Tax on Selling an Apartment in Cambodia in 2026

Prepared by the NovAsia Editorial Team

An investor buys an apartment for USD 80,000 and sells it several years later for USD 100,000. At first glance, the profit appears to be USD 20,000.

The amount remaining after closing may look very different.

The sale price can be reduced by an agent's commission, legal fees, management clearance, registration costs, stamp duty where allocated to the seller, repayment of a bank loan and lender charges. If the apartment was rented, the seller must also reconcile the tenant deposit, prepaid rent, management accounts and rental-tax records. If the proceeds are transferred abroad, the receiving and remitting banks may request evidence of the sale and source of funds.

Cambodia's tax position is additionally complicated by the staged implementation of capital gains tax.

During 2026, the General Department of Taxation has operated filing and education for capital gains tax, but its official workshop materials and the CGT-01 return expressly refer to capital gains excluding immovable property. It would therefore be misleading to apply the current 20% capital-gains filing regime for other assets automatically to the sale of an apartment.

At the same time, the transfer of ownership or possession of immovable property remains within the stamp-duty framework.

A seller should therefore separate three questions:

1. tax arising from the transfer itself;
2. any tax on the gain from disposal;
3. the ordinary commercial and financing costs of the transaction.

Capital gains tax and immovable property in 2026

Cambodia has postponed and revised the implementation of capital gains tax several times.

In 2025, Prakas No. 496 MEF on Capital Gains Tax was issued, followed by an official GDT notification postponing its implementation. The GDT subsequently published implementation materials and, in March and April 2026, held public workshops described as covering “Capital Gains Tax Obligation — Except Immovable Property”.

The current CGT-01 form is also titled as a return on capital gains excluding immovable property in Cambodia.

The practical position as at July 2026 is therefore:

• an active capital-gains compliance regime exists for specified asset categories;
• immovable property is excluded from the current filing rollout described by the GDT;
• a sale of an apartment should not automatically be subjected to the current CGT-01 treatment for other assets;
• the position should be reconfirmed for the actual completion date.

This is not a promise that Cambodian real estate will remain outside capital gains tax permanently.

Current owners should preserve acquisition and improvement records now. A future regime may use a documented cost basis and may permit only defined categories of deductible expenditure.

Stamp duty remains the principal transfer tax

The GDT imposes stamp duty on a transfer of ownership or possession of immovable property.

The standard published rate is 4% of the applicable tax base, unless a valid concession or exemption applies to the particular transaction.

The tax is not limited to an ordinary arm's-length resale. Depending on the facts and the applicable rules, it can also arise on:

• an exchange;
• a gift;
• a contribution of property to a company;
• another transaction transferring ownership or possession.

For a completed resale apartment, the key event is normally the registered transfer of the title or relevant property right.

Stamp duty should not be confused with annual property tax. Stamp duty is transaction-based. Annual property tax relates to ownership of qualifying immovable property and must be checked separately.

The taxable base may differ from the contractual price

The sale and purchase agreement is important, but it does not necessarily determine the final taxable base by itself.

The GDT applies valuation rules and official schedules issued under the Ministry of Economy and Finance framework. In practice:

• the stated sale price matters;
• the official assessed value also matters;
• a nominal or artificially low price does not guarantee a lower tax bill;
• a furniture package may require separate analysis;
• discounts and related-party transactions may attract additional scrutiny.

The parties should obtain an indicative tax calculation before signing the final agreement. Otherwise, one party may negotiate the deal assuming a USD 4,000 tax cost, only to find that the GDT applies a higher valuation base.

A private unit needs the correct valuation method

Official valuation tables have historically distinguished geography and property type. A private unit in a co-owned building should be identified accurately rather than treated mechanically as land and a house in a nearby borey development.

Relevant details may include:

• project and building;
• district;
• floor;
• registered private area;
• construction type and age;
• title number;
• registered owner;
• common ownership share;
• transaction date.

A tax agent or lawyer should apply the procedure relevant to a private unit in a co-owned building.

If the title area, floor plan and physical unit do not match, the discrepancy should be identified before closing rather than discovered during tax filing or registration.

