Buying Dominican Republic Property in a Company vs Personally: 2026 Tax Comparison

Should you buy your Dominican property in your own name or through a company? It's one of the most consequential decisions foreign buyers face — and the right answer depends on what you plan to do with the property, how long you'll hold it, and how your home country taxes you. This guide walks you through the practical tax and structural trade-offs in 2026 so you can have a more productive conversation with your Dominican attorney and accountant.

Important: Tax rules, thresholds, and exemption amounts in the Dominican Republic change regularly. Confirm every figure below with the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII) and a licensed Dominican abogado and contador before you commit to a structure.

The Two Main Ownership Paths

Foreign buyers generally choose between:

1. Personal (individual) ownership — the title (Certificado de Título) is issued in your name, sometimes jointly with a spouse.
2. Corporate ownership — title is issued in the name of a Dominican company, most commonly an SRL (Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada), occasionally an EIRL (single-member) or SA (for larger ventures).

Foreigners can do either. Your constitutional right to own property in the DR comes from equal-treatment provisions (Articles 25 and 221 of the Constitution), not from any special foreign investment statute, and there is no Haitian-border ownership ban requiring presidential approval — that's a persistent myth. The only real coastal restriction is the 60-meter maritime zone (Law 305 of 1968), and it applies to everyone.

Tax Comparison at a Glance

1. Transfer Tax (ITI) at Purchase

Whether you buy personally or through an SRL, the 3% transfer tax (ITI) is paid by the buyer to DGII, calculated on the higher of the contract price or the DGII appraisal value. The rate doesn't change based on who the buyer is.

• One nuance: if you form a new SRL specifically to take title, you're paying ITI on the property transfer just like an individual would. There is no shortcut.
• Future resales: later, you can sell the property or sell the shares of the SRL that owns the property. Selling shares does not, on its face, trigger the 3% ITI on a real estate transfer — but DGII can and does scrutinize share sales that are economically real estate sales. Don't assume this is a clean loophole; ask your contador.

2. Annual Property Tax (IPI)

This is where personal and corporate ownership diverge meaningfully.

• Individuals pay IPI at 1% only on the portion of their aggregate Dominican real estate value that exceeds an inflation-indexed exemption threshold. The threshold is adjusted yearly — check the current figure with DGII rather than relying on an old number you read online. Primary residences of retirees over a certain age can also qualify for relief.
• Companies (SRLs) generally do not get the individual exemption threshold. Instead, corporate-owned real estate is typically subject to the 1% tax on registered assets under the corporate asset tax regime, with the property's value forming part of the company's taxable asset base. In practice, many holding SRLs that exist only to hold a single home end up paying tax from dollar one of value, with no individual threshold.

Implication: for a single modest home, personal ownership is often cheaper annually because of the IPI exemption. For higher-value properties — or multiple units held by the same family — the calculation flips, because individuals lose the exemption benefit once the aggregate value rises and the 1% applies to the excess anyway.

3. Rental Income Tax

If you rent the property out (long-term or short-term):

• Individuals are taxed on net rental income under the progressive personal income tax scale (roughly 0% to 25%, with inflation-indexed brackets). You can deduct documented expenses, but informal landlords often deduct little and end up with a higher effective rate.
• SRLs pay the flat corporate income tax of 27% on net profit, but a properly run company can deduct a wider range of expenses (management fees, depreciation, repairs, professional fees, travel related to the asset, etc.), which often reduces the taxable base considerably.
• ITBIS (VAT, 18%) generally applies to short-term/tourist rentals regardless of structure, and DGII has been increasingly active with platforms like Airbnb. Plan for it.

For a high-occupancy short-term rental in Punta Cana, Las Terrenas, or Cabarete, an SRL often produces a lower effective tax burden once depreciation and expenses are properly booked. For a lightly rented vacation home, personal ownership is usually simpler and cheaper.

4. Capital Gains on Sale

This is the area where misinformation is loudest. Capital gains in the DR are not a flat 27% for individuals.

• Individuals pay tax on the gain as ordinary income, on the progressive scale (0–25%), computed on the inflation-adjusted cost basis — meaning your original purchase price is indexed upward for inflation before the gain is calculated. Over a long hold, this can substantially shrink the taxable gain.
• SRLs pay the 27% corporate rate on the inflation-adjusted gain. There is no preferential long-term capital gains rate.

For a long-hold personal residence with significant appreciation, individual ownership frequently wins on exit, because the progressive scale and inflation adjustment can produce a much lower effective rate than the flat 27%.

5. CONFOTUR Projects

If you're buying in a CONFOTUR-certified tourism project (Law 158-01), the exemptions — typically including ITI and IPI for a defined period — attach to the certified project and are available to foreigners with no residency test. But the ITI exemption realistically only benefits the first buyer from the developer. Resale buyers usually lose it. CONFOTUR benefits flow to either an individual or an SRL buyer, so the structure choice mostly affects post-exemption years.

Non-Tax Reasons People Use an SRL

Tax is only half the story. SRL ownership often makes sense for:

• Liability shielding for rental operations.
• Estate planning: transferring shares can be simpler than re-titling Dominican real estate after death, and can sidestep the slow local probate process. Note: estate tax still applies on death.
• Multiple owners (siblings, business partners, investor groups) — shares are cleaner than co-titling.
• Anonymity at the property registry (the company appears, not you personally).
• Eventual sale of shares instead of the property itself.

Downsides of an SRL: setup cost (legal fees, notarization, mercantile registry), an annual corporate compliance burden, an annual mercantile registry renewal, mandatory accounting and tax filings even in years with no activity, and the loss of the individual IPI exemption.

Don't Forget Your Home-Country Tax

This is where many foreign buyers get hurt:

• US persons face significant complications holding foreign real estate inside a foreign corporation — potentially CFC, GILTI, Form 5471, and PFIC-adjacent issues. A US buyer using a Dominican SRL without coordinated US tax advice can create a compliance nightmare that dwarfs any DR-side savings.
• Canadians face FAPI and T1134 reporting on foreign affiliates.
• EU/UK buyers face CFC rules of varying strictness.

For many US buyers, personal ownership (or an LLC treated as disregarded) is dramatically simpler, even if it costs a bit more in DR tax. Always coordinate both sides.

Quick Decision Framework

• Single vacation home, light or no rental, US owner: personal ownership usually wins.
• Higher-value property, multiple co-owners, or estate planning concerns: SRL often wins.
• Active short-term rental business: SRL frequently wins on DR taxes, but check home-country impact first.
• CONFOTUR off-plan unit you'll flip: either works; the exemption does the heavy lifting.

FAQ

Can I transfer my personally-held property into an SRL later? Yes, but the transfer is generally treated as a sale, triggering ITI and potential capital gains. Decide before closing if you can.

Does an SRL avoid the 3% transfer tax? No. The SRL pays ITI on purchase like anyone else.

Will an SRL help me avoid Dominican inheritance issues? It can simplify succession because heirs inherit shares, but Dominican inheritance tax still applies. Get specific advice.

Who should I trust to set this up? An independent licensed Dominican abogado (not the seller's or developer's lawyer) plus a Dominican contador, coordinated with a tax professional in your home country. Confirm all current rates and thresholds with DGII.

Laws, rates, and exemption thresholds in the DR change frequently — treat every number in this guide as a starting point for a conversation with qualified professionals, not as a final figure.