Countries › Uruguay › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Property taxes in Uruguay: departmental Contribución Inmobiliaria, the primary education tax and vacant property rules

Property taxes in Uruguay: departmental Contribución Inmobiliaria, the primary education tax and vacant property rules

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

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Recurring property tax in Uruguay is split: departments levy the Contribución Inmobiliaria on urban and suburban property at their own rates, and rural rates are set by national law but paid to the departments (Constitution art. 297). On top, the national primary education tax, collected by the DGI, charges 0.15 to 0.30 percent of the Catastro value for 2026, with properties under UYU 282,612 exempt; notaries and banks must see it paid before a sale or mortgage (Ley Nº 15.809 art. 641 and 642). Both taxes are deductible from rent for income tax, and urban property left empty and degraded can be forced into a court sale (Ley Nº 19.676).

USD figures use UYU 40.21 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 27 October 2026; amounts in Unidades Indexadas (UI) use UYU 6.6792 per UI, the BCU quotation for 27 October 2026; amounts in Unidades Reajustables (UR) use UYU 1,940.77, the UR for September 2026 published by IMPO (the latest published on 27 October 2026); the BPC is UYU 6,864 for 2026 (Decreto Nº 11/026). All were retrieved on 27 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Primary education tax: exempt below this taxable value (2026)	282612 UYULey Nº 15.809 art. 638; DGI 2026, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Primary education tax lowest band rate (2026)	0.15 %Ley Nº 15.809 art. 639; DGI 2026, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Primary education tax top band rate (2026)	0.30 %Ley Nº 15.809 art. 639; DGI 2026, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Who levies the main property tax (Contribución Inmobiliaria)	Departmental governments; rural rates set by national law Constitution art. 297, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Tax on vacant lots and inappropriate building	Departmental tax allowed by the Constitution Constitution art. 297 numeral 2, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Taxes on urban and suburban real estate are a source of revenue of the departmental governments, decreed and administered by them, except national surcharges. Taxes on rural real estate are set by national law but collected by and paid to the departments. Departments may also levy a tax on vacant lots and inappropriate building in urban and suburban areas, and charge improvement contributions for departmental public works. This is the constitutional basis of the Contribución Inmobiliaria, whose rates and bands are set by each department.
Cost to do it: Rates vary by department; check the departmental decree and the bill for each padrón.
Example: A flat in Montevideo and a house in Maldonado pay Contribución Inmobiliaria to different departments under different decrees. / Budget the departmental bill separately from national taxes.Constitución de la República, Art. 297 numerals 1, 2 and 4, 1967-02-02 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. The annual primary education tax (Impuesto de Enseñanza Primaria) taxes urban, suburban and rural real estate. Taxpayers are owners, possessors, promise buyers with or without registered promises, and usufructuaries. The base is the real value fixed by Catastro. Since 1 January 2018 the DGI collects and administers it, and it may publish the bill data and payment history of each padrón.
Cost to do it: Annual tax on the cadastral value, paid in instalments to the DGI.
Example: A non resident who holds a flat through a registered purchase promise is a taxpayer even before the deed. / Foreign owners pay this national tax in addition to the departmental Contribución Inmobiliaria.Ley Nº 15.809 art. 636 (wording by Ley Nº 16.736 art. 687 and Ley Nº 19.333 art. 2), art. 637 (Ley Nº 17.930 art. 430), art. 638 and art. 643 (Ley Nº 19.535 art. 75), Art. 636, 637, 638 and 643, 2017-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. For 2026 the DGI exempts urban and rural properties whose taxable value on the cadastral certificate is below UYU 282,612, and applies four bands: from UYU 282,612 to 494,568 at 0.15 percent; from 494,569 to 2,119,563 at 0.20 percent; from 2,119,564 to 4,945,638 at 0.25 percent; and from 4,945,639 at 0.30 percent. The law sets the rates per value band (1.5 to 3 per thousand) on 1991 values updated by the Executive.
Cost to do it: 0.15% to 0.30% of the taxable value, by band.
Example: A flat with a taxable value of UYU 3,000,000 falls in the third band, taxed at 0.25 percent under the DGI table. / UYU 3,000,000 is about US$74,608; values under UYU 282,612 (about US$7,028) pay nothing.Ley Nº 15.809 art. 638 and art. 639 (wording by Ley Nº 16.226 art. 396 and Ley Nº 16.320 art. 420); DGI 2026 band table, Art. 638 and art. 639, 2026-01-01 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Notaries may not authorise any sale of real estate without proof that the primary education tax is fully paid, including the current year, or that the property is exempt; the DGI issues the certificate and the Registry will not register documents without it. Banks may not grant or renew loans secured on real estate without the same proof. Notaries and banks that omit the check are jointly liable.
Cost to do it: Arrears must be paid before closing or refinancing.
Example: A seller with two unpaid years cannot close until the DGI certificate is issued. / Withhold the seller's arrears from the price at closing.Ley Nº 15.809 art. 641 (Ley Nº 19.535 art. 77) and art. 642 (Ley Nº 17.930 art. 433), Art. 641 and art. 642, 2017-09-25 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. The tax bases for wealth tax, ITP and the primary education tax use the average of the real values fixed by Catastro for the last two years, each updated by the general coefficients; for 2025 the general coefficient applied to 2024 values was 1.0425.
Cost to do it: No cost; it lowers year on year jumps in the base.
Example: If Catastro revalued a property sharply in one year, the base is the two year average, not the new value. / Ask the notary for the cadastral certificate showing the current real value.Decreto Nº 334/025, Art. 1, 2025-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Owners renting out property may deduct Contribución Inmobiliaria and primary education tax from gross rent when computing IRPF or IRNR on rent. Separately, for wealth tax individuals value real estate at the Catastro real value, with 50 percent of the value of their home deducted up to the non taxable minimum, and rented property at fifteen times the annual rent if lower.
Cost to do it: Reduces income tax on rent by 12 percent of the property taxes paid.
Example: UYU 30,000 of property taxes on a rented flat lowers the 12 percent rent tax by UYU 3,600. / About US$90 saved.T.O. 2023 Title 7 art. 16 B; Title 14 art. 11, Title 7 art. 16; Title 14 art. 11, 2024-04-04 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. Urban property that has been unoccupied for at least 24 continuous months and is degraded (in ruin, deteriorated, with a halted building or a vacant lot) breaches the owner's duties under the territorial planning law. The Ministry of Housing and the Agencia Nacional de Vivienda may ask a civil court to declare it vacant and degraded, on a technical report from the departmental government; the process can end in a court sale with a starting price of 75 percent of the Catastro value, and the buyer must rehabilitate the property.
Cost to do it: Exposure: forced sale at 75% of the Catastro value.
Example: An absentee owner's abandoned house in a consolidated urban area can be subjected to a court sale. / Foreign owners of idle urban plots should maintain and document occupation or works.Ley Nº 19.676 (vacant and degraded urban property), Art. 3 to art. 7, art. 13 and the court sale articles, 2018-10-26 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Band	From UYU	To UYU	Rate
Exempt		282,611	0%
1	282,612	494,568	0.15%
2	494,569	2,119,563	0.20%
3	2,119,564	4,945,638	0.25%
4	4,945,639		0.30%

