Buyers living abroad ask me what the annual property tax on a Riga flat will cost. The short answer is a range: 0.2–0.6% of cadastral value. That range is real, but in Riga it is not automatic. Whether it applies depends on a single snapshot taken at 00:00 on 1 January, and if the condition is not met the standard rate is 1.5% for the whole year.
Let me walk through the rule the way I explain it to clients. It comes from the national law on real estate tax (Par nekustamā īpašuma nodokli), Riga's binding regulation and the city's own notices, as they stand in October 2026. It describes rules; it is not tax advice, and rules change.
How property tax in Riga works, and who pays it
Real estate tax (in Latvian, nekustamā īpašuma nodoklis, or NĪN) is a municipal tax, paid into the budget of the municipality where the property stands. In Riga the City Finance Department calculates it, sends the notices and collects it, as Riga's tax information site explains.
The payers are Latvian or foreign individuals and companies who own the property, meaning the person registered in the Land Register; co-owners pay by their share. The law names Latvian and foreign owners alike as payers.
The tax is the cadastral value as at 1 January of the tax year multiplied by the rate, and the tax year is the calendar year. An object registered in the cadastre during the year is taxed on its value at registration. Each municipality sets its own rate, between 0.2% and 3% of cadastral value, so this article covers Riga only.
The two rates that matter for a flat
Riga's Binding Regulations No. 148 set a progressive rate for the residential part of a flat, with its share of common areas, that is not used for business. The bands apply to the cadastral value:
- up to €57,000: 0.2%
- the part above €57,000 and up to €107,000: 0.4%
- the part above €107,000: 0.6%
These are legal parameters set in the regulation, not prices.
| Situation | Rate | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Flat owned by an individual, not used for business; an eligible person declared there at 00:00 on 1 January | 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6% by value band | Regulation No. 148, points 3 and 3.1.1 |
| Same flat, nobody eligible declared at that moment | 1.5% of the whole value, for the whole year | Point 3.1.1; Finance Department notice for 2026 |
| Flat used for business, for example short-term tourist lets | 1.5% | Regulation No. 148, point 3.1; Law Art. 1(4); Riga FAQ |
| Flat owned by a company, sole trader or foreign company | Reduced rates only if let for residence, lease registered in the Land Register, eligible person declared; otherwise 1.5% | Regulation No. 148, point 3.1.2 |
For any value in the first band, the standard rate is 7.5 times the reduced one: 1.5% against 0.2%.
On business use, the law's definition of economic activity excludes letting a flat for residence. Riga's Finance Department FAQ, however, treats short-term letting to tourists as economic activity, so the standard rate would apply. That is the city's interpretation, not a universal rule. An owner must notify the municipality within one month of starting or ending business use.
What "declared residence on 1 January" means in practice
This condition decides the rate. Under point 3.1.1 of the regulation, a private owner gets the reduced rates if, at 00:00 on 1 January of the tax year, residence is declared at the property for at least one person who is a Latvian citizen or non-citizen, a citizen of another EU member state, an EEA state or Switzerland, or a holder of a permanent residence permit in Latvia. In other cases the rate is 1.5% of the cadastral value.
The Finance Department's notice for 2026 and its FAQ add three points:
- It is a snapshot. The position at 00:00 on 1 January decides the rate for the whole year, and later changes in declarations do not matter.
- According to the FAQ, the declared person need not be the owner, but an "additional address" (papildu adrese) does not count.
- The requirement applies to new buildings, which become tax objects once registered in the cadastre.
The regulation lists the categories of declared persons quoted above, while the city's notices sum up the test as at least one declared person. For a specific flat, the exact reading is a question for the Finance Department or a lawyer. Owners can see who is declared at their property through the state e-service "Manā īpašumā deklarētās un papildu adresi norādījušās personas" on latvija.gov.lv, or by asking the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP). PMLP lists the service as free and open to natural persons; whether a foreign owner can log in is worth checking first.
Cadastral value: where to look it up, and why it is not the purchase price
The tax is not charged on what you pay for a flat but on the cadastral value set by the State Land Service. Since 1 January 2025 every object has two. The fiscal value, used for taxes and other payments to state or municipal budgets, is calculated to match the 2012/2013 property market. The universal value, used for other purposes, matches the market of 1 July 2022 and may not exceed 80% of the average market price level.
Both are free to view on kadastrs.lv, for objects registered in the Cadastre Information System: search by cadastral number or address and open "Kadastrālās vērtības" (cadastral values).
One legal process is worth knowing. The Cadastre Law tells the Cabinet of Ministers to approve a new cadastral value base by 15 June 2027. An approved base is applied from 1 January of the year after next, so on that timetable from 1 January 2029; the Cabinet may also decide not to apply a new base to the tax in a given year. That is a statutory timetable, not a forecast of any value or tax. I read the version in force in October 2026, and the one due from 1 January 2027 keeps this provision unchanged.
Bills and deadlines when you live abroad
As a general rule, the tax is payable from the next tax year after ownership arises, with exceptions in the law, one of them for a newly registered cadastre object. For a specific purchase date, the municipality or a lawyer should confirm the position. The yearly calendar:
| Date | What happens | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 15 February | Payment notice for the year is sent to the address indicated; if none arrives, the payer must tell the municipality in writing within one month | Law Art. 6(1) and 6(2) |
| 22 March | If the owner has not declared residence as the law requires, has given the municipality no address and has not reported a missing notice, no notice is sent and the assessment takes effect | Law Art. 6(1.4) |
| 31 March, 15 May, 15 August, 15 November | Four instalments, each one quarter of the annual amount; the year may also be paid in advance | Law Art. 6(3) |
Where no address is known, the law also has the municipality post notices of later administrative acts on its website rather than send them.
An unpaid balance also matters at resale. When a flat is sold or gifted, the change of owner can be entered in the Land Register only after the tax debt, penalty and late-payment interest are paid and the tax payment for the year of the change has been made. The law lists exceptions, such as insolvency; this describes an ordinary sale.
The Finance Department answers on +371 67012222 for calls from abroad, at pip@riga.lv and through its eriga.lv portal.
What this means before you buy
Riga Waterfront is in Riga, so Riga's regulation is the relevant one for its apartments. These are the questions I would put on the list before any purchase, not a plan:
- Which cadastral value will the flat carry once it is registered? Look it up on kadastrs.lv once the object appears there.
- What does the tax look like in both scenarios, with an eligible person declared on 1 January and with nobody? The next snapshot, for the 2027 tax year, is at 00:00 on 1 January 2027.
- Has Riga changed its rates for 2027? A municipality must publish its rates for a tax year by 1 November of the year before, so by 1 November 2026. In October 2026 likumi.lv shows Regulation No. 148 as last amended in April 2023; check riga.lv again before 1 January.
- Can the municipality reach you at an address, and are the instalment dates in your calendar?
- If you plan to let the flat, a tax adviser can say how your particular arrangement would be treated.
Rules are set by Riga City Council and the Saeima and they change, so a lawyer or tax adviser should confirm your own case. If you are still comparing layouts, you can browse them on the apartments page. The wider buying process and how off-plan purchases work are covered in separate articles.
This material is for general information only and is not tax or legal advice.