What does it cost a Canadian to sell a property in the Dominican Republic?
Budget roughly 6% to 10% of your sale price for predictable costs, then add capital gains tax on top. The seller pays the real estate commission, usually 5% to 8%. Law 30-26, in force since June 18, 2026, replaced the old sliding scale with a flat 10% Dominican capital gains tax on real estate sold by individuals, assessed on your gain rather than your price and payable within six months of the transfer. Your IPI property tax has to be clear before the title will register, and once the money lands in Canada the CRA taxes the same gain in Canadian dollars, with a credit for what you already paid in the Dominican Republic.
Almost every question Canadians ask me about Dominican Republic property is about getting in. Financing, CONFOTUR, which coast, which building, what the HOA runs. The question hardly anyone asks until it matters is how you get out. This summer, that question got a new answer.
On June 18, 2026, the Dominican Republic promulgated Law 30-26, and it rewrote the tax that hits you on the way out the door. If you already own in Punta Cana, Cap Cana, Sosua, Cabarete, or Las Terrenas, this changes your exit math. If you are still shopping, it belongs in your decision now, because the cost of leaving is part of the cost of owning. I have gone through the buy side of this in detail in the true cost of buying property in the Dominican Republic. This is the other end of the same transaction.
Table of Contents
The four costs that come out of your sale price
1. The agent commission, and you are the one paying it
In the Dominican Republic the seller pays the real estate commission out of the proceeds at closing. Quoted rates run 5% to 8%, and the realistically negotiated band sits closer to 4% to 6% depending on the property, the region, and how much competition your listing faces.
There is no national MLS the way Canadians are used to at home, so exposure varies enormously between brokerages. That difference is usually worth more to your net than a point of commission.
2. Dominican capital gains tax, now a flat 10%
This is the change that matters. Before Law 30-26, a gain on a Dominican property sale ran up a progressive scale that topped out at 25% for individuals and 27% for companies. The new Article 296-1 replaces that with a flat 10% for individuals, treated as a single and definitive payment, due within six months of the moment the transfer of ownership is perfected.
Two things about that number are worth understanding properly:
- Assessed on your gain, not your price: The tax is assessed on the difference between your sale price and your acquisition cost, and Dominican practice has long allowed that acquisition cost to be adjusted upward for inflation, which meaningfully shrinks the taxable gain on a property held for years. That adjustment is not automatic. It takes a formal calculation by a Dominican accountant, a contador.
- Non-resident treatment is pending final regulations: The new regime was drafted around individuals resident or domiciled in the Dominican Republic, and the treatment of non-residents and foreigners is still waiting on implementing regulations. Dominican trade press has been openly writing about the gaps, including exactly how the taxable base gets calculated and whether documented improvements are deductible. If you are a Canadian non-resident owner, the honest answer today is that 10% is very likely your rate, and you need a Dominican attorney to confirm your position against the regulations actually in force on your closing date.
There are exemptions, though they rarely fit a Canadian owner: full relief where a seller reinvests the proceeds of a primary residence into a new primary residence within six months, and full relief for individuals over 65 transferring a primary residence. A Canadian vacation condo is not your primary residence.
3. Clearing your IPI before the title can move
Your annual property tax, the Impuesto al Patrimonio Inmobiliario or IPI, has to be current before a transfer will register at the Registro de Titulos, the Dominican title registry. IPI runs at 1% per year on the portion of your total Dominican real estate value above an exemption threshold that the DGII re-indexes every year. For 2026 the DGII set that threshold at RD$10,695,494, roughly US$183,000 at an August rate near RD$58.3 to the US dollar.
Read that carefully, because it is the single most misquoted figure in Dominican real estate. It is 1% of the excess, not 1% of the property. On a US$300,000 condo held in your personal name, roughly US$117,000 is taxable, so the annual bill lands near US$1,170, not US$3,000. Hold that same condo inside a Dominican company and the exemption threshold does not apply at all, so you pay 1% from the first dollar.
If your project carries a CONFOTUR classification under Law 158-01, the tourism incentive law, IPI may have been exempt through your holding period. That does not remove the requirement to show a clean tax status on file when you sell.
4. Legal and accounting on your own side
Budget for your own Dominican attorney, an abogado. Not the buyer’s, and not the brokerage’s. Your file has to produce a clean Certificado de Titulo, a registered survey (the deslinde, which is the judicial survey that gives your lot its own individualized title), and evidence that property taxes are current. Your contador handles the capital gains filing and the inflation adjustment to your cost basis. This is not the line item to economize on.
