Georgia and Armenia side by side: where do the rules differ?
Both neighbours sell flats to foreigners, charge no transfer tax and let their currencies float. They part ways on the yearly tax bill, the tax on rent and residence. Each Armenian row names its source; the Georgian figures come from our own guides.
| Criterion | Georgia | Armenia | Source, Armenia |
|---|---|---|---|
| What a foreigner may own | All but agricultural land | Flats and buildings; since 2018 house and apartment-block plots too; farmland closed | Constitution, Art. 60(6); Land Code, Art. 4(3.1) |
| Tax when you buy | None; 18% VAT inside a VAT-registered seller's price | None; 20% VAT inside a VAT-registered developer's price | Tax Code, Arts 63 and 64 |
| Yearly tax on a home | None unless the family's income passed GEL 100,000 in the prior year | 0.05% to 1.5% of cadastral value, every owner; full rate from 2026 | Tax Code, Arts 229 and 233(7) |
| Income tax on rent | 5% of gross residential rent | 10%; another 10% on yearly rent above AMD 60 million (USD 166,600) | Tax Code, Art. 150(7); PwC |
| Private owner sells | Exempt after more than 2 years; 5% of the gain before | Exempt when the buyer is a private person | Tax Code, Art. 147(1)(16); PwC |
| Residence from owning | Value over USD 150,000 for a yearly permit; over USD 300,000 for a 5-year one | None; an investment ground since 1 November 2026 still lacks criteria | Law HO-11-N, Art. 29.6 |
| Citizenship | 10 years and an exam | 3 years of permanent residence, Armenian, the Constitution | Law on Citizenship, Art. 13 |
| Flat sales, 2025 | Tbilisi 42,388; Batumi 17,478 | 21,176 nationwide; Yerevan 15,214 | Armstat via Grant Thornton |
| Bought by foreigners | Tbilisi 12%, Batumi 48% of flat sales (September 2026) | About 4% of purchase-and-sale deals (August 2026) | Armstat |
| Price per m², headline | Tbilisi developer white frame USD 1,432 (August 2026); Batumi turnkey USD 1,960 (June 2026) | Yerevan, flats in apartment blocks (Armstat does not split new and old): AMD 993,000 (USD 2,760) in Kentron; about AMD 500,000 to 600,000 in most districts (August 2026) | Armstat |
| Currency per USD | Lari, GEL 2.5973 | Dram, AMD 360.07 | Central Bank of Armenia |
Can a foreigner own the land as well as the flat?
Armenia's Constitution starts from a ban: under Article 60(6), in our translation, foreign citizens and stateless persons cannot own land unless a law provides otherwise. Flats and buildings are not restricted. The exceptions sit in the Land Code. Article 4(3.1), added by Law HO-73-N of 16 January 2018, opens to foreigners the land adjoining a house, plots for private houses and for blocks of flats, plots for public and production buildings, and gardening land. Other land, chiefly farmland, stays closed, and there a foreigner can only be a land user. What "gardening lands" covers is a point for an Armenian lawyer.
The Land Code also exempts holders of special residence status, granted mainly to ethnic Armenians. That status closed to new applicants on 1 November 2026, so in our reading this exemption will fade. Georgia closes only agricultural land, which makes the two rules close for a flat or a house with its plot.
What does completing a purchase cost in Armenia?
Neither country's Tax Code has a tax on buying property. In Armenia, ownership starts when the Cadastre Committee registers it. The Hartak government services portal lists a registration fee of AMD 25,000 (about USD 69) for 4 working days, rising to AMD 150,000 (about USD 417) for service within 2 hours. The state duty added to it is unclear: the portal shows AMD 1,000, while our reading of the Law on State Duty, Article 16(36), gives AMD 20,000, so confirm the figure with the Committee.
A notarised sale contract carries a state duty of AMD 5,000, about USD 14 (Article 11(1)). We could not confirm from an official text whether a notary is compulsory, nor the notary's own fee. On a new flat, VAT weighs more: 20% (Tax Code, Article 63), and Article 64 exempts no developer's sale of flats, so a VAT-registered developer's price includes it. Georgia's VAT is 18% and standard registration costs GEL 150; our guide to buying costs in Georgia lists the rest.
Who pays tax every year just for owning a flat?
In Armenia, every owner. The base is the cadastral value, which the state sets close to market value and revises every three years (Tax Code, Article 228); it is not your contract price. For a flat, Article 229 has seven bands, from 0.05% on value up to AMD 10 million to 1.5% on value above AMD 200 million. By our calculation, a flat with a cadastral value of AMD 40 million (about USD 111,090) owes AMD 20,000 plus 0.2% of the AMD 15 million above 25 million: AMD 50,000, about USD 139, a year.
The rates were phased in. Article 233(7) charged 25% of the tax for 2021, rising each year to 75% for 2025; 2026 is the first year at 100%. Individuals pay their community by 1 December. We found no law delaying the full rate, though the English text we read runs only to May 2025.
