Mortgage income tax refund in Armenia in 2026: where it still works

The mortgage income tax refund in Armenia works like this: the state pays back the mortgage interest you have paid, using the income tax withheld from your salary. In 2026, however, the program is closed for new loans on homes in Yerevan, with one exception for buildings whose construction permit was issued before 1 January 2022. In the regions it still works: in Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir and Kotayk for loans taken before 1 January 2027, in the other provinces until 2029, and in border settlements after that as well.

In short:

• The refund covers the mortgage interest you actually paid, but never more than the income tax withheld from your salary.
• For loans taken from 1 January 2025 the cap is AMD 750,000 per quarter. Loans from 2018 to 2024 keep the old cap of AMD 1.5 million per quarter.
• In Yerevan, new loans qualify only for buildings permitted before 1 January 2022, with a contract price of up to AMD 55 million and a purchase from the developer, the state or a community.
• The benefit applies to one mortgage contract only.
• People who already receive the refund keep it: the changes are not retroactive.

What is the mortgage income tax refund?

It is a mechanism under Article 160 of the Tax Code of Armenia. If you are employed in Armenia, your employer withholds income tax from your salary every month (a flat 20% since 2023). When you pay interest on a mortgage taken to buy or build a home, the state returns that interest to you out of the tax you have already paid. Once a quarter you file an application with the State Revenue Committee (SRC) through its electronic system, the bank confirms the interest amount, and the money is paid to your account.

In Armenian this is searched for as "bnakaran ekamtaharkov", literally "an apartment with income tax". For years it made mortgages almost interest-free for many families: the interest was covered by tax that is withheld anyway.

How much can you get back?

The refund for a quarter equals the smallest of three numbers:

• the mortgage interest you actually paid during the quarter;
• the income tax withheld from your salary for the same quarter;
• the cap: AMD 750,000 per quarter for loans received from 1 January 2025, or AMD 1.5 million for loans received between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2024.

A simple example. In one quarter you paid the bank AMD 900,000 in interest, and AMD 600,000 of income tax was withheld from your salary. You get AMD 600,000 back: the refund cannot exceed the tax withheld. If AMD 1,000,000 of tax had been withheld, a new loan would bring back AMD 750,000, and a 2023 loan the full AMD 900,000.

The refund covers interest only, not the loan principal.

Does the refund still work in Yerevan in 2026?

For new loans, almost never. The government phased the program out in the capital zone by zone from July 2022, and from 1 January 2025 it is closed for housing within the administrative borders of Yerevan.

There is one exception, and it has to be checked building by building: if the construction permit for an apartment building or a private house was issued before 1 January 2022, the right to the refund remains. The conditions are:

• a contract price of no more than AMD 55 million;
• the apartment is bought directly from the developer, the state or a community, not from a private seller on the resale market;
• the loan was received after 1 January 2018;
• there is only one mortgage contract.

What matters is the date of the construction permit, not the start of construction, the commissioning certificate or the purchase date. So the question "does the refund apply" is about a specific building, not about a developer in general. New developments with prices and completion dates are listed in our Yerevan new buildings section.

Where does the benefit still apply?

In the regions of Armenia the program continues for purchases in new buildings and for building your own house. It has an end date there too:

• from 1 January 2027 the refund will not apply to new loans in Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir and Kotayk provinces. These are the provinces around Yerevan where a lot of housing is being built now: Abovyan, Etchmiadzin, Masis, Ashtarak;
• from 1 January 2029 the program will end in all regions except border settlements.

Anyone who signs a mortgage contract before these dates keeps the right to the refund after them.

Who can get the refund?

The right is tied not to citizenship but to income tax withheld in Armenia from your salary. You need formal employment in Armenia and a mortgage from an Armenian bank or credit organization. If your income is not a salary (sole entrepreneur, income from abroad, rental income), there may be no withheld income tax at all, and nothing to refund. The refund can go to the borrower or co-borrowers, each based on their own withheld tax.

A foreigner who works in Armenia officially should ask the bank in advance whether it will include the loan in the program: banks deal with this every day and know the current SRC practice.

How to claim the refund step by step

• Choose a home that meets the conditions: a new build from a developer or building a house, a price within the limit, and for Yerevan a building permitted before 2022.
• Get a mortgage and tell the bank that you plan to claim the income tax refund. The bank will prepare statements of the interest paid.
• After each quarter, file a refund application in the SRC electronic system. Applications are filed once every three months.
• The money arrives on the account you specify; most people use it for the next loan payments.

This does not replace a legal check of the property: see how to check an apartment before buying.

What if the refund does not apply?

Without the benefit, a mortgage in Yerevan is still a working tool, you just need to calculate it at the real rate. For new buildings there is an alternative: an interest-free developer instalment plan during construction, compared for four projects in our article on developer instalment plans in Yerevan. Bank rates and requirements are covered in mortgages in Armenia in 2026.

Browse apartments in new buildings by district: new builds for sale in Nor Nork, in Arabkir, in Davtashen and in Achapnyak, or compare districts on the Yerevan apartment prices page. If you want an agent to shortlist options within your budget and check the refund conditions for a specific building, send a request through apartment search.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a mortgage income tax refund for an apartment in Yerevan in 2026?
For loans received from 1 January 2025, only if the building's construction permit was issued before 1 January 2022, the apartment is bought from the developer, the state or a community, and it costs no more than AMD 55 million. For other housing in Yerevan the benefit does not apply to new loans.

What is the maximum refund per quarter?
For loans from 1 January 2025, no more than AMD 750,000 per quarter; for loans from 2018 to 2024, no more than AMD 1.5 million. In any case, no more than the interest paid and no more than the income tax withheld from your salary.

I already receive the refund. Do the changes affect me?
If your mortgage contract was signed before the changes, you keep the right to the refund: the law is not retroactive.

Does the refund apply to a resale apartment?
The program is designed for buying from a developer and for building a house. When buying from a private seller on the resale market, do not count on the refund.

Can a foreigner get the income tax refund?
The right depends on income tax withheld in Armenia from a salary, not on citizenship. If you are officially employed in Armenia and take a mortgage from an Armenian bank, ask the bank whether it will include your loan in the program.

How long will the benefit work in the regions?
In Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir and Kotayk for loans received before 1 January 2027, in the other regions until 1 January 2029. In border settlements the program continues after that.

Sources

• Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia, Article 160; Government Decree N 1321-N, clause 5.1.
• Azatutyun, 2 October 2025: the program has ended in Yerevan, schedule for the regions
• Iravaban.net: exception for buildings permitted before 2022
• ARKA: the government winds down the refund program
• CivilNet: AMD 750,000 quarterly cap from 2025

The rules change, so check the conditions with your bank and on the SRC website before signing a mortgage contract. Information as of 22 October 2026.

_Photo: 23artashes, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. Image resized._