 1 £ ≈ 64 TL, this threshold corresponds to approximately 1,39 million pounds sterling; in other words, for almost all home buyers the calculation is simple: price × %0,5.

The rate and threshold are based on the consolidated Stamp Law text published by the Revenue and Tax Department and are valid as of October 2026. Since the law was also amended in 2026, confirm the current text on the TRNC Revenue and Tax Department website or with your lawyer.

Who pays stamp duty, and where is it paid?

Under the Stamp Law, in sales agreements, stamp duty is paid by the buyer unless there is an agreement to the contrary. Payment is made to the Revenue and Tax Department; the original copies of the contract are taken to the department, the tax is paid, and the contract is returned stamped.

In practice, this is usually handled by the buyer’s lawyer. For a buyer living abroad, after the contract is signed, the lawyer receives the copies, pays the tax from the amount sent by the buyer, and then registers the contract at the land registry. If you have given your lawyer a power of attorney, check whether the stamping process is covered by that authority.

It is possible to agree with the seller that “the seller pays the stamp duty”; the law allows this. However, this is rare and must be written in the contract. If it is not written, the tax is yours.

Deadline: the one-month rule and the “21 days” information

According to Article 20 of the Stamp Law, an unstamped contract may be stamped without penalty, by paying only the tax, within one month from its first date of execution. Article 19 of the law, as a principle, requires documents to be stamped when they are executed; the one-month period is a flexibility allowed within that principle.

In the real estate sector, the phrase “21 days after signing” is frequently used; some sources start the period from the date of the first payment or deposit. Since the wording of the law refers to the “first date of execution”, the safest interpretation is to take the signing date as the starting point. Our practical recommendation: have the contract stamped within the first two weeks after signing and treat 21 days as your internal deadline.

This period also overlaps with another deadline linked to purchase permission. Under Decree No. 89/2026, a foreigner’s contract, with taxes and fees paid, must be registered with the district land registry office within 1 month after signing, and the permission application must be made within the same period. Because an unstamped contract cannot be registered at the land registry, leaving stamp duty to the last day also puts the registration deadline at risk. You can find the full timetable in our article on TRNC Council of Ministers permission.

How is the late penalty calculated?

If the one-month period is missed, within the first six months a monetary penalty equal to the amount of the unpaid tax is charged in addition to the tax; after six months, this penalty doubles. If the tax amount does not exceed 500 TL, the penalty in the first six months is the fixed amount of 500 TL; because the tax on residential contracts is far above this threshold, the proportional penalty applies.

The table shows how expensive a delay can be: a delay of more than six months means an extra 1.500 £ payment on a 150.000 £ contract. This money buys nothing; it is simply the cost of postponing an appointment. Moreover, while the time is passing, the contract cannot be registered at the land registry, so the buyer’s rights remain unprotected.

Which exchange rate is used for a contract written in sterling?

If the contract price is written in a currency other than Turkish lira, such as sterling, euro or dollars, the stamp duty is calculated by converting it into TL at the official effective selling rate on the date the contract is stamped at the Revenue and Tax Department. This rule was regulated in this way in Article 23 of the Stamp Law with the 2026 amendment.

The practical result is this: the rate on the stamping day matters, not the rate on the signing day. For a 150.000 £ contract, if sterling is 64 TL, the tax is approximately 48.000 TL; if you postpone stamping for a month and the rate rises to 66 TL, it becomes 49.500 TL. The difference is small, but its direction is not certain; instead of expecting a gain from the exchange rate, it is more sensible to complete the process early.

Contracts signed in Turkey or abroad

If the contract was signed outside the TRNC, for example in Turkey with wet signatures or with copies sent back and forth by courier, the Stamp Law deems it to have been executed on the date it reaches the TRNC and allows it to be stamped within thirty days from that date. However, this flexibility does not extend the one-month land registry registration period under 89/2026; if you are buying remotely, plan with your lawyer to ensure that the copies reach the TRNC quickly.

