Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 6. Taxes › Withholding on other payments abroad: 27% on gross, presumed income rules and technical assistance

Withholding on other payments abroad: 27% on gross, presumed income rules and technical assistance

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

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

Payments of Dominican source income to non residents that have no special rule carry a final withholding at the art. 297 rate, 27%, on the gross amount. Ley 30-26 now treats technical assistance used in the country as Dominican source income, wherever performed. Presumed margins cut the effective rate for transport, insurance, film and communications, and the payer is jointly liable if it fails to withhold.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.8594 per US dollar for 28 October 2026, the latest row in its published rate file on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

General withholding on payments abroad, including services	27 %Ley 11-92 art. 305 and art. 297, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Technical assistance used in the country, general rule	27 %Ley 11-92 art. 272 literal f and art. 305, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Whoever pays or credits taxable Dominican source income to non residents withholds the art. 297 rate as a sole and final payment, unless a category has its own rule. Gross income is treated as net income, with no contrary proof, except where the law presumes a net income, and then the presumed amount is the base.
Example: Consulting fee RD$1,000,000: withholding RD$270,000. / Fee US$16,431.32: withholding US$4,436.46.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, as amended by Ley 30-26, art. 305, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Ley 30-26 art. 20 restated the article.

2. Income from technical assistance services used in the country is Dominican source income for the provider, regardless of where the activity takes place.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, as amended by Ley 30-26, art. 272 literal f, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Ley 30-26 art. 18 replaced the earlier text, which referred to services provided from abroad or in the country.

3. Presumed Dominican income: foreign transport companies 10% of gross freight and fares; foreign insurers 10% of gross premiums; foreign film producers and distributors 15% of the price; communications companies 15% of gross income.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, art. 274 to art. 277, 1992-05-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. A non resident without a permanent establishment is taxed separately on each item of income.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, art. 270 paragraph I, 2012-11-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. If no withholding was made, the taxpayer and the withholding agent are jointly liable. Once the agent has withheld, only the agent answers to DGII. Local agents of foreign companies are jointly liable with them.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, art. 313 and art. 282, 1992-05-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. The Spain treaty allows source tax of up to 10% of the gross amount on services performed in the source state, such as advisory, consulting and technical assistance, and its protocol reads "performed in" as requiring physical presence.Spain treaty, art. 13 and Protocol III, 2014-07-25 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. DRAFT, NOT IN FORCE. The draft regulation sets a temporary 30% withholding for fiscal years 2026 to 2028 on payments of at least RD$1,000 million to non residents. It also defines technical assistance, lists exclusions such as teaching, trade related services, specific administrative tasks and standardized mass digital services, and treats a service as used in the country if it has effects there, the beneficiary is resident or the payment is deductible.Draft regulation of Ley 30-26, art. 9, art. 17 and art. 19, 2026-10-30 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Payment	Presumed income	Effective rate on gross
Foreign transport freight and fares	10%	2.7%
Foreign insurance and reinsurance premiums	10%	2.7%
Foreign films	15%	4.05%
Communications companies	15%	4.05%

Effective withholding with presumed income at 27%

Payment	Domestic rate	Page
Dividend	10%	taxes/dividend-withholding
Interest	10%	taxes/interest-withholding
Royalties, software licences, online ads, data storage	15%	taxes/royalties-and-software-withholding
Everything else, including consulting and technical assistance	27%	This page

Quick chooser for a payment abroad

Worked example

A Dominican company pays a Spanish consultant RD$500,000 (about US$8,215.66) for work done on site in Santo Domingo. Domestic withholding would be RD$135,000 (about US$2,218.23). With a valid tax residence certificate and a treaty claim, the art. 13 cap of 10% brings it to RD$50,000 (about US$821.57).

Step by step

Decide where the service is used, not where it is performed.
Check for a special rule: dividend, interest, royalty or presumed income.
Agree who bears the tax before signing.
Withhold, file IR-17 by the 10th of the next month and keep proof.
Keep the contract and invoice to support the deduction.

Common traps

Art. 305 points to the art. 297 rate without saying whether the temporary 30% paragraph applies. An express 30% withholding appears only in the draft regulation.
A contract silent on tax leaves the payer exposed: it owes the tax if it pays in full and did not withhold, and the deduction is denied.
Services performed remotely from Spain may not meet the physical presence wording of the treaty protocol, so analyze them under the business profits rule before relying on art. 13.
No treaty exists with Argentina, so these rates apply in full to Argentine providers. See The Argentine Thread for the Argentine side.

Sources

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

← Royalties, software licences, online advertising and data storage paid abroad: the 15% rate since 1 July 2026Domestic withholding in the Dominican Republic: new 15% rates on rent and services since 1 July 2026 →

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