Inherited summer houses: two-year clock runs from date of death

Heirs who sell an inherited summer or garden house get a clarified starting line for the two-year ownership test. Pärimise korral arvestatakse kaheaastase omandiperioodi algust pärandi avanemisest ehk pärandaja surma päevast, mitte pärija kinnistusraamatusse omanikuna kandmise kuupäevast — the count runs from the opening of the succession, the testator's date of deathEmta, not from the date the heir is recorded as owner in the land registerEmta. The clarification now appears identically in the Suvila või aiamaja võõrandamine web guidance and in both PDF copies of the Kinnisvara võõrandamine handbook.

The exemption itself is unchanged. An heir can sell an inherited suvila or aiamaja tax-free only where three conditions all hold: the house has been in the heir's ownership as a movable or as an essential part of an immovable for over two years; the plot does not exceed 0,25 hectares (2500 m2); and the land-register entry shows a summer or garden houseEmta. Where at least one condition fails, the disposal must be declared and income tax paid on the gain. The exempting provision is tulumaksuseaduse § 15 lõike 5 punkt 4, which requires the house to have been in the taxpayer's ownership for over two years on a plot of at most 0,25 hectares.

The cost side follows tulumaksuseaduse § 38 lõige 11: the acquisition cost of inherited property that may be deducted from the taxable gain is only the heir's own expenditure, for example cash compensation paid from the heir's personal funds — not from the estate — to co-heirs under a notarial estate-division agreement. Acceptance of the inheritance itself is not taxed: vastuvõetud pärandvara is exempt under § 15 lõike 4 punkt 1.

The gift case is untouched by the clarification. A donee can sell a gifted summer or garden house tax-free only where the same three conditions hold, counted from the donee's own ownership — illustrated by the standing example of a grandmother's 2023 gift sold on after one year, with the gain taxable. Where a leased house is sold, ownership time runs from the date of the lease agreement.

Legal basis: tulumaksuseaduse § 15 lõike 5 punkt 4 for the exemption, § 38 lõige 11 for the deductible cost, and the Suvila või aiamaja võõrandamine guidance with the new succession-opening start date.