2026 figures
Almost everyone budgets the price of the property and nothing else. Then at closing another 4% to 5% shows up that nobody mentioned. Here is all of it, with the 2026 numbers.
This is the big one. It is paid once, when the property is transferred into your name, and it is calculated on whichever is higher: the price you agreed, or the value the DGII assigns to the property.
That last part surprises people. If you negotiated well and bought below market, the tax is still calculated on the DGII value. It is normally paid by the buyer, though that is negotiable between the parties.
On a US$200,000 property, that is US$6,000.
The Impuesto al Patrimonio Inmobiliario is annual. For 2026 there is an exemption of RD$10,695,494 — roughly US$170,000 at current rates — and the 1% applies only to the amount above it, not to the total.
A concrete example: if your properties together are worth RD$12,000,000, you do not pay 1% of twelve million. You pay 1% of the difference — about RD$13,045 a year.
It is paid in two installments, on 11 March and 11 September. There are further exemptions: people over 65 whose only property is their home, pensioners under certain rules, and rural land used for agriculture.
Important if you are buying in a project: trusts (fideicomisos) pay 1% on the full value, with no exemption. Ask how your unit will be registered.
Tourism incentive Law 158-01 exempts approved projects from the 3% transfer tax and from the IPI for 15 years. On a US$250,000 property that is about US$7,500 that does not leave your pocket at signing, plus fifteen years of IPI.
Two warnings that will save you a bad surprise:
Sales contract, notarial act, and the transfer filing at the Registro de Títulos. It varies by attorney and by complexity, but budget it separately and ask for it in writing before you start, not at the end.
In the Dominican Republic the agent's commission is paid by the developer or the seller. You pay the same list price with or without an agent. If someone charges you to show you a property, that is not normal in this market.
Without CONFOTUR: about US$6,000 in transfer tax, plus legal fees, plus annual IPI if your total holdings exceed the exemption.
With CONFOTUR: transfer tax goes to zero and IPI is exempt for fifteen years.
That difference is real, and it is worth knowing before you choose between two properties at a similar price.
Buying in Cap Cana? I put the closing costs there line by line, with worked examples for a US$300,000 condo and a US$1,000,000 villa: Closing costs in Cap Cana.
DGII and sector publications, September 2026: 2026 IPI figures and the transfer tax
Frequently asked
3% of the property value. It is calculated on whichever is higher between the agreed price and the value assigned by the DGII, and it is generally paid by the buyer.
RD$10,695,494. The 1% annual rate applies only to the value above that amount, not to the total holdings.
In projects approved under Law 158-01, it exempts the 3% transfer tax and the annual property tax (IPI) for 15 years.
No. In the Dominican Republic the commission is paid by the developer or the seller. The buyer pays the same list price with or without an agent.
No. The transfer tax and IPI rates are the same regardless of nationality or residency. What changes is the paperwork, not the rate.