Gift tax: where the law says family ends
Personal income tax is not charged on a gift if the donor and recipient are family members or close relatives under the Family Code (clause 18.1 of Article 217 of the Russian Tax Code). These are spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, and full and half siblings. No tax return needs to be filed in that case.
But an aunt, a stepfather, a mother-in-law or a common-law wife after twenty years together without a marriage certificate are strangers in the tax authority’s eyes. The recipient files a 3-NDFL return by 30 April of the following year and pays the tax by 15 July. Income is generally calculated by cadastral value, and the rate has two tiers: 13% on up to RUB 2.4 million of such income in a year and 15% above that. A flat with a cadastral value of RUB 12 million, gifted to a godson, would cost him RUB 1,752,000 in tax. From a full brother, the same flat would cost nothing.
A home gifted by a close relative can be sold free of personal income tax three years after the recipient’s title was registered, and in other cases usually after five (Article 217.1 of the Russian Tax Code). The years the donor owned the flat do not count.
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Since 2025, only a notary can certify a deed of gift for a flat
Not long ago a deed of gift for a flat was signed at home and taken to the MFC, and a notary was needed only in certain cases, such as a gift of a share. Since 13 January 2025, clause 3 of Article 574 of the Russian Civil Code has required notarial certification of any deed of gift of real estate between individuals. The law makes no exception for relatives. However, since summer 2025 the federal part of the notarial tariff has been halved for spouses and close relatives.
The notary checks legal capacity, explains that the flat is being given away irrevocably and usually submits the documents to Rosreestr personally. For electronic filing, the law allows one working day for registering a notarised transaction (Article 16 of Federal Law No. 218-FZ). The state duty for the recipient is RUB 4,000 if the cadastral value is no more than RUB 20 million. For more expensive flats it is 0.02% of the cadastral value, that is RUB 9,000 at RUB 45 million.
Legal representatives may not give anything on behalf of minors and persons lacking legal capacity, other than ordinary gifts of up to RUB 3,000 (Article 575 of the Russian Civil Code). A flat owned by a child under 14 cannot be gifted even to a grandmother.
A gifted flat in marriage and on divorce
A flat bought during the marriage can, as a general rule, be gifted only with the notarised consent of the other spouse (clause 3 of Article 35 of the Family Code). Without it the transaction can be challenged within one year from the day the spouse learned or should have learned of it.
For the recipient it is the opposite. A flat received as a gift remains their personal property and is not divided on divorce (Article 36 of the Family Code), however many years the spouses have lived in it. The nuance is in Article 37: if joint funds were used for major repairs or reconstruction and the flat’s value rose significantly, the court may recognise it as joint property. The flat was worth RUB 9 million, and after a redesign, new utilities and finishing for a joint RUB 4 million it was valued at RUB 15 million? Such a dispute is quite real, so keep your contractor agreements and payment records. A prenuptial agreement can exclude this rule.
Can a gift be revoked and who challenges it
Can you take the flat back if the relationship sours? Resentment and ingratitude are not grounds. Article 578 of the Russian Civil Code allows a gift to be revoked if the recipient made an attempt on the life of the donor, the donor’s family or close relatives, or intentionally inflicted bodily harm on the donor. It is far safer to write into the contract from the start a right to revoke the gift if the donor outlives the recipient (clause 4 of the same Article). Without that condition the flat goes to the recipient’s heirs rather than returning to the parents.
Challenging works differently: the dispute is over whether the transaction was valid from the outset, and heirs most often bring such claims. If the donor did not understand the significance of their actions, the contract is declared invalid under Article 177 of the Civil Code, usually following a posthumous psychiatric examination. In the case of material mistake or fraud, Articles 178 and 179 apply. The limitation period for such claims is, as a rule, one year. And a contract under which the flat passes to the recipient only after the donor’s death is void from the start (clause 3 of Article 572 of the Civil Code): such a wish is put into a will.
