Capital gains tax on a future sale at Itza, for a foreign owner

Itza Golden Residences is planned for delivery in Q4 2029, so a resale by any of its first owners is years away. The tax that sale would face changed recently: on 18 June 2026 Law 30-26 set a flat 10% rate on the gain when an individual sells Dominican real estate. This guide reads the tax from the exit side, for an owner who lives abroad: how the gain is measured, what the reform settled and what it left open, how the buyer's withholding works, and which papers to keep from the day you sign. It is general information, not tax advice. The rules are new, and a Dominican tax adviser should confirm how they apply to you before you list.

What changed in June 2026

The tax itself is old. Article 289 of the Tax Code, Law 11-92, measures a capital gain as the sale price minus what the property cost, with that cost adjusted for inflation. Until this year the gain an individual made was folded into ordinary income tax. The rates the tax authority, the DGII, published in July 2024 ran up to 25% for a resident individual on the progressive scale and 27% for a foreign individual and for companies.

Law 30-26, dated 18 June 2026, added a new Article 296-1 to the code. When an individual sells real estate, the gain now carries a single rate of 10%, paid once as a final payment rather than added to the year's income. The DGII's own implementation calendar lists that rate as taking effect immediately. The new rate is for individuals only: a residence held through a company still sits under the general corporate rate of 27%.

That is a large change, and it is recent enough that the guidance around it is still being written. Two gaps matter to a foreign owner, and the sections below come back to both: the reform does not spell out in detail how the base is calculated, and the DGII material read for this page does not say which rate reaches a seller who is not a Dominican tax resident.

How the gain is measured

Start from the two numbers on either side of your ownership. The sale price is the top line. From it you deduct your acquisition cost, which Article 289 adjusts for inflation using indexes the DGII publishes, so that a rise in general prices over your years of ownership is not taxed as if it were profit. The code also lets the adjusted cost rise with improvements that are properly added to the property's capital account, which is why invoices for work done after delivery are worth keeping in order.

Two questions are specific to a residence like this one. Itza is priced in US dollars, with residences listed from $378,000, while the tax is administered by a Dominican authority, so ask your adviser how dollar amounts on the purchase and sale are carried into the calculation. And residences are delivered without furniture, with appliances and air conditioning included, so ask which later spending counts as an improvement to the property and which is simply furnishing it.

Specialist commentary on the reform has pointed out that the new article states the rate more clearly than the base. Treat any figure you build today as an estimate to be confirmed once the regulation is issued.

The foreign seller: residence, rate and withholding

Dominican tax residence is a count of days, not a visa. A person is generally treated as resident for tax once they spend more than 182 days in the country in a fiscal year, and holding a residence permit does not by itself make someone a tax resident. Most owners who spend the winter at Itza and live elsewhere the rest of the year will be non-residents for this purpose.

For that seller the rate is the open question. The reform names individuals without distinguishing residents, and before it the DGII's published rate for a foreign individual was 27%. The DGII material read on 30 September 2026 does not say which of those now applies, so ask for the answer in writing before you set a price you intend to net.

The mechanics are clearer. According to the DGII, a non-resident pays this tax through a designated withholding agent, and where the seller is non-resident a resident buyer must withhold 100% of the tax generated. In practice the buyer's side will want the figure agreed before closing, because they carry the obligation to hold it back. A seller who is not registered and does not otherwise file can ask the DGII to validate the calculation and issue a determination of the tax owed.

Where CONFOTUR fits at Itza

The developer's materials say Itza is expected to carry CONFOTUR benefits, the incentives of Law 158-01. That status is planned, not granted. For the first buyers of an approved project, the law's benefits reach two taxes: the 3% transfer tax charged at closing and the 1% annual property tax, the IPI, which applies to value above an exempt threshold.

Neither of those is a tax on the gain you make when you sell, and the sources this page relies on name no other benefit for an individual buyer. So plan on the gain being taxed under the rules above, and ask your attorney whether anything in the project's eventual classification reaches it.

CONFOTUR still shapes the sale, from the buyer's side. Under Article 4 of the law the benefits belong to first buyers from the developer, so the person who buys from you does not inherit them: the transfer tax applies to their purchase, and your residence reaches them without the property-tax exemption. That is a cost your buyer will price in, which makes it part of your exit even though it is not your tax.

Exemptions and the six-month clock

Specialist readings of Article 296-1 agree that the tax is due within six months of the transfer being completed. Confirm the exact trigger date with your adviser; the six months is the window you plan the payment around.

The reform also created two exemptions, and both are written around a habitual residence. A gain is exempt when the proceeds from selling a habitual residence are reinvested in another habitual residence within six months, proportionally if only part is reinvested. And individuals over 65 are exempt when they sell their habitual residence, a change the DGII lists as immediate.

Whether a home at Itza counts is a real question rather than a formality. The developer's own return model pictures an owner who uses the residence for 28 nights a year and rents it the rest of the time, which is a holiday-home pattern. An owner who lives that way should not assume either exemption without advice, and one who makes Itza their main home should ask what evidence of that the DGII expects.

Papers to keep from the day you sign

Because the gain is measured against your cost years from now, the file that settles it starts at purchase. Keep each of these where you can find it when you list.

1. Purchase contract and closing papers
   The price and the dates are the base of the whole calculation; keep the signed originals and the proof of each payment.
2. Title certificate
   Your title is registered after delivery, which is planned for Q4 2029. Keep the certificate with the contract.
3. Improvement invoices
   Keep invoices for work that adds to the property, separate from furniture, so an adviser can decide what raises your cost.
4. A yearly count of days
   Note the days you spend in the country each year; the 182-day line decides which side of the resident question you are on.
5. A formal answer before you list
   For a ruling on your own case the DGII takes technical consultations on form FI-GLEGA-004 and states a response time of 22 business days.
6. Withholding agreed at closing
   Settle with the buyer's side who withholds, how much and when, and ask how your home country credits the Dominican tax.

Common questions

What is the capital gains tax rate in the Dominican Republic now?

Law 30-26 of 18 June 2026 sets 10% on an individual's gain from selling real estate, paid once as a final payment. Companies remain at the general rate of 27%. How the new rate applies to a seller who is not a Dominican tax resident has not been stated in the DGII material read for this page; before the reform the DGII's published rate for a foreign individual was 27%.

Does the buyer withhold the tax when a foreign owner sells?

Yes, according to the DGII. Where the seller is non-resident, the tax is paid through a designated withholding agent and a resident buyer must withhold 100% of the tax generated, so agree the figure with the buyer's side before closing.

Would CONFOTUR reduce the tax when I sell a residence at Itza?

Plan as if it will not. The buyer benefits CONFOTUR names are the 3% transfer tax and the 1% annual IPI, for first buyers of an approved project, and Itza's status is expected rather than granted. Ask your attorney whether the project's eventual classification reaches your gain.

How long do I have to pay?

Specialist readings of the new article give six months from the completion of the transfer. Confirm the exact trigger date with a Dominican tax adviser before you close.