SANTO DOMINGO – According to Global Property Guide (GPG), capital gains earned by a foreigner from the sale of real estate in the Dominican Republic are taxed at “generally 27% of the taxable gain under the current regime.” The international real estate analysis portal published this figure on September 23, 2026, in an update to the taxes and costs page of its profile on the country, written by Mikk Kalmet.
Since June, however, Article 14 of Law No. 30-26 subjects capital gains from the sale of real estate by individuals to a rate of 10%, as a single and final payment, and the fact sheet does not mention that law in any of its sections and the only Dominican regulation that the page cites by its number is Law 158-01 for the promotion of tourism development, known as CONFOTUR.
The update came sixteen days after the Legal Counsel of the Executive Branch put the draft regulations for the application of Law 30-26 into public consultation.
“Property Tax Guide in the Dominican Republic” is one of the regular sections of the profile that GPG maintains on the country, along with price analysis, rental yields and the buying guide.
The portal does not publish a new piece each time, but rather updates the same page, and the most recent update was on September 23, 2026,” and is signed by Mikk Kalmet, and can be consulted at: https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/latin-america/dominican-republic/taxes-and-costs
GPG figures
For capital gains, GPG indicates that the taxable base is calculated on the acquisition cost or adjusted tax base of the property, not on the sale price.
In the area of rentals, it distinguishes three situations: resident individuals will be taxed in 2026 with the progressive scale of income tax, which ranges from 0% to 25%; payments from Dominican sources sent abroad to non-residents are generally subject to a withholding of 27%; and when a company or other withholding agent pays rent to an individual, a withholding of 15% is applied.
GPG indicates that the corporate income tax rate is 27%, with a temporary rate of 30% during the fiscal years 2026 to 2028 for companies with annual gross income of at least RD$1 billion.
Regarding the costs of a purchase and sale transaction, the portal's table, compiled using its own data and that of the firm KPMG, assigns the buyer between 4.25% and 5% of the price: 3% transfer tax, 1% legal fees and between 0.25% and 1% notary expenses.
The seller assumes between 2% and 3% for the agent's commission, so the total cost of entering and exiting a property ranges between 6.25% and 8%.
Regarding the Real Estate Property Tax (IPI), the document establishes a rate of 1% on the portion of a natural person's real estate assets that exceeds RD$10,695,494, calculated on the value assigned by the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII).
The DGII help center confirms this exemption amount for 2026 and specifies that it is adjusted annually for inflation. For tourism projects approved under CONFOTUR, GPG reports a 0% rate on income tax for qualified rental activities, transfer tax, and property tax, generally for 15 years from the completion of construction.
Law 30-26: promulgation and review of the regulations
Law No. 30-26 on measures to promote economic growth, tax simplification and mitigation of the international crisis was approved by the Senate in session on June 17, 2026 and by the Chamber of Deputies on June 18, as stated in the text published by the DGII on its transparency portal.
President Luis Abinader enacted it on the night of Thursday, June 18, and the DGII implementation schedule, signed on June 26, identifies it as “Law No. 30-26 dated June 18, 2026.”.
That timetable sets the entry into force of each measure:
- The 10% tax rate on capital gains from real estate for individuals (Article 14) and the exemption for people over 65 who sell their main residence (Article 16) are effective immediately.
- The new withholding rates of article 309 of the Tax Code, including that of rentals (article 17 of the law), apply from July 1, 2026.
- The 30% rate for companies with incomes exceeding RD$1 billion corresponds to the fiscal year 2026 (article 15) and the 27% rate for individuals with annual incomes exceeding RD$4,800,000.01 will apply from the fiscal year 2027 (article 10).
The Legal Consulting Office of the Executive Branch published on its website on September 7, 2026, the draft regulations for the application of the law, open for download and public comment until November 11, and the document, consisting of 40 articles, will not be valid until the Executive Branch issues the decree.
According to what was published by El Inmobiliario, the DGII has indicated that the settlement of the capital gains tax also requires a general rule that establishes the procedure.
The law and the draft regulations versus the GPG data sheet
Capital gain
Article 296-1, which Law 30-26 incorporates into the Tax Code, levies a 10% tax on “capital gains generated from the sale of real estate owned by individuals” and provides, in its paragraph I, that the tax is settled within six months of the transfer.
