Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 5. FX and capital controls › Dividends out of the Dominican Republic: no prior approval, 10% withholding and a US$100 example
Dividends out of the Dominican Republic: no prior approval, 10% withholding and a US$100 example
Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.
Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable
A foreign investor can remit dividends in convertible currency without prior authorization, after income tax. The company withholds a final 10%, and the bank needs the certificate and a sworn statement for sales under the investment law. US$100 of pre tax profit taxed at 27% nets US$65.70 to the shareholder, with a follow up filing within 60 days.
USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar for 29 October 2026, as shown on its home page on the verification date, rounded to the cent.
Key facts
| Access to FX to pay dividends abroad | Free, no prior authorization, after income tax textLey 16-95 art. 7, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
|---|---|
| Dividend withholding, non residents | 10 %Ley 11-92 art. 308, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Tax on branch remittances to head office | 10 %Ley 11-92 art. 308 paragraph II, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Follow up report after remitting | 60 daysLey 16-95 art. 8 as amended by Ley 98-03 art. 14, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Amount limits on remittance sales under Ley 16-95 | None textDecreto 214-04 art. 7 paragraph I, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
The rule
1. Foreign investors may remit abroad in freely convertible currency, without prior authorization, declared dividends during each fiscal year up to the current net profits of the period, after income tax.Ley 16-95 sobre Inversión Extranjera, art. 7, 1995-11-20 official text · verified 2026-10-30
2. The investor may remit, without prior Banco Central authorization, all profits for closed fiscal years and dividends paid in advance during the current year, if tax obligations are met.Decreto 214-04, Reglamento de Aplicación del Registro de la Inversión Extranjera, art. 4, 2004-03-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30
3. Sales of foreign currency for these remittances may be made only by institutions authorized to deal in foreign currency, need no Banco Central approval and carry no limit on amount.Decreto 214-04, Reglamento de Aplicación del Registro de la Inversión Extranjera, art. 7 and paragraph I, 2004-03-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30
4. The bank or agent asks to see the original registration certificate, keeps a copy and takes a sworn statement that the investor is entitled under Ley 16-95 to buy the currency and has met its Dominican tax obligations. For interim dividends it adds the board resolution.Decreto 214-04, Reglamento de Aplicación del Registro de la Inversión Extranjera, art. 7 literal a, 2004-03-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30
5. After remitting, the investor files audited accounts, the shareholders' minutes, proof of tax paid and a copy of the stamped currency sale form. Ley 16-95 gives 60 days to report profits certified by a public accountant, the share remitted and tax settled.Decreto 214-04, Reglamento de Aplicación del Registro de la Inversión Extranjera; Ley 16-95 sobre Inversión Extranjera art. 8 as amended by Ley 98-03 (CEI-RD), art. 4; Ley 98-03 art. 14, 2003-06-17 official text · verified 2026-10-30
6. For interim dividends, the file is proof of tax plus the board resolution. Once the assembly ratifies the dividend, the minutes and audited accounts go to the agency.Decreto 214-04, Reglamento de Aplicación del Registro de la Inversión Extranjera, art. 4, 2004-03-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30
7. If profits remitted exceed the investor's share under the minutes, the agency treats the excess as capital repatriation and cuts the registered capital.Decreto 214-04, Reglamento de Aplicación del Registro de la Inversión Extranjera, art. 4 paragraph, 2004-03-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30
8. Anyone paying or crediting dividends to residents or non residents withholds 10% as a sole and final payment. Permanent establishments withhold the same 10% on amounts remitted to head office.
Cost to do it: 10% of the dividend. Filed on IR-17 by the 10th of the following month.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, art. 308 and paragraph II, 2012-11-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
Cost to do it: 10% of the dividend. Filed on IR-17 by the 10th of the following month.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, art. 308 and paragraph II, 2012-11-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
9. A 0.2% tax applies to payments by electronic transfer and to checks, since 3 July 2026. Transfers between accounts of the same person are outside it.
Cost to do it: 0.2% of a taxable paymentLey 11-92, Código Tributario as amended by Ley 30-26, art. 382, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30
Cost to do it: 0.2% of a taxable paymentLey 11-92, Código Tributario as amended by Ley 30-26, art. 382, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30
| Step | US$100 example | RD$10,000,000 example |
|---|---|---|
| Pre tax profit | US$100.00 | RD$10,000,000 |
| Income tax at 27% | US$27.00 | RD$2,700,000 |
| Dividend | US$73.00 | RD$7,300,000 |
| Withholding at 10% | US$7.30 | RD$730,000 |
| Net to shareholder | US$65.70 | RD$6,570,000 |
| Dollars bought at RD$60.9007 | US$65.70 | US$107,880.53 |
| 0.2% if the transfer is taxable | US$0.13 | RD$13,140 |
From pre tax profit to dollars abroad, foreign corporate shareholder at the 27% rate
Worked example
- RD$10,000,000 of pre tax profit leaves RD$7,300,000 to distribute and RD$6,570,000 after withholding, which buys about US$107,880.53 at the reference selling rate. If the 0.2% transfer tax applies, it adds RD$13,140 (about US$215.76).
- Spain's treaty caps dividend tax at 10% and Canada's at 18%, so neither lowers the 10% in the ordinary case. The Argentine side of any payment to Argentina is covered in The Argentine Thread guide, and there is no income tax treaty between the two countries.
Step by step
- Approve accounts and declare the dividend in a shareholders' meeting.
- Withhold 10% and file IR-17 by the 10th of the next month.
- Give the bank the certificate, sworn statement and minutes, then buy the dollars.
- Send ProDominicana the audited accounts, minutes, tax proof and stamped sale form, within the 60 days in Ley 16-95.
Common traps
- The certificate route is under Ley 16-95. A shareholder that never registered should expect its bank to ask more questions, and it loses the express statutory right.
- Remitting more than the minutes support is recorded as capital going home and shrinks the registered capital.
- Treaty relief rarely matters here: confirm any zero rate claim for a 75% Spanish parent with DGII first.
- Withholding is a final tax only for the Dominican side. Check home country credit before modelling the net return.
Sources
- Ley 16-95, DGII copy
- Ley 98-03, FAOLEX copy of the gazette text
- Decreto 214-04, DGII copy
- Código Tributario Title II, DGII
- Ley 30-26, DGII copy
- Banco Central de la República Dominicana home page
Related pages
- taxes/dividend-withholding
- taxes/bank-payment-tax
- taxes/tax-treaties
- entities/branch-of-a-foreign-company
- fx/foreign-investment-registration
- fx/capital-contributions-and-repatriation
- https://theargentinethread.com/guide/
- /calendar/
Related: Dominican Republic country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide
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