Step-by-step contract stamping

Contract stamping is a short intermediate step between signing and land registry registration, and when done in the correct order it can be completed within a few hours. The order recommended to buyers by the Akol Global after-sales team is as follows:

1. Check the price section of the contract. The price should be clear, the currency should be stated, and it should be written whether VAT is included; the tax is calculated from this figure.
2. Calculate the tax amount in advance. Price × %0,5, converted into TL at the exchange rate on the stamping day.
3. Send the money to your lawyer on time. Allow for a 1–3 business day delay in transfers from abroad.
4. Have the original copies delivered to the Revenue and Tax Department. The tax is paid and the contract is stamped.
5. Request scanned copies of the receipt and the stamped contract. These documents are required for the land registry registration and permission file.
6. Proceed to land registry registration on the same day or immediately afterwards. The first part of the fee is also paid during registration.

You can find how the title deed transfer fee paid at the registration stage is calculated in our article on TRNC title deed transfer fee calculation, and the total purchase cost together with stamp duty in our guide to taxes and costs when buying a home in the TRNC.

Common mistakes with stamp duty

The most common mistake is to postpone stamp duty because it is seen as a “small item”. Even if the amount is small, it is a prerequisite for contract registration, and delaying it leads both to penalties and to problems in the purchase permission process.

The second mistake is to overlook the distinction between prices with and without VAT. If the price is written excluding VAT in the contract and VAT is shown in a separate clause, ask your lawyer which amount the tax will be calculated on. We explained how VAT should be shown in the contract in our article on the TRNC residential VAT rate.

The third is trying to save tax by writing a lower figure than the real price in the contract. The saving is a few hundred pounds sterling; in return, market value comes into play for the title deed fee, your capital gain on a future sale increases, and in a dispute your rights may be limited to the low price written in the contract. To ensure your documents are kept complete during the after-sales process, you can work with our after-sales services team.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage is stamp duty in the TRNC?

For residential sales contracts, stamp duty is five per thousand of the price, i.e. %0,5, according to the Stamp Law schedule. For the part of the price exceeding 89.000.000 TL, the rate is one per thousand; because this threshold corresponds to approximately 1,39 million pounds sterling, most home buyers pay only %0,5. For a 150.000 £ contract, the tax is 750 £. Valid as of October 2026; confirm.

By when must stamp duty be paid?

Under the Stamp Law, the contract can be stamped without penalty within one month from the date it is first executed. In the sector, 21 days is also frequently mentioned, and some sources start the period from the first payment date. The safest approach is to have it stamped within two or three weeks after signing; for foreign buyers, it should also not be forgotten that the contract must be registered at the land registry within one month.

How much is the penalty if stamp duty is paid late?

For a contract stamped within the first six months after the one-month period has passed, a penalty equal to the tax amount is paid in addition to the tax; the total cost rises to approximately %1 of the price. After six months, the penalty doubles and the total becomes %1,5. For a 150.000 £ contract, this means paying 1.500 £ or 2.250 £ instead of 750 £.

Is stamp duty paid by the buyer or the seller?

Under the Stamp Law, in sales agreements, stamp duty is paid by the buyer unless there is an agreement to the contrary. The parties may agree that the seller will pay the tax, but this must be clearly written in the contract. In practice, the buyer’s lawyer pays the tax to the Revenue and Tax Department and prepares the stamped contract for land registry registration.

Which exchange rate is used to calculate stamp duty in a sterling contract?

For contracts written in a currency other than Turkish lira, the tax is calculated by converting it into TL at the official effective selling rate on the date the contract is stamped at the Revenue and Tax Department. In other words, the rate on the stamping day applies, not the signing day. If sterling rises, the tax payable in TL also increases; therefore, have the amount recalculated close to the stamping day.

If you would like to see the stamp duty, fees and registration timetable together before signing your contract, contact us through our contact page; let us plan the process with you date by date.

This article is for informational purposes only; it does not replace legal, tax or financial advice. Last updated: October 2026.