The text refers to individuals without distinguishing between residents and non-residents, while GPG assigns a 27% rate to foreign nationals, which it presents as that of the “current regime.” None of the 40 articles in the draft regulation refers to the sale of real estate by non-residents.
Neither the law nor the draft regulations define the calculation basis described by GPG. The law establishes the rate, but does not specify the amount to which it applies, and the draft regulations contain no provisions on determining taxable income. Article 40 of the draft regulations stipulates that the Tax Administration “shall issue the general rules necessary for the application of this chapter, including procedures, forms, means of payment, and other operational aspects.”.
Exemptions not included in the data sheet
The GPG website does not mention the two exemptions created by the law. According to paragraphs II and III of Article 296-1, the profit obtained from the sale of a primary residence is exempt when the entire amount is reinvested in another primary residence within the following six months, and the exemption is proportional if the reinvestment is partial.
Section m) of Article 16, in turn, exempts the profit derived from the sale of the main residence made by people over 65 years of age.
The draft regulation develops both figures: Article 11 defines the habitual residence as the property where the person has their effective, permanent and continuous domicile, and presumes that condition from indicators such as the address registered with the DGII, the title certificate, the basic services contracts, at least three years of continuous occupancy before the sale and, if applicable, the proof of payment of the tax established by Law 18-88.
Excluded are properties primarily intended for commercial use, rental, investment or vacations, unless the taxpayer proves that it is their only residential property and their main home.
To prove reinvestment, paragraph II of the same article requires proof to the DGII of payment of the price according to the contract, payment of the 3% transfer tax, the same rate that GPG includes in its cost table, and the deposit or registration of the transfer in the Registry of Titles.
Purchase options, sales promises, pre-sale contracts in plans and acts under private signature that have not initiated the registration process are not accepted as reinvestment.
Article 13 of the bill regulates the exemption of people over 65 years of age and asks them to demonstrate at least three years of continuous residence in the property, a requirement that the text of the law does not contain.
Rentals
Section a) of article 17 of the law establishes a withholding of 15%, as a single and final payment, on the rental of movable and immovable property provided by individuals.
Article 16 of the draft regulation limits this withholding to cases where the tenant is a legal entity and the property belongs directly to a natural person; it does not apply when the tenant is a natural person or when the owner is a company.
GPG's description, which links the 15% withholding to payment made by a company or other withholding agent, matches that scope.
Regarding payments to non-residents, Article 19 of the draft establishes a temporary withholding tax of 30% for the fiscal years 2026, 2027, and 2028 for those who pay or credit Dominican-source income equal to or greater than RD$1 billion to individuals, legal entities, or entities not resident or domiciled in the country. The GPG fact sheet, which sets the general withholding tax for non-residents at 27%, does not include this temporary rate.
The progressive scale of 0% to 25% that the document presents for residents is the one in effect in 2026. Starting with the 2027 fiscal year, according to the DGII schedule, individuals with annual incomes exceeding RD$4,800,000.01 will be taxed at a rate of 27%, a change that GPG does not anticipate.
Corporate income tax
In this respect, the tax form is consistent with the law, although it does not cite it: Article 15 maintains the general rate of 27% for legal entities domiciled in the country and, in its second paragraph, imposes a transitional rate of 30%, during the fiscal years 2026 to 2028, on taxpayers with income of RD$1 billion or more. From fiscal year 2029 onwards, these companies return to the general rate.
Transaction costs, IPI and CONFOTUR
Article 59 of the law reduces the unified tax levied on other real estate transactions under Law 2914 and Article 8 of Law 173-07 from 2% to 1% starting in 2027, and eliminates it from 2028. The GPG cost table does not include this tax or its reduction schedule.
The text of Law 30-26 published by the DGII does not include references to the IPI or Law 158-01, so the figures that GPG offers on the property tax and the CONFOTUR incentives do not change.
The draft regulations only address the tax established by Law 18-88 as proof of payment: Articles 11 and 13 require, where applicable, evidence of payment to establish primary residence. The draft will remain open for public comment until November 11, 2026, on the website of the Legal Counsel's Office of the Executive Branch.
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