You are viewing post Tax exemption for property acquired through adverse possession

Pursuant to the decision of the Council of State, property, the ownership rights of which, were received through adverse possession, is not subject to taxation, due to the fact that the owners did not pay any price for its acquisition. In particular, the decision states that, according to the Income Tax Code, the established presumption of a taxable income, due to the cost of property acquisition, applies only in cases, where the taxpayer actually pays money for the purchase of the property. However, according to Article 1045 of the Civil Code, for property acquisition through extraordinary adverse possession, meaning, the exercise of allocation over a period of 20 years, the condition of actually paying money, does not apply. Therefore, in the case of property acquisition through extraordinary adverse possession, where no money has been paid as the price of the property, the above presumption does not apply. This, indeed, applies even when the acquisition of physical ownership over the property and the exercise of it, in pursuit of main ownership, according to Article 974 ΑΚ, starts, after the transaction of financial payment, during which the physical ownership of the property has been acquired, not constituting evidence of the existence of an income, during which the main ownership is acquired, as a result of fulfilling all conditions of the extraordinary adverse possession.