Countries › Uruguay › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Selling property in Uruguay: tax on gains at 12 percent, UI indexed cost, the pre 2007 option and notary withholding

Selling property in Uruguay: tax on gains at 12 percent, UI indexed cost, the pre 2007 option and notary withholding

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

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

Individuals who sell Uruguayan property pay 12 percent on the gain, IRPF if resident and IRNR if not, computed as price (never below the Catastro value) minus the UI indexed purchase cost and the seller's ITP (T.O. 2023 Title 7 art. 29). Property bought before 1 July 2007 can instead be taxed on 15 percent of the price, and purchases above UI 1,000,000 keep their cost deduction only if paid within the cash limits. The notary withholds the tax at closing (Decreto Nº 148/007 art. 41 and 42, Decreto Nº 149/007 art. 37 and 38); companies and habitual sellers pay IRAE at 25 percent.

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

Tax on real estate gains, individuals	12 %T.O. 2023 Title 7 art. 37 B, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Notary withholding on non resident real estate gain	12 % of gainDecreto Nº 149/007 art. 38, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Optional gain for non rural property acquired before 1 July 2007	15 % of priceT.O. 2023 Title 7 art. 29, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Transfer value above which the cost deduction requires bank payment	1000000 UIT.O. 2023 Title 7 art. 29, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Holding period excluding sales from the habitual seller rule	10 yearsT.O. 2023 Title 4 art. 13, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. The taxable gain on selling or promising to sell real estate is the price (or the value under art. 36 where there is no price), never less than the current Catastro real value, minus the updated tax cost plus the seller's ITP. The tax cost is the acquisition value updated by the change in the UI from the first day of the month after acquisition to the last day of the month before the sale; documented improvements are added and updated from their invoice date, and labour costs count only if the construction social security contribution (AUC) was paid.
Cost to do it: Notarial work to compute the withholding; documented improvements need invoices.
Example: Bought in June 2018 for UYU 6,000,000: UI 3.8929 on 1 July 2018 and UI 6.6511 on 30 September 2026 give an updated cost of UYU 10,251,124 for an October 2026 sale. / The cost is indexed in pesos, so a dollar price that did not move can still produce a taxable peso gain.T.O. 2023 (Decreto Nº 101/024), Title 7 IRPF (from Ley Nº 18.083 art. 8), Title 7 art. 29, 2024-04-04 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. For non rural property acquired before 1 July 2007 the seller may instead take 15 percent of the price (never below the Catastro value) as the taxable gain. For rural property acquired before that date, the option is 15 percent of the market value at 1 July 2007 plus the increase after that date. Sales paid by instalments over more than one year under Ley Nº 8.733, or financed with a mortgage on the property, may spread the gain over the instalments.
Cost to do it: Option available only for property held since before 1 July 2007.
Example: On a UYU 11,258,800 sale of a flat bought in 2005, the option gives a taxable gain of UYU 1,688,820 and tax of UYU 202,658. / About US$5,040, or 1.8 percent of the price.T.O. 2023 Title 7, Title 7 art. 29 and art. 31, 2024-04-04 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. When the price of a transfer exceeds UI 1,000,000, the seller may deduct the acquisition value only if the acquisition was paid in line with the cash limits of Ley Nº 19.210 art. 35 (cash up to UI 200,000, or up to 5 percent of the value if not above UI 450,000, the rest by bank means).
Cost to do it: Loss of the cost deduction can turn the whole price into taxable gain.
Example: UI 1,000,000 is about UYU 6,679,200 today. / About US$166,108: above it, keep proof of how the purchase was paid.T.O. 2023 Title 7 art. 29; Ley Nº 19.210 art. 35 (wording by Ley Nº 20.469), Title 7 art. 29; Ley Nº 19.210 art. 35, 2026-03-19 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Resident individuals pay IRPF and non residents pay IRNR at 12 percent on the gain. The notary who intervenes withholds the tax at the same time as ITP: 12 percent of the computed gain for residents and non residents, and 30.25 percent for entities resident in low or no tax jurisdictions (not individuals) under the decree text. The seller makes a sworn statement of improvement costs to the notary.
Cost to do it: 12% of the gain withheld at closing.
Example: On the worked example the notary withholds UYU 111,321. / About US$2,768.Decreto Nº 148/007 art. 41 and 42; Decreto Nº 149/007 art. 37 and 38 (Decreto Nº 128/017 art. 28), Decreto Nº 148/007 art. 41 and 42; Decreto Nº 149/007 art. 37 and 38, 2017-05-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Companies tax gains on property inside IRAE at 25 percent. Individuals become IRAE taxpayers on property sales when they sell lots from a subdivision of more than 25 lots, or make more than two sales in a fiscal year worth more than twice the individual wealth tax minimum, excluding property held for at least ten years, inheritance partitions and building units under Decreto Ley Nº 14.261 (counted as one sale).
Cost to do it: 25% IRAE on business gains.
Example: A private investor who flips three flats in one year above the threshold is taxed as a business on those sales. / Holding periods of ten years remove the habitual seller risk.T.O. 2023 Title 4, Title 4 art. 13 and art. 23, 2024-04-04 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. For an Argentine resident, Uruguayan tax on the gain is credited against Argentine income tax on that Uruguayan source income, up to the Argentine tax on it.
Cost to do it: No Uruguayan cost.
Example: An Argentine resident selling a Punta del Este house pays 12 percent IRNR in Uruguay and claims the credit in Argentina. / See The Argentine Thread guide for the Argentine side.Ley Nº 19.032 (Argentina Uruguay agreement), Agreement art. 11 and Protocol point 3, 2012-12-27 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Item	Amount
Sale price (US$280,000 at 40.21)	11,258,800
Acquisition cost June 2018	6,000,000
Updated cost (UI 6.6511 / 3.8929)	10,251,124
Seller ITP (2% of UYU 4,000,000 cadastral value, hypothetical)	80,000
Taxable gain	927,676
IRNR 12% withheld by notary	111,321

Worked example: non resident sells a flat bought in June 2018 (amounts in UYU)

Worked example

A non resident bought a flat in June 2018 for UYU 6,000,000 and sells it in October 2026 for US$280,000 (UYU 11,258,800).
Updated cost: UYU 10,251,124 using the BCU UI quotations for 1 July 2018 (3.8929) and 30 September 2026 (6.6511). Add seller ITP of UYU 80,000.
Gain: UYU 927,676. IRNR at 12 percent: UYU 111,321 (about US$2,768), withheld by the notary at closing.

Step by step

Gather the purchase deed, proof of bank payment and invoices for improvements with AUC evidence.
Have the notary compute the UI indexed cost and compare with the pre 2007 option if available.
Sign the sworn statement of improvements and let the notary withhold at closing with ITP.
File the annual return if required; IRAE companies include the gain in business income.

Common traps

The sale price is never taken below the Catastro value, even if the real price was lower.
Undocumented improvements and labour without AUC do not count.
Missing proof of bank payment on purchases above UI 1,000,000 can wipe out the cost deduction.
Repeated sales can reclassify an individual into IRAE at 25 percent.

Sources

← Tax on rental income in Uruguay: IRPF and IRNR at 12 percent, deductions, the 40 BPC exemption and 10.5 percent withholdingVAT on real estate in Uruguay: 10 percent on first sales by developers, exempt resales, land and leases →