A concession must be valid on the actual transaction date

Cambodia periodically introduces temporary stamp-duty relief. GDT announcements have included concessions for first-time buyers and specified purchases directly from registered housing developers during defined periods.

Such measures commonly depend on conditions including:

• the effective dates;
• a price threshold;
• whether this is the first transfer;
• direct purchase from a developer;
• project registration;
• buyer eligibility;
• prescribed evidence.

A private resale seller should not advertise an exemption simply because a similar concession applied in a previous year or to a developer sale.

A conservative transaction model should:

• use the 4% standard rate as the baseline;
• check current concessions separately;
• obtain written confirmation of eligibility;
• avoid building an unverified relief into the agreed net price.

First-time-buyer concessions are particularly easy to overstate because they may not cover an ordinary secondary-market transaction between private parties.

Who funds the stamp duty?

In everyday market language, parties may say that “the buyer pays the transfer tax”. That is a commercial allocation of the cost.

The filing and payment process remains a statutory procedure, and registration cannot be treated as complete without the required tax documents.

The sale agreement should state:

• who prepares and files the declaration;
• who makes the payment;
• who economically funds the amount;
• what happens if the tax is reassessed;
• who receives and retains the official receipt;
• what happens if an expected concession is refused;
• who bears late-payment penalties;
• whether the amount may be deducted from the purchase price.

The seller should not rely on a verbal promise that the buyer will pay after the title has transferred. The buyer should not simply transfer tax money to the seller without control over the filing and receipt.

Basic stamp-duty example

Assume the applicable tax base is USD 100,000.

The standard stamp duty is:

USD 100,000 × 4% = USD 4,000

If a current, verified concession applies to part of the base, the calculation may change.

If the official tax base is higher than the contractual price, the 4% rate applies to the base accepted under the relevant rules, not to the figure the parties would prefer to use.

The example excludes:

• cadastral fees;
• legal fees;
• agency commission;
• bank charges;
• translation and authentication;
• management charges;
• tax penalties or arrears.

This is why saying “the tax is only 4%” does not describe the seller's full exit cost.

A price gain is not the same as cash profit

Consider the following simplified figures:

• acquisition price: USD 80,000;
• furniture and renovation: USD 8,000;
• transaction costs on purchase: USD 4,000;
• sale price: USD 100,000;
• agent's commission: USD 3,000;
• legal and closing costs: USD 1,500;
• transfer tax funded by the seller: USD 4,000.

The simple difference between purchase and sale prices is USD 20,000.

The documented cash invested is USD 92,000. Net sale proceeds before repaying any loan are USD 91,500. On that basis, the owner is approximately USD 500 below the documented full cash investment, despite the higher headline sale price.

If a future capital-gains regime applies to immovable property, the statutory definition of gain and deductible expenditure may not match this economic example. It may allow some costs and disallow others.

The purpose of the example is not to predict future tax. It is to show why acquisition price and resale price alone do not describe the investor's actual result.

Agent's commission reduces proceeds but not automatically the stamp-duty base

A real-estate agent may charge:

• a fixed fee;
• a percentage commission;
• a co-broker split;
• marketing expenses;
• applicable VAT or other provider taxes;
• a success fee.

The commission reduces the seller's economic return. It does not automatically reduce the tax base used to calculate stamp duty.

The agent's invoice should identify:

• the legal service provider;
• the service performed;
• the apartment;
• the amount and currency;
• evidence of payment;
• applicable tax treatment.

An undocumented cash commission is difficult to explain later to a bank, tax adviser or foreign authority and may be unusable if a future tax regime requires proof of deductible costs.

Allocate legal, registration and banking costs explicitly

A resale may involve:

• title and encumbrance searches;
• drafting or review of the sale agreement;
• translation;
• a power of attorney;
• notarisation, authentication or legalisation;
• tax filing;
• cadastral registration;
• certified copies;
• courier costs;
• management transfer and clearance;
• bank payoff and discharge;
• a genuine escrow or controlled closing arrangement.

Some expenses may be allocated to the buyer, some to the seller and some shared.

A clause stating only that “each party bears its own costs” does not resolve government charges that must be funded by one party through the closing process.

A schedule of costs and a final closing statement are more effective than general language.

