The Hidden Costs of Buying Property in the Dominican Republic

Nothing here is concealed — but five costs get left out of most buyers' budgets, and one cost that every guide lists does not usually apply in the Dominican Republic at all. Here is the complete picture on a $300,000 purchase, including the fee gap worth $92,000 over ten years.

Not hidden — just left out

Nothing here is concealed. Every figure below is knowable before you buy. The problem is that buyers budget from the purchase price and discover the rest sequentially, which feels like being ambushed even when nobody hid anything.

Here is the complete picture on a $300,000 property.

At purchase

The furnishing line most guides get wrong

Almost every article about Dominican buying costs includes a furnishing budget. In practice, around 98% of Dominican resale properties come fully furnished as standard. The furniture transfers with the sale.

That is a genuine market convention here and it differs from North America and much of Europe, where a furnished sale is the exception rather than the norm. It also means a resale can be usable from the day you get the keys — which is part of why furnished properties sell faster on this coast.

The exception is new construction. New builds are typically delivered unfurnished, and there you should budget US$15,000–$30,000 for a full property. The variable is not size — it is whether you furnish locally or import. Dominican craftsmanship is genuinely good and genuinely cheap; imports carry duties plus 18% ITBIS and add roughly $5,000–$8,000 at every size tier.

So the practical question when comparing two properties is simply: is this a furnished resale or an unfurnished new build? The answer is worth up to $30,000.

What the 3% is actually calculated on

This is the detail that changes the number, and it is widely misstated.

The 3% property transfer tax is assessed on the DGII's registered appraised value — not automatically on the price you agreed. The appraised value is frequently lower than the sale price, which means the tax due is frequently lower than a buyer calculating 3% of their purchase price expects.

Two further structuring points worth raising with your attorney before you commit rather than after:

• CONFOTUR. On qualifying new construction in an approved project phase, the transfer tax can be waived entirely — and annual property tax exempted for up to 15 years. Verify per unit, in writing, including how many exemption years remain.
• How you hold title. Property held through a Dominican company can later be sold as a transfer of company shares rather than a transfer of the property. Because the title never changes hands, that route does not trigger the 3% transfer tax on the buyer's side at all — which makes the property easier to sell. That option only exists if the structure is set up at purchase.

Since June 2026 there is a counterweight to weigh against that second point: Law 30-26 cut capital gains for individual sellers to a flat 10%, while companies remain at 27%. Personal ownership is now considerably better at exit on rate alone. Which structure wins depends on your holding period and your priorities, and it is a conversation for your attorney and accountant together.

Annually

The one that dwarfs the others

HOA fees, compounded.

North Coast fees run from around $35 monthly in low-fee hillside communities to $825–$925 in full-service oceanfront tiers. Condos commonly sit between $270 and $480.

Over ten years, the gap between a $35 fee and an $800 one is roughly $92,000. That is larger than the price difference between many properties buyers spend weeks comparing.

Which does not make low fees better. A $480 fee bundling water, wifi, propane, grounds and pool service can cost less annually than a $295 fee where all of those arrive as separate bills — plus it removes the administration, which matters if you are abroad half the year.

Compare inclusions, not headline numbers. And ask how the fee has moved over five years — a community that has held fees flat for a decade may be underfunding reserves, which surfaces later as a special assessment.

The cost part-time owners forget

Caretaking. Rental management runs 15–25% of gross rental income; non-rental caretaking is typically a flat monthly fee scaled to the property.

The reason it matters is not convenience. Tropical humidity, salt air and heat work continuously on a closed, unoccupied home — mould in sealed rooms, perished seals, corroded fittings, a small leak becoming structural over four months.

The properties that stay excellent are the ones somebody physically enters on a schedule. Ask specifically: does anyone go inside, and how often? Perimeter patrol and grounds maintenance are valuable and are not the same thing.

If you rent it out

Three deductions before anything reaches you:

• 18% ITBIS on short-term rental income
• Income tax withholding — 10% for residents, 27% as a final withholding for non-residents
• Management at 15–25% of gross

An RNC — the Dominican tax ID — is mandatory before rental activity can be legally registered. It is not needed to complete a purchase, which confuses buyers in both directions.

Against tracked Cabarete market revenue of roughly $13,165 annually, those deductions are the difference between a headline yield and a real one.

At exit

Better than it used to be. Law 30-26, enacted 18 June 2026, cut capital gains on real estate sold by individuals to a flat, final 10% — down from a scale topping out at 25%. Companies remain at 27%.

Add around 5% real estate commission, legal fees, and your accountant's fee for the CPI cost-basis inflation calculation — which is available, valuable and not automatic. It requires a formal calculation, which is why sellers who don't know it exists never claim it.

Two new exemptions arrived with the same law and are barely covered anywhere: primary residence where proceeds are reinvested within six months, and sellers over 65 transferring a primary residence.

Where the DR is genuinely cheaper than expected

Worth stating, because this article is otherwise a list of costs:

• Annual property tax — most condos owe nothing, because IPI applies only above roughly US$170,000–$182,000 in appraised value
• Insurance — around 0.8% of purchase price, well below Florida
• Labour and tradespeople — a fraction of North American rates, which changes what renovations are worth doing
• Routine healthcare — private consultations and dental at a fraction of US pricing