A gift instead of a sale, and a gift to escape debts
Sometimes a gift is used to disguise a sale of a share, to get around the pre-emption right of co-owners (Article 250 of the Civil Code). If payment comes to light, the contract may be held a sham, and therefore void (clause 2 of Article 170 of the Civil Code), and the co-owner who was bypassed can demand that the buyer’s rights be transferred to them. In ruling No. 33-KG18-4 the Supreme Court stressed that the pre-emption right applies to any paid disposal of a share.
Giving a flat to your son when creditors are already calling is also poor protection. Article 61.2 of the Insolvency Law allows a transaction made within three years before the bankruptcy petition was accepted to be challenged. If the donor was already insolvent by then, and the transaction was gratuitous and with a relative, intent to harm creditors is presumed. Gave your daughter a flat in 2024, and in 2026 a creditor filed for bankruptcy? The financial manager may demand that the flat be returned to the bankruptcy estate. From 27 July 2027, the bankruptcy reform will amend Article 61.2.
Who stays living in the gifted flat
After the gift, family members of the former owner generally lose the right to use the flat (clause 2 of Article 292 of the Civil Code), and registration at the address does not save them. An exception is made for those who once waived their right to privatise this flat: their right is unlimited in time. If the flat is home to family members under guardianship or minors left without parental care, and the transaction affects their rights, the consent of the guardianship authority is needed (clause 4 of the same Article).
Most often the donor asks for one thing: to give the flat to the children and keep living in it. There is no direct ban, but the wording decides a great deal. If the contract implies that in return the recipient must provide the donor with housing or care for them, a counter-obligation arises, and that is no longer a gift (clause 1 of Article 572 of the Civil Code). Practice on such conditions is mixed, so the text should be checked before you visit the notary. And if you need both a home and care, a life annuity arrangement is the more honest choice.
Gift, will or annuity
A gift takes effect at once: after registration the flat belongs to the recipient and is no longer part of the estate, so the rights of other heirs, including the compulsory share, do not extend to it. A will, by contrast, leaves everything under the owner’s control until the end of life and can be rewritten at any time. But minor children and children unfit for work, a spouse and parents unfit for work, and dependants will still receive at least half of their statutory share (Article 1149 of the Civil Code), and wills themselves are contested quite often. There is no inheritance tax, and an inherited flat can be sold free of personal income tax after three years.
An annuity is closest to what many donors are asking for. Under a contract of lifetime maintenance with dependency, the flat passes to the annuity payer, who provides the recipient with housing, food, clothing and, if needed, care (Articles 601 and 602 of the Civil Code). The contract is certified by a notary, and in the event of a material breach the recipient may demand the flat back (Article 605). For the person handing over the home, this is probably the best protected of the three options.
When you cannot do without a lawyer
Gifting a flat to your mother or son when there are no debts and no one else has a claim to it can usually be done without a lawyer: the notary will prepare the contract. It is harder if people are registered in the flat who do not intend to leave, if a divorce is under way, or if the donor has loans. Or if the gift has already taken place and a relative considers it unfair.
In such matters we help you choose between a gift, a will and an annuity, verify the contract terms and assemble documents in advance in case of a dispute, and if a dispute is already under way, we assess where the transaction is vulnerable. How we handle gifts of real estate is described on a separate page. The plan and cost of the work are set out in writing before work begins.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay tax if a relative gave me a flat?+
No, if the donor is the recipient’s spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, brother or sister, including half-siblings. A gift from an aunt, a stepfather or a friend is subject to personal income tax: 13% on up to RUB 2.4 million of such income a year and 15% above that.
Can a flat be gifted without a notary?+
No. Since 13 January 2025, a deed of gift of real estate between individuals must be certified by a notary, including between close relatives.
Is a gifted flat divided on divorce?+
No, it is the recipient’s personal property. An exception is possible if joint funds were invested in the flat during the marriage and its value rose significantly: then the court may recognise it as joint property.
Can a gift be challenged after the donor’s death?+
Yes. Heirs may challenge the contract, for example if at the time of signing the donor did not understand the significance of their actions or was deceived. The limitation period for such claims is usually one year, so do not delay the assessment.
Need an assessment of your situation?+
Leave a request: a lawyer in family and inheritance matters will review the flat’s documents, the make-up of the family and the donor’s debts and tell you which way of transferring the home is safer.