Clear annual property tax before the sale

A buyer will usually ask for evidence that annual property tax is current where it applies.

The seller should be ready to provide:

• property-tax registration details;
• recent receipts;
• the property identification number;
• title and unit details;
• a history of paid years;
• any outstanding assessment, penalty or arrears.

Where a developer previously handled tax for a building or project in bulk, the buyer should obtain unit-specific confirmation rather than assume that the individual apartment is clear.

Outstanding annual tax can delay or complicate title transfer even where the buyer has already paid the sale price.

Rental tax remains separate from the sale

If the apartment was rented, the seller may also have obligations under Prakas No. 169 on Tax on Property Rental and under other taxpayer rules depending on status and structure.

The sale does not erase prior rental periods.

The parties should reconcile:

• rent up to the completion date;
• property-manager statements;
• withholding records where relevant;
• tenant deposit;
• prepaid rent;
• tax returns and receipts;
• arrears;
• the final tenancy settlement.

Where the buyer takes over a tenant, the economic amounts should be apportioned in the closing statement. The seller remains responsible for prior periods under the rules applicable to them.

Document furniture and renovation separately

Many apartment resales include furniture, appliances and fit-out.

For tax, contractual and banking clarity, the file may include:

• the price attributed to the immovable property;
• a furniture inventory;
• a separately supportable value for genuine movable contents;
• renovation invoices;
• an equipment list;
• a condition report.

Artificially assigning most of the price to furniture to reduce the property tax base is risky. The GDT is not required to accept an allocation that conflicts with the economic substance or official valuation rules.

At the same time, genuine movable contents should not disappear from the documentation, especially where they form a material part of the commercial bargain.

A sale at a loss may still attract stamp duty

Suppose an owner bought for USD 120,000 and sells for USD 90,000. Economically, there is no gain.

Stamp duty may still arise because it taxes the transfer rather than the profit.

The seller may therefore lose money on the investment and still agree under the sale contract to fund part or all of the transaction tax.

The current exclusion of immovable property from the active 2026 capital-gains filing rollout does not remove stamp duty, registration costs or commercial expenses.

A non-resident seller may have tax obligations elsewhere

Cambodian transaction tax is only one layer.

A seller resident, domiciled or taxable in another jurisdiction may face:

• worldwide income or capital-gain reporting;
• foreign-asset disclosures;
• controlled-company rules;
• currency reporting;
• source-of-funds review;
• tax obligations based on citizenship as well as residence in some systems.

No article about Cambodian tax should imply that the absence of a Cambodian capital-gains charge necessarily means the gain is untaxed worldwide.

The seller should obtain advice in the relevant country of tax residence and, where applicable, citizenship.

International transfer requires a clean document trail

Cash settlement creates practical and compliance problems. A traceable bank-to-bank payment is normally easier to evidence.

For an outward transfer, a bank may request:

• the registered sale agreement;
• the transferred title or registration evidence;
• GDT receipts;
• proof of the original investment;
• the buyer's payment record;
• loan payoff and release documents;
• evidence of beneficial ownership;
• agent and legal invoices;
• translations.

Requirements vary by bank and by the anti-money-laundering review.

A lawful sale does not guarantee that an international remittance will be processed automatically. The seller should discuss the expected route and documents with the bank before closing.

Company ownership requires a different analysis

Where a Cambodian company owns the apartment, the transaction is not simply a private individual selling a personal asset.

Potential issues may include:

• corporate income and accounting gain;
• VAT analysis;
• withholding obligations;
• stamp duty;
• company liabilities;
• distribution of sale proceeds to shareholders;
• filed accounts and compliance status;
• beneficial ownership;
• an asset sale compared with a share sale.

This article addresses a private owner unless stated otherwise. A company-owned unit requires a transaction-specific tax and legal review.

Model net proceeds before listing

A seller should prepare a realistic net-proceeds sheet before setting the asking price.

The seller should then add or subtract:

• tenant deposit;
• prepaid rent;
• repairs agreed before completion;
• currency and remittance fees;
• a cadastral holdback;
• a special assessment by the building.

The asking price should be tested against the net cash the owner needs, not only against competitors' listing prices.

