Countries › Uruguay › Guide › 6. Taxes › Local and property taxes in Uruguay: departmental taxes under the Constitution, the national primary education tax on real estate, ITP on transfers and ICOSA

Local and property taxes in Uruguay: departmental taxes under the Constitution, the national primary education tax on real estate, ITP on transfers and ICOSA

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

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

Uruguay's 19 departmental governments set and collect their own taxes on urban and suburban property, vacant land, vehicles, advertising and public shows, plus fees for services, under art. 297 of the Constitution; rural property taxes are set by Parliament but collected by the departments. Nationally, real estate also bears the annual primary education tax (IEP) at 1.5 to 3 per thousand of cadastral value, and transfers bear ITP at 2 percent for the seller and 2 percent for the buyer. Departmental rates are set by each department and are not covered here; sociedades anónimas also pay the national ICOSA control tax at incorporation and each year end.

USD figures use UYU 40.214 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 26 October 2026; UI amounts use UYU 6.6780 per Unidad Indexada, the BCU quotation for 26 October 2026. Both were retrieved from the BCU quotations service on the verification date; conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Primary education tax (IEP) rate range on cadastral value	1.5 to 3 per thousand ‰T.O. 2023 Title 13 art. 4, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Real estate transfer tax (ITP) on seller and on buyer	2 %T.O. 2023 Title 19 art. 7, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
ICOSA rate at each fiscal year close	0.75 %T.O. 2023 Title 16 art. 3, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Departmental tax sources	Urban and suburban property, vacant land, vehicles, advertising, shows, fees Constitution art. 297, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
UYU per US dollar used for conversions (BCU, DLS. USA BILLETE, 26 October 2026)	40.214 UYUBCU quotations service, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Departmental governments decree and administer, among other sources: taxes on urban and suburban real estate in their territory (except national surcharges); taxes on vacant land and inappropriate building in urban areas; contributions for improvements from departmental public works; fees, tariffs and prices for departmental services; taxes on public shows and on transport vehicles; taxes on advertising, with exceptions; and gaming and betting taxes authorised by law. Taxes on rural real estate are set by the Legislative Branch but collected by and allocated to the departments.
Cost to do it: Rates and amounts are set by each department and are not covered on this page.
Example: A Montevideo office pays the departmental real estate tax set by the Intendencia de Montevideo, separate from national taxes. / Budget departmental property and vehicle taxes per department; they are not set by national law.Constitución de la República, Art. 297, 1967-02-02 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. The primary education tax (Impuesto de Enseñanza Primaria, IEP) is an annual national tax on urban, suburban and rural real estate, paid by owners, holders, promissory buyers and usufructuaries, on the real values set by the national cadastre. Rates are 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 per thousand by value band, with bands fixed in 1991 values and updated by the Executive Branch; rural owners exploiting up to 300 hectares CONEAT 100 index in total are exempt, among other exemptions. Notaries cannot authorise a sale without proof the IEP is paid.
Cost to do it: At most 3 per thousand of the cadastral value a year.
Example: A building with an updated cadastral value of UYU 40,214,000 pays at most UYU 120,642 of IEP a year. / A US$1,000,000 cadastral value pays at most US$3,000 a year.Texto Ordenado 2023 (DGI), Title 13 IEP, Title 13 art. 1 to art. 6, 1992-11-01 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. The real estate transfer tax (ITP) is 2 percent for the seller and 2 percent for the buyer, 4 percent for other taxpayers and 3 percent for heirs in direct line. For real estate the base is the cadastral real value updated by the IPC, or the price if lower.
Cost to do it: 2 percent each for seller and buyer.
Example: With an updated cadastral value of UYU 10,053,500, seller and buyer each pay UYU 201,070. / On a US$250,000 base, US$5,000 each.Texto Ordenado 2023 (DGI), Title 19 ITP, Title 19 art. 5 and art. 7, 1990-03-31 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Sociedades anónimas pay the Impuesto de Control de las Sociedades Anónimas (ICOSA) on a fixed base of UI 578,428, valued at the UI of 31 December of the prior year: 1.5 percent at incorporation and 0.75 percent at each fiscal year close, the latter creditable against the wealth tax.
Cost to do it: For 2026 events, UYU 55,732 at incorporation and UYU 27,866 at each year end (UI UYU 6.4234 at 31 December 2025, BCU).
Example: UYU 27,866 each year end for an S.A. / About US$693 a year.Texto Ordenado 2023 (DGI), Title 16 ICOSA, Title 16 art. 1 to art. 4, 2002-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Tax	Who sets it	Rate	Rule
Urban and suburban real estate tax (Contribución Inmobiliaria)	Each departmental government	Departmental decree	Constitution art. 297 numeral 1
Rural real estate tax	Parliament, collected by departments	Set by law	Constitution art. 297 numeral 1
Vehicle tax	Departmental governments	Departmental decree	Constitution art. 297 numeral 6
Primary education tax (IEP)	National, DGI	1.5 to 3 per thousand	Title 13 art. 4
Transfer tax (ITP)	National, DGI	2 percent seller, 2 percent buyer	Title 19 art. 7
ICOSA (S.A. only)	National, DGI	1.5 percent then 0.75 percent of UI 578,428	Title 16 art. 3

Taxes on property and on companies that are not income taxes (Constitution art. 297; T.O. 2023 Titles 13, 16 and 19).

Worked example

A foreign company buys a warehouse in Canelones whose updated cadastral value is UYU 10,053,500 (US$250,000). Seller and buyer each pay ITP of UYU 201,070 (US$5,000) (Title 19 art. 5 and 7).
Each year it pays the departmental real estate tax set by the Canelones government and the national IEP, at most UYU 30,160 (US$750) at 3 per thousand (Title 13 art. 4); the notary checks that IEP is paid before any later sale (art. 6).
If the buyer is a Uruguayan S.A., it also pays ICOSA at each year end and can credit it against the wealth tax (Title 16 art. 4).

Step by step

Before buying property, obtain the cadastral value and the departmental tax statement, and confirm IEP is paid.
Budget ITP at 2 percent for each side.
Register vehicles with the departmental system and pay the vehicle tax set there.
Check each department's fees for signs and advertising before installing them.
For an S.A., schedule the ICOSA year end payment and its credit against IP.

Common traps

Departmental taxes differ by department and are not in national law; this page does not give their rates.
The IEP bands are expressed in 1991 values and updated by the Executive Branch, so the band for a property must be checked against the current updated values (Title 13 art. 4).
Registries will not record a transfer without proof that IEP is up to date (Title 13 art. 6).
ITP is charged on the updated cadastral value even if the price is higher; if the price is lower than that value, the price is the base (Title 19 art. 5).

Sources

Related: Uruguay country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

← Personal income tax in Uruguay (IRPF): residence, the 10 to 36 percent scale on work income, capital income at 7 and 12 percent, foreign capital income and the new impatriate regimeImport taxes in Uruguay: the 5 percent consular fee, 3 percent for Mercosur goods, IVA and its import advance, and exemptions for promoted projects and free zones →