ᐅ Is it common to buy land and pay part of the price in cash?

Hello,
I’m not sure if this is the right place, but we need some help. Here’s the situation: we found a piece of land privately where we want to build. However, the owner wants to do it so that only part of the amount is stated in the official purchase contract, and we would pay the rest in cash. (She mentioned maybe in an envelope in the notary’s waiting room, so she doesn’t have to pay tax on the full amount.)

We are very uncertain and find it strange that she wants to handle it this way. What do you think about that? We’re not sure if this could be considered tax evasion, which of course is completely unacceptable!

Thank you very much for your help.

Of course, this is tax evasion. Additionally, it can potentially jeopardize the legal validity of the contract.

Thank you, as I said, we were not 100% sure, but now we are.
Thank you for the quick response.

The risk for the buyer:
- Aiding tax evasion
- Jeopardizing the validity of the notarized contract through side agreements

We will stay away from that and continue looking for plots of land.. it would have been too good if everything had been perfect... a large plot and then a really cheap purchase price. But we don’t get involved in things like that!

You can politely decline payment in cash and still try to make the purchase. Is the sale being made privately? Perhaps there is simply a lack of awareness about the applicable taxes. Maybe it’s possible to reach an agreement by offering a bit more money?