Primary education tax bands for 2026 (DGI table under Ley Nº 15.809 art. 639)

Tax	Levied by	Base	Source
Contribución Inmobiliaria (urban, suburban)	Department	Departmental value rules	Constitution art. 297 num. 1
Contribución Inmobiliaria (rural)	Rates by national law, collected by department	As set by law	Constitution art. 297 num. 1
Primary education tax	DGI (national)	Catastro real value	Ley Nº 15.809 art. 636 to 643
Wealth tax (IP)	DGI (national)	Cadastral value for individuals	T.O. 2023 Title 14

Recurring property taxes at a glance

Worked example

A non resident owns a Punta del Este flat with a taxable value of UYU 3,000,000 (about US$74,608).
Each year it pays the Maldonado departmental Contribución Inmobiliaria (rate from the departmental decree) and the national primary education tax to the DGI at the 0.25 percent band rate.
If it rents the flat, both taxes are deductible from gross rent for the 12 percent IRNR.
Before any sale, the notary obtains the DGI certificate that the primary education tax is paid, including the current year.

Step by step

Get the cadastral certificate and identify the department and padrón.
Register for the departmental Contribución Inmobiliaria bill and the DGI primary education tax, including payment by non residents.
Keep receipts: they are needed at sale, for bank loans and as rent deductions.
Diarise the departmental and DGI instalment dates (see the tax and compliance calendar).

Common traps

Departmental rates differ and are not set nationally; budget per department.
Promise buyers and possessors are taxpayers of the primary education tax, not only registered owners.
Unpaid primary education tax blocks sales and secured loans, and the notary or bank becomes jointly liable.
Leaving urban property empty and degraded can lead to a court sale at 75 percent of the Catastro value.

Sources

← Purchase promises and off plan purchases in Uruguay: the Ley Nº 8.733 instalment promise, registration, deed on demand and taxesTax on rental income in Uruguay: IRPF and IRNR at 12 percent, deductions, the 40 BPC exemption and 10.5 percent withholding →