Use a closing statement

A final closing statement should set out:

• gross price;
• deposit already paid;
• balance due;
• bank payoff;
• stamp duty;
• registration costs;
• agent's commission;
• legal costs;
• annual property tax;
• service charge;
• tenant amounts;
• holdback;
• seller's net proceeds.

Each line should identify the payer and the supporting document.

Without a closing statement, the parties may discover after transfer that both assumed the other would fund the same tax or outstanding charge.

Preserve records for a future capital-gains regime

Even though immovable property is outside the active July 2026 rollout described by the GDT, owners should retain:

• the original sale and purchase agreement;
• booking and reservation documents;
• bank-transfer evidence;
• stamp-duty receipt;
• title;
• furniture invoice;
• renovation and fit-out invoices;
• legal fees;
• agency invoices;
• loan and interest records where potentially relevant;
• management fees;
• rental records;
• the resale agreement;
• the closing statement;
• the final bank credit.

Future legislation may define deductible expenditure differently from accounting practice or economic intuition. Missing documents are difficult to recreate years later.

Common mistakes

• assuming that the current 20% capital-gains rules automatically apply to an apartment in 2026;
• assuming that capital gains tax will never apply to immovable property;
• calculating stamp duty only from an informal price;
• relying on an expired concession;
• failing to clear annual property tax;
• using an artificial furniture allocation;
• paying an agent in cash without an invoice;
• ignoring the apartment's rental-tax history;
• paying all proceeds to the seller before tax and title steps are controlled;
• overlooking tax in the seller's home jurisdiction;
• failing to pre-clear the outward remittance route;
• measuring profit only as sale price minus purchase price.

Conclusion

As at July 2026, Cambodia's active capital-gains filing materials apply to specified assets while expressly excluding immovable property. The GDT's 2026 workshops and the CGT-01 form use that exclusion directly.

That does not make an apartment sale tax-free.

A transfer of ownership or possession of immovable property remains subject to stamp duty at the standard rate of 4% of the applicable tax base unless a current and verified concession applies.

The seller's real exit result also depends on agency, legal, cadastral, management, loan and banking costs.

The safer approach is to calculate net proceeds before listing, confirm the GDT position shortly before completion and preserve evidence for every material cost and payment.

This material is for general information only and is not tax, legal or banking advice. The tax base, available concessions, cost allocation, filing procedure and foreign reporting obligations must be confirmed for the specific transaction as at its completion date.

Sources

1. General Department of Taxation — Tax on Transfer of Ownership or Possession of Immovable Property. Official 4% rate and tax-base hierarchy.
2. General Department of Taxation — Notification dated 30 October 2025 on the postponement of implementation of Prakas No. 496 MEF on Capital Gains Tax.
3. General Department of Taxation — 2026 workshops and CGT-01 form concerning capital gains tax obligations excluding immovable property.
4. General Department of Taxation — 2025 booklet on stamp duty for the transfer of ownership or possession of immovable property and current tax forms.
5. General Department of Taxation — official FAQs on property tax and transfer documentation.
6. General Department of Taxation — Prakas No. 169 on Tax on Property Rental, listed as valid.

Frequently asked

Does a seller pay capital gains tax on an apartment in Cambodia in 2026?

As at July 2026, the GDT’s active filing materials and public workshops on capital gains tax expressly exclude immovable property. The position should be checked again immediately before a transaction because the implementation timetable and detailed rules may change.

What transfer tax applies when real estate is sold?

The GDT states that stamp duty is charged at 4% of the applicable tax base on a transfer of ownership or possession of immovable property, unless a current concession applies to the specific transaction.

Is the tax always calculated from the price in the sale agreement?

No. The GDT applies tax-base and official valuation rules. A low contractual price does not guarantee that the same figure will be accepted as the taxable base.

Who pays stamp duty: the seller or the buyer?

The legal filing and tax obligation must be distinguished from the parties’ commercial allocation of costs. A sale agreement may require the buyer or seller to fund the tax, but declaration and payment must still follow GDT requirements.

Which records should the seller retain after completion?

The seller should retain the original purchase agreement, proof of purchase price and payments, title, stamp-duty receipts, renovation invoices, agent and legal invoices, management clearance, the sale agreement and relevant bank documents.