The direct answer
There are four budgets, and Americans usually build only two.
A serious European move has four separate cost blocks: the acquisition cost of the property, the one-time cost of the move itself, the recurring cost of the life you are buying, and the tax cost of the transition year. The first two are the ones people research. The last two are the ones that determine whether the plan holds.
As a working frame, on a EUR1.5m home an American household should expect the transaction alone to consume roughly EUR100,000 to EUR250,000 on top of the price, depending on the country and whether the purchase is financed. The figures below were reviewed in July 2026 and are planning ranges, not quotes. Rates change, regional variation is large, and the only number that matters is the one calculated for your specific purchase.
Budget one
What it costs to buy, before you own anything.
| Country | Typical all-in acquisition cost | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| France | Roughly 7 to 8 percent on an existing home, closer to 2 to 3 percent on a new build | The notary's fees are mostly transfer duties collected for the state, not professional fees |
| Spain | Roughly 10 to 12 percent, with wide regional variation | Transfer tax is set by the autonomous community and ranges materially; new builds attract VAT instead |
| Portugal | Roughly 6 to 10 percent | Progressive transfer tax plus stamp duty, with a higher band applying at the top of the market |
| Italy | Roughly 9 to 15 percent on a second home | Registration tax, notary, agency commission and legal costs stack; first-home relief changes the answer entirely |
| Greece | Roughly 5 to 7 percent | Transfer tax on resale property, plus registry, notary and legal fees |
| Monaco | Priced case by case | Transfer duties, agency and intermediary structure vary with how the property is held |
Two structural points are worth more than the percentages. Whether you buy new or existing can move the bill by five points or more. And in Italy, whether the purchase qualifies for first-home treatment changes the tax base entirely. These are decisions, not facts, and they are made before the offer. See buying property in Europe.
Budget two
The one-time cost of actually moving.
- Immigration and legal. Counsel for the residence route, plus document collection, certified translation and apostilles for birth, marriage, police and financial records. Slow, unglamorous, and easy to underestimate.
- Cross-border tax analysis. The one expense that reliably pays for itself, because it is the only one that can change the size of every other number.
- Shipping and the household. A container across the Atlantic, plus the decision about what genuinely deserves to make the trip. Vehicles and pets each carry their own rules and their own costs.
- Temporary housing. Deposits, a rental before the purchase, and the overlap period when you are paying on both continents.
- Currency conversion. A retail spread of one to two percent on a large one-time transfer is frequently the single largest professional cost of the move, and the only one that arrives without an invoice. See the banking and FX guide.
Budget three
The bill that arrives every year afterward.
Health cover
Private cover is a condition of most residence routes, and Medicare does not travel with you. Pricing depends on age and country, and it is a recurring line for life, not a one-time fee.
Two tax returns
A US citizen in Europe files in both systems, every year, permanently. Competent cross-border preparation is a meaningful annual cost and not a place to economize.
Property and local taxes
Annual property taxes, municipal charges and building fees are modest in some countries and material in others. Wealth tax in Spain or France is a separate question entirely.
Social contributions
Depending on the country and the residence route, social charges can apply to income that a US household would not expect to be charged on.
The second home you kept
Carrying the US house while establishing the European one is a common and expensive choice. Sometimes it is right. It should be a decision, not a default.
Budget four
The arrival year is where the real money is won or lost.
The date you become a European tax resident determines which country taxes what. A business sale, an option exercise, a large capital gain or a US property disposal that lands on the wrong side of that date can cost more than the house did. In the other direction, a household that arrives with the sequence planned can save a sum that makes every other line on this page look like rounding.
This is why the cheapest thing you can buy is the analysis, and why it has to happen before the visa, before the offer and before the move date is fixed. Read European tax residency, US taxes when moving, and, if a liquidity event is in the picture, moving to Europe after selling a business.
Private-office sequence
Price the whole decision, not the house.
The order that works is to model the recurring life first, then the arrival-year tax position, then the financeable purchase budget, and only then start looking at property. Done this way, the number you carry into a viewing is real. Done the usual way, the number is the asking price and everything after it is a surprise. The European Home Blueprint delivers exactly this as a dated file.
Plain answers
Cost questions Americans ask first.
How much does it cost to move to Europe from the US?
For a household buying a home, the transaction alone typically adds a substantial percentage on top of the purchase price: roughly 7 to 8 percent in France on an existing property, 10 to 12 percent in Spain, 6 to 10 percent in Portugal, 9 to 15 percent in Italy on a second home and 5 to 7 percent in Greece, as reviewed in July 2026. The move itself, the recurring annual costs and the tax consequences of the arrival year sit on top of that and are frequently larger.
What are the closing costs when buying property in Europe?
They are dominated by transfer taxes and duties collected for the state rather than by professional fees. France charges roughly 7 to 8 percent on an existing home but far less on a new build. Spain's transfer tax varies by autonomous community. Italy's registration tax changes completely depending on whether first-home relief applies. Whether you buy new or existing, and in which region, can move the bill by several percentage points.
What ongoing costs do Americans in Europe forget?
Private health cover, which is required by most residence routes and which Medicare does not replace abroad. Cross-border tax preparation in both systems, every year, permanently. Local property and municipal taxes. Social contributions where they apply. And in Spain or France, wealth tax, which is assessed on the balance sheet rather than on income.
What is the most expensive mistake in a European move?
Becoming tax resident in the wrong year. A business sale, an option exercise or a large capital gain that falls on the wrong side of the residence date can cost more than the property. The timing is controllable, but only before the move, which is why the tax analysis should precede the visa and the offer rather than follow them.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Europe?
In the first year, renting is almost always cheaper and better, because acquisition costs in Europe are high and largely unrecoverable if you sell within a few years. Renting also gives you a European address for banking, time to test the city and the freedom to walk away from the wrong neighborhood without a transfer-tax bill attached.