Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › ITBIS on real estate

ITBIS on real estate

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

The Dominican VAT, ITBIS, is built on movable goods and services, so a sale of land or a building falls outside its transfer rules. Housing rent is exempt, and commercial rent carries 18%. ITBIS paid on goods that become part of a building is often a cost, not a credit, so developers must price it in.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar for 29 October 2026, the latest row in its published rate file on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

ITBIS on sale of land or buildings	Outside the tax on transfers of industrialized goods Código Tributario art. 335 and art. 336, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
ITBIS on housing rent	Exempt Código Tributario art. 344 numeral 5, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
ITBIS on commercial rent	18 %DGII answer; Código Tributario art. 335, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. ITBIS falls on transfer and import of industrialized goods and on services.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, Title III, art. 335, 1992-05-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Industrialized goods are corporeal movable goods that underwent a transformation process, so land and buildings are not within that definition.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, Title III, art. 336 numeral 1, 1992-05-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Housing rental services are exempt.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, Title III, art. 344 numeral 5, 1992-05-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Rent of non housing property is taxed at 18%. DGII states this in its taxpayer help channel.DGII Comunidad de Ayuda answer on commercial and housing rent, DGII answer, 2026 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. For renting movable and immovable property together, the base is the rent.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, Title III, art. 340 literal c, 1992-05-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. ITBIS paid on goods incorporated into a Category 1 asset can never be deducted. Category 1 in the depreciation rules means buildings and their structural components.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, Titles II and III, art. 336 paragraph; Title II art. 287 literal e, 1992-05-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Sectoral exemptions can reach construction inputs. Ley 158-01 exempts ITBIS on machinery and materials for building a classified tourism project.Ley 158-01 de Fomento al Desarrollo Turístico, art. 4 literal c, 2001-10-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Worked example

A shop rents at RD$150,000 (about US$2,463.03) a month plus ITBIS of RD$27,000 (about US$443.34). A tenant company recovers it subject to the normal rules. A bank or a doctor, with exempt sales, bears it in whole or part as a cost.

Step by step

Classify each lease as housing or non housing in the contract.
Issue the proper fiscal receipt.
Model non deductible ITBIS on building inputs in the project budget.

Common traps

The exemption reads housing rental. Mixed or furnished short stays are not clearly covered. See real-estate/short-term-rentals.
Withholding of ITBIS between parties changed in 2026 for electronic issuers. See taxes/domestic-withholding.
The law text has no express line on sales of real estate. The outcome follows from the definitions.

Sources

← Rental income taxResidential and commercial leases →

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