Russia is preparing a tax change that would make income from selling a flat or other property part of a taxpayer’s wider annual income calculation from 1 January 2027. The proposal would not impose a flat 22% charge on every sale, but it could push some sellers into a higher income-tax band when the proceeds are combined with wages, savings income and other taxable receipts.
The measure is part of a broader package prepared by the Finance Ministry as the government searches for more revenue. Reporting on the plan came after the 2026 election process, against the backdrop of projected defence spending of 17.1 trillion roubles and a federal budget deficit of more than 5.5 trillion roubles for 2027.
Novaya Gazeta Europe reported on 3 October that the authorities were preparing to change how income from real-estate sales is taxed. AIF Kaluga also described the proposed recalculation. The plan remains a proposal rather than an enacted rule, so its final wording and exemptions could still change.
The rate would follow total annual income
At present, the tax treatment of a property sale can be considered separately from a person’s other earnings. Under the proposed system, the proceeds would be added to the taxpayer’s income for the year when the personal income-tax base is established. The calculation could therefore bring together employment income, interest, returns from securities and income from selling property, subject to the categories eventually set out in law.
The proposed progressive scale would be 13% on annual income up to 2.4 million roubles, 15% on the portion from 2.4 million to 5 million, 18% from 5 million to 20 million, 20% from 20 million to 50 million, and 22% above 50 million roubles.
That distinction matters. A taxpayer who crosses the 50 million-rouble threshold would not pay 22% on the entire amount; the highest rate would apply only to the slice above the threshold. A property sale could nevertheless alter the final bill if the seller’s salary and other income had already brought them close to a higher band.
The effect would vary sharply between households. Someone with modest earnings who sells a property may remain within the lower bands. A seller with a high salary, investment income or substantial interest receipts could find that the same transaction changes the rate applied to part of their annual income.
Nominal gains can conceal the real picture
The proposed method also raises a practical question about what a property sale represents. Many households use flats or other real estate as a way of holding savings when inflation erodes the value of cash. A property that sells for more roubles than it cost, however, has not necessarily produced a real gain in purchasing power.
Inflation, renovation costs, mortgage interest and the price of buying a replacement home can reduce or eliminate the economic benefit of a higher sale price. The proposed tax calculation would be based on income as defined by tax law, rather than on whether the seller had genuinely become wealthier after those costs were taken into account.
The final treatment of deductions, exemptions and different kinds of property transaction will therefore be important. Those details will determine whether the measure is concentrated among high-income sellers or reaches more ordinary households using property to preserve the value of their savings.
A second push: finding more taxable buildings
The property-sale change is accompanied by plans to tighten oversight of property taxes. From 2027, the Federal Tax Service is expected to exchange more data with cadastral authorities, allowing records to be compared with information about registered buildings, extensions and floor space.
The stated aim is to identify unregistered structures, additions and discrepancies between the area recorded in official files and the area that exists in practice. A previously unrecorded building or a larger-than-declared floor area could lead to a revised tax assessment. The available reporting does not establish how many properties would be affected or how checks would be carried out in individual cases.
High-value property would face a separate change. The existing 10% limit on annual increases in property tax is due to be removed for real estate with a cadastral value above 300 million roubles. If such an asset is revalued, its owner could consequently face a much sharper rise in the bill than under the current cap.
Budget pressure reaches private assets
Taken together, the proposals use several routes to expand the tax base: combine more types of income, bring more buildings and property characteristics into official records, and remove a brake on increases for the most expensive real estate.
The authorities can present the package as a more progressive system in which higher combined incomes and valuable assets attract heavier taxation. Its practical effect would be to connect private property more closely to the state’s need for revenue. A sale that might once have been assessed largely on its own could become a factor in determining the tax rate for the seller’s entire year.
The timing points to the strain on the 2027 budget. The projected defence bill and deficit help explain why officials are looking for additional domestic income, although they do not show how much the property measures themselves would raise. Other costs cited in the reporting include higher vehicle-recycling charges, utility tariffs, fees on electronics and various fines and administrative payments.
The proposal is therefore less about making every property seller pay 22% than about changing the relationship between an asset sale and the rest of a person’s finances. The final legislation will decide whether Russia’s broader tax net mainly catches wealthy owners and luxury property, or whether it reaches households selling an ordinary home while trying to protect their savings from inflation.
