If you live in your own home in Egypt and it is worth about EGP 8 million or less, you now pay no property tax on it. Law No. 3 of 2026 raised the exemption for a family's main home from about EGP 2 million to about EGP 8 million. A second home, a holiday home or a home you rent out is still taxed. The tax is worked out from a rental value the tax authority sets, not from the price you paid.
The facts below were checked on 21 October 2026. Confirm your own case with a lawyer or a tax adviser.
What the law changed
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi ratified Law No. 3 of 2026 in April, amending the Real Estate Tax Law (Law No. 196 of 2008) (Masrawy, 6 April). The House of Representatives had approved it on 1 March (Built Environment Observatory).
The main change is the exemption for a family's main home. It now covers a home with a net annual rental value of up to EGP 100,000. The head of the Real Estate Tax Authority, Ahmed Al-Sadiq, said that matches a market value of about EGP 8 million, up from EGP 2 million before (Daily News Egypt, 15 February). The old limit was a rental value of EGP 24,000 (Built Environment Observatory).
The exemption covers one home, the one the family lives in. Rami Youssef, assistant finance minister for tax policy, said it extends to the husband, wife and minor children (Al Mal, 17 September). Second homes stay fully taxable, according to the law firm Adsero.
Al-Sadiq said only about 2 million of Egypt's roughly 55 million properties will be liable for the tax (Daily News Egypt).
How the tax is worked out
The tax is 10% of the net annual rental value, "not directly from the market value of the property," Rami Youssef told Al Mal. The authority starts from a market value, turns it into a yearly rental value, and takes off 30% for maintenance on a home to reach the net value (Built Environment Observatory, Adsero). Rental values are set again every five years (Masrawy).
El Watan worked through an example for a main home. Say the yearly rental value is EGP 300,000. Take off 30% and the net is EGP 210,000. The first EGP 100,000 is exempt, so EGP 110,000 is taxed at 10%: EGP 11,000 a year. A main home with a net rental value of EGP 100,000 or less pays nothing. This is the paper's working, not an official one.
Other points in the law:
- Filing on time earns a 25% discount on the tax due (Al Manassa). In 2026 the finance ministry offered it to people who filed before 30 September (Al Mal).
- Late-payment charges can never be more than the tax itself (Al Manassa).
- You have 60 days from being notified to appeal a valuation (Masrawy).
How many homes on WiserChat ask EGP 8 million or less
On 21 October 2026, 8,226 of the 33,297 homes for sale on WiserChat with a price in pounds, about one in four, asked EGP 8 million or less. For apartments it was 30%.
It varies a lot by area. Among apartments:
- New Administrative Capital: 40%
- Fifth Settlement, New Cairo: 20%
- Sheikh Zayed: 23%
- 6th of October: 31%
An asking price is not the tax valuation. The authority sets its own value, and this count only shows how the new limit compares with what developers are asking today.
What this means if you're buying
- If the home will be your family's main home and is worth about EGP 8 million or less, you should owe no property tax on it.
- If you already own a main home, the second one does not get this exemption. Count the tax in the yearly cost of a holiday home or a home to rent out.
- Above the limit, only the part of the net rental value over EGP 100,000 is taxed, at 10%.
- The value the authority uses can differ from your contract price. If you get a valuation you think is wrong, you have 60 days to appeal.
- Register and file on time. The 25% discount only goes to people who file before the deadline.
Ask Wiser about your case
Wiser, the consultant inside WiserChat, covers more than 700 projects with their prices and payment plans and can run the numbers for you. Tell it your budget, the area you want and whether this will be your main home, and it will show you the projects that fit side by side. It's free for buyers. Ask Wiser about your case.