Buying a House in Puerto Plata: Costs, Taxes, and Legal Requirements

For properties that include a land component, a formal boundary survey — called a deslinde in the Dominican legal system — is strongly recommended. This verifies the physical boundaries of what you are buying and prevents disputes with neighboring properties after the fact. Survey costs vary based on plot size and location.

Total Closing Cost Estimate

When you add transfer tax, legal fees, notary costs, and registry expenses, most standard residential transactions in Puerto Plata result in total buyer closing costs of between 5.5% and 7.5% of the purchase price. As a practical budgeting rule, set aside 5% to 8% of the property price beyond the purchase amount itself.

For a $300,000 house, that means budgeting an additional $15,000 to $24,000 for all closing costs.

Ongoing Property Taxes After Purchase

Understanding what you owe each year — not just at closing — is part of making a fully informed purchase decision. The Dominican Republic has a clear and relatively straightforward property tax structure.

Annual Property Tax (IPI)

The Impuesto al Patrimonio Inmobiliario, or IPI, is an annual tax of one percent applied to the portion of a property's value that exceeds the tax-free threshold. For 2026, that threshold sits at approximately RD$10,695,494, which is roughly $182,000 USD at current exchange rates.

In practical terms: if your Puerto Plata house is valued at $300,000, the taxable amount is roughly $118,000, and your annual IPI obligation is approximately $1,180 per year. Properties valued at or below the threshold owe zero annual property tax — which covers a meaningful portion of the entry-level and mid-range market.

Foreign buyers pay exactly the same IPI rates as Dominican nationals. There is no additional property tax burden for non-residents.

Rental Income Tax

If you rent your Puerto Plata property, that income is taxable. Non-resident foreign owners are subject to a 27% withholding tax on gross rental income. Short-term vacation rentals also attract an 18% ITBIS (value-added tax equivalent) charge. Buyers who hold property through a properly structured Dominican corporation may be able to deduct operating expenses and pay tax on net profit rather than gross income — which significantly changes the math. Discuss this with your attorney or a local tax advisor before you begin generating rental revenue.