VAT reduction for new flats
It has become a general question: If I signed the contract for a newly built home last year, can I claim the difference back this year? And am I going to pay less for the next installment?
According to the VAT reduction, the invoice for the purchase of a newly built apartment issued after 1 January 2021 is taxed at a rate of 5% instead of the previous 27%.
Our brief legal opinion is the following: it depends on the contract.
If the purchase price is fixed as a net amount + VAT, we can be happy. On the other hand if the gross purchase price of the apartment is included in the contract, we can only hope for the seller’s fair attitude because the seller does not have any obligation to reduce the purchase price. Contractual freedom is under constitutional protection.
This problem is not a brand-new legal matter as in 2016 the VAT was once reduced. With reviewing one of the decisions rendered by the Curia from that time, we can support our brief opinion with a more detailed justification in our article.
So those who signed for a gross amount, they can still hope for a reduction but for this the contract must be amended by the mutual will of the parties – we describe this possibility too in our detailed summary in Hungarian.