Low-cost housing
Almost nobody knows it exists. If the home qualifies as low-cost and it is your first and only one, the state does not just waive the 3% transfer tax — it pays money back to you. Here are the full conditions, including the one worth thinking twice about.
The Bono Vivienda de Bajo Costo is a refund of the tax paid during the home's construction. The state collects it from the developer and then hands it to the final buyer.
It is not a sales promotion and it is not a discount the project invented. It is a mechanism written into the law. It is applied to your down payment or as a principal payment on your loan. Real money, not a nice number in a brochure.
Between 6% and 8% of the home's value. On a US$65,000 apartment that is between US$3,900 and US$5,200.
And it comes with something just as important: the 3% transfer tax is waived. On almost any other property in the country you add 4% to the price. Here the arithmetic runs the other way.
The low-cost housing classification is set by the DGII with a ceiling that is updated every year. For 2026 the ceiling is RD$5,450,851.12 — roughly US$92,000 at current rates. Below that line, the home qualifies.
Careful: the home qualifying is necessary, not sufficient. You still have to qualify too.
The five years. If your plan was to buy and rent it out, this bonus is not for you. You can still buy the apartment — just without the bonus, and then the arithmetic is different and has to be redone before signing, not after.
This is not fine print hidden somewhere. It is a central condition of the benefit. We would rather tell you now than later.
The trust company files it, not you. No lines, no offices. They process it and the DGII deposits it.
That is also why it only exists in projects held under a trust: without a trust, there is nobody to file it for you.
Do not take anyone's word for it — including ours. Ask in writing for the trust agreement and the name of the trust company, and confirm with them that the project is registered for the bonus. And check the current ceiling directly with the DGII before you run any numbers.
DGII, Resolution DG-AR1-2026-00001, September 2026: 2026 low-cost housing ceiling: RD$5,450,851.12 · DGII, Taxpayer Guide No. 26: Requirements and percentage of the low-cost housing bonus
Frequently asked
Between 6% and 8% of the home's value, applied to the down payment or as a principal payment on the loan.
RD$5,450,851.12 according to the DGII, roughly US$92,000. Below that figure the home qualifies.
Not for the first five years. You cannot sell it in that period either. It is a condition of the benefit.
If it is bought as a first and only home through the trust, the 3% transfer tax is waived. It should be verified case by case before signing.
The project's trust company files it and the DGII deposits it. The buyer does not handle the paperwork.