More than 8,000 parental benefits and gifts were cancelled in the seven months from January to July 2025 as it was revealed they did not meet the criteria in the legislation.

Despite a generous tax-free allowance of 800,000 euros for first-class relatives – parents, children and grandchildren – the ADC auditors found a raft of breaches, from transfers of money in cash to virtual donations to persons who were not entitled to an exemption. Those involved are now being asked to pay their proportionate tax, with charges of up to 10% for cash transactions and 20% for chain or bogus transfers leading to non-beneficiaries.

The auditors find that many citizens are depositing cash in their children’s or grandchildren’s accounts instead of using a bank transfer as required by law. Others choose to make donations through third parties in order to eventually reach relatives who are not in the first category of beneficiaries. In these cases, the penalties are severe, and audits extend to the donors’ tax returns, with the tax authorities asking for documentation of income even from previous years. The message is clear: property transfers can be made tax-free, but only if the procedures are followed to the letter.

The AADE’s “safari” is not limited to parental transfers. It has already opened a new front with audits on contracts of transfer of real estate, in order to determine whether the obligation to present an ENFIA certificate has been complied with. Thousands of 2024 contracts are being checked to see if the tax for the last five years was paid, while notaries or land registry offices that overlook the obligation face fines ranging from €100 to €1,000, which are doubled in the event of a repeat offence. The aim of the checks is to close the “holes” in property tax and ensure that every transfer is accompanied by full tax compliance.

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