Getting the money back to Canada
The Dominican side of this is genuinely straightforward. Under Law 16-95 on foreign investment, foreign investors hold the same rights as nationals and there are no currency restrictions on repatriating capital or income. Every experienced practitioner gives the same practical advice: have the buyer’s funds land in a Dominican bank account in your own name so there is a clean, documented money trail, then wire out from there.
The Canadian side is where money quietly leaks.
- The exchange rate is doing more work than you think: With the loonie trading near 1.42 to the US dollar in August 2026, about 70.6 US cents, a US-dollar sale converts into a lot of Canadian dollars. That helps your proceeds and hurts your tax bill, because the CRA measures your gain in Canadian dollars using the rate on the date of each transaction, not the US-dollar difference you see on paper.
- Avoid bank FX spreads: Do not convert through your bank’s retail wire desk. A Canadian bank’s spread on a large USD to CAD conversion typically runs 2% to 3%. A dedicated FX provider typically runs 0.3% to 0.8%. On US$300,000, that gap is somewhere between roughly US$3,600 and US$8,100, which is more than most sellers ever negotiate off their commission.
- File your T1135: If your specified foreign property had a cost base over CAD$100,000 at any point in a year, you were required to file Form T1135 with the CRA for that year, and the penalty for missing it is commonly cited at CAD$25 per day, up to CAD$2,500 annually. Sellers sometimes discover this obligation on the way out. If that describes you, deal with it before the sale closes, not after. The same reporting logic applies to how you funded the purchase in the first place, which I covered in how Canadians finance a Dominican Republic property.
- Claim your foreign tax credit: The Dominican capital gains tax you pay is generally creditable against Canadian tax on the same income under the foreign tax credit rules in section 126 of the Income Tax Act. Because Canadian rates typically exceed the new 10% Dominican rate, expect the credit to reduce your Canadian bill rather than erase it. That calculation belongs with a cross-border accountant, not a general practitioner.
What the numbers actually look like
Take a Canadian who bought a Punta Cana condo for US$250,000 in 2019 and sells it for US$330,000 today.
- Sale price: US$330,000
- Agent commission at 6%: US$19,800
- Dominican capital gains tax (10% of $80,000 gain before inflation adjustment): US$8,000
- Legal, accounting, and closing costs: ~US$3,000 to US$5,000
- IPI brought current: Cleared before registration
- Estimated net before conversion: ~US$297,000 to US$299,000
Then the Canadian layer. If the loonie sat near 1.33 when you bought and near 1.42 when you sell, your US$80,000 gain becomes roughly CAD$135,000 in the CRA’s eyes, before accounting for your buying and selling costs. Currency alone added about CAD$22,000 of taxable gain that never appeared anywhere in the US-dollar math. Half of a capital gain is generally taxable for an individual in Canada, so that is real money, and it is the single most common surprise I see.
Your own number will move with your purchase price, your holding period, whether your contador secures the inflation adjustment, whether you hold personally or through a Dominican company, and what the loonie does between now and your closing date. That is exactly the kind of thing worth modelling before you list, not after.
If you have not bought yet, run this math in reverse. A property you can enter cleanly, hold at a sane carrying cost, and exit inside 45 to 75 days is worth more than a marginally higher projected yield on something that sits. Well-priced condos in strong locations tend to move in that window, while overpriced resale units routinely sit six months or longer. Liquidity is part of the return, which is why the Canadian guide to Dominican Republic real estate starts with the exit in mind.
Frequently asked questions
Does the new 10% capital gains tax apply to Canadian non-residents?
Very likely, but it is not yet formally settled. Law 30-26’s new Article 296-1 is written around individuals resident or domiciled in the Dominican Republic, and the treatment of non-residents and foreigners is explicitly among the items awaiting implementing regulations. Have a Dominican attorney confirm your position against the rules in force on your closing date.
How long do I have to pay the Dominican capital gains tax?
Six months from the moment the transfer of ownership is perfected. It is a single and definitive payment, so it is settled separately rather than folded into an annual return.
Who pays the real estate commission in the Dominican Republic, the buyer or the seller?
The seller, out of the proceeds at closing, and the fee is then split between the listing and buying sides. Quoted rates run 5% to 8%. Buyers generally carry the transfer tax, attorney fees, and registration costs instead.
Do I still pay the 3% transfer tax when I sell?
No, that one sits on the buyer’s side. The 3% Impuesto de Transferencia Inmobiliaria is assessed on the greater of the price or the DGII-appraised value and is paid before title registration, and properties in CONFOTUR-approved projects are exempt from it. Law 30-26 does legislate a phase-down of real estate transaction taxes across 2027 and 2028, but the mechanics are still awaiting implementing regulations, so treat 3% as the working figure today and confirm before you close.
Can I actually get my money out of