Georgia went the other way. Since Law No 1874 of 30 September 2026, a private owner pays no tax on buildings while the family earned GEL 100,000 or less in the prior year; families above that line pay 0.8% to 1% of market value. An accountant should confirm how that income test applies to an owner living abroad.
How is rental income taxed in each country?
An Armenian landlord pays 10% of rent (Tax Code, Article 150(7)); once rent in a year passes AMD 60 million, the part above it bears a further 10%. PwC's summary, reviewed on 30 June 2026, states the same rule. Georgia charges 5% of gross residential rent, without deductions; our guide to rental income tax in Georgia explains the register and the declaration.
Rent levels are another matter. We found no official or citable survey of Armenian rents or yields, and a Cadastre Committee official told JAMnews in January 2024 that the committee does not analyse rental rates. This page therefore gives no Armenian yield. Tbilisi rents and yields are in our rent index.
What tax falls due when you sell?
An Armenian private owner who sells to another private person pays no income tax, however short the holding (Tax Code, Article 147(1)(16)); PwC's June 2026 summary confirms the exemption. A sale to a company acting as tax agent is taxed at 10% (Article 150(9)). Georgia exempts a home held for more than 2 years and taxes a gain made sooner at 5%. A quick resale to a private buyer thus costs less tax in Armenia; after two years, neither country takes a share. In both, the buyer pays no transfer tax, and your home country may still tax the gain.
Does buying a home bring a residence permit?
In Georgia, yes. Owning non-agricultural property worth more than USD 150,000, as valued by an accredited assessor, qualifies for a permit renewed a year at a time while you keep it; more than USD 300,000 qualifies for five years. Our guide to residence by property has the steps.
In Armenia, no. Law HO-11-N, adopted on 20 January 2026 and in force since 1 November 2026, adds Article 29.6 to the Law on Foreigners: permanent residence on the ground of an investment in Armenia, under a procedure and criteria the Government sets. Article 29.6 gives no amount and does not mention real estate. By 3 November 2026 we had found no Government decision setting the criteria. Buying an Armenian home for residence would mean betting on rules not yet written. Our country comparison tool sets property routes in other countries side by side.
Which other routes lead to Armenian residence and citizenship?
Under the amended law, temporary residence lasts up to one year and rests on study or research, work, family ties to a citizen or resident, or business. The business ground needs, for example, at least AMD 2 million (about USD 5,554) put into a company's charter capital (Article 29.4). Permanent status, now issued for five years, is open to ethnic Armenians, to citizens' family members and entrepreneurs after 3 of the last 5 years on temporary residence, and to investors. Since 1 November 2026:
- the Government sets a yearly quota of statuses by type and ground;
- applications go only through a unified electronic platform;
- statuses are not extended: you apply again when one expires (EY);
- state fees are AMD 150,000 (temporary) and AMD 250,000 (permanent), non-refundable, according to EY;
- special residence status is closed to new applicants.
Citizenship needs 3 years of permanent residence, Armenian and knowledge of the Constitution, with a simplified procedure for people of Armenian origin. In Georgia, naturalisation takes 10 years of lawful residence plus a test of Georgian, history and the basics of law.
How large is each market, and where are prices heading?
Armstat, as summarised by Grant Thornton Armenia, counted 21,176 sales of flats in apartment buildings across Armenia in 2025, 15,214 of them in Yerevan. Galt & Taggart counted 42,388 flat sales in Tbilisi and 17,478 in Batumi: two Georgian cities recorded nearly three times Armenia's national total (our calculation; the sources count sales differently).
Prices in several Yerevan districts dipped slightly in 2025, which Grant Thornton links to the end of a mortgage interest refund for Yerevan homes from 1 January 2025. They then rose fast. Armstat's average prices of flats in apartment blocks (Armstat does not split new and old) for August 2026 were AMD 993,000 per m² (about USD 2,760) in Kentron, the centre, and AMD 500,000 to 598,000 (USD 1,390 to 1,660) in 9 of Yerevan's 12 districts. Across the districts that was 13% to 29% more than in August 2025 (our calculation). Armstat gives only minimum and maximum prices for developer sales, so no average new-build price exists.
For Georgia, Galt & Taggart put the Tbilisi developer price at USD 1,432 per m², white frame, in August 2026, and the Batumi turnkey average at USD 1,960 in June 2026; our price index explains each series. Because the measures differ, read only the broad picture: most Yerevan districts sit near the Tbilisi developer level, and the centre costs nearly twice as much.
Who buys: locals or foreigners?
Armenian demand is mostly local. In August 2026 foreign citizens made 252 of Armenia's 6,683 purchase-and-sale deals, about 3.8% (Armstat; our calculation), and Russian citizens made 184 of those 252. For the whole of 2025 Grant Thornton counts 2,014 purchases by foreigners. In Georgia, Colliers counted foreign citizens as 12% of Tbilisi and 48% of Batumi registered flat sales in September 2026; our foreign buyer barometer follows the series.
Both markets absorbed the 2022 arrivals from Russia. JAMnews, citing Armstat, reported 1,129,829 entries by Russian citizens into Armenia that year, and the Cadastre Committee measured Yerevan apartment prices 13.9% higher than in 2021. Georgia's Ministry of Justice recorded 14,875 flats bought by foreigners in 2022; our foreign buyer statistics give the breakdown. In October 2026 Euronews reported rent spikes in Georgia and Armenia as Russians again left Russia fearing mobilisation.
Dram, lari and credit: what changes for a dollar buyer?
The Central Bank of Armenia's rate moved from AMD 480.14 per US dollar on 30 December 2021 to AMD 360.07 on 3 November 2026, so the dram gained about a third (our calculation), most of it in 2022. Where a dram price stood still, its dollar equivalent still rose. The lari stood at GEL 2.5973 per dollar on the same day.
On credit, the National Bank of Georgia's average rate on new mortgages in September 2026 was 11.10% in lari and 7.66% in foreign currency. The Armenian central bank files we checked give no mortgage-only rate; on 3 November 2026 it raised its policy rate to 7.00%. Armenia's mortgage interest refund, capped at the borrower's Armenian income tax, helps people working there rather than buyers from abroad; since 1 January 2025 it has not covered Yerevan homes, bar some projects with earlier permits.
Which questions decide between the two?
Neither country is the better buy in general. The table pairs common buyer questions with each country's answer and leaves the weighting to you.
| Question | Georgia | Armenia |
|---|---|---|
| Should the purchase bring residence? | Yes, above USD 150,000 | No; investment criteria unpublished |
| What does holding cost each year? | No building tax under the GEL 100,000 income line | Cadastral-value tax, full rate from 2026 |
| Will I let it? | 5% of gross rent | 10%, more above AMD 60 million |
| Might I sell within two years? | 5% of the gain | No tax on a sale to a private buyer |
| Is citizenship the long-term aim? | 10 years | 3 years after permanent residence |
For other comparisons on the same terms, see Georgia or Turkey, Georgia or Montenegro and Georgia or Dubai.
Risks and exceptions
- Buying in Armenia for a residence card. Property gives none, and the investment route has no published criteria.
- Not checking the plot's category. Land outside the Land Code's list can only be leased by a foreigner.
- Budgeting from an old Armenian tax bill. Bills up to 2025 used 25% to 75% of the rate.
- Ignoring the dram. Its rise since 2021 has made Yerevan dearer in dollars by itself.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner buy a flat in Armenia?
Yes. Flats and buildings are open, and since 2018 so are house and apartment-block plots; farmland is not.
Does buying property in Armenia give residence?
No. An investment ground for permanent residence took effect on 1 November 2026, but no criteria were published by 3 November 2026, and the new article does not mention property.
Is there a transfer tax in either country?
No. A new flat from a VAT-registered developer includes 20% VAT in Armenia and 18% in Georgia.
Where is rent taxed less?
In Georgia, at 5% of gross residential rent; Armenia takes 10%, and 20% on the part of yearly rent above AMD 60 million.
Sources
- Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, ARLIS legal information system (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Land Code, Law on State Duty and Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Armenia, English texts, ARLIS (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia, official translation with changes to 29 May 2025, ARLIS (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Law HO-11-N amending the Law on Foreigners, 20 January 2026, ARLIS (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Registration of ownership of a home after purchase, Cadastre Committee service on Hartak (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Socio-economic situation of Armenia, January-August 2026: real estate market, Armstat (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Analysis of Armenian Real Estate Market 2026, Grant Thornton Armenia (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Armenian mortgage subsidy programme, Berlin Economics for Modex, February 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Armenia: taxes on personal income, PwC, reviewed 30 June 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Amendments to the RA Law "On foreigners", EY, 17 February 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates, policy rate decision of 3 November 2026 and lending rates (accessed 3 November 2026)
- How the influx of Russian citizens has affected the Armenian real estate market, JAMnews, 9 January 2024, and Rent spikes in Georgia and Armenia, Euronews, 13 October 2026 (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tbilisi Residential Real Estate - August 2026 (23 October 2026) and Batumi Residential Real Estate - 2Q26 (14 August 2026), Galt & Taggart (accessed 2 November 2026)
- G&T: Tbilisi residential market has a strong start, Georgia Today, 31 March 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Recov items 541 and 538, Colliers Georgia, October 2026 (accessed 2 November 2026)
- Tax Code of Georgia and Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- National Bank of Georgia: exchange rates, 3 November 2026, and rates on new mortgages (accessed 3 November 2026)
Change log
- - Comparison published from Armenian law on ARLIS, Armstat, the Central Bank of Armenia, PwC, EY and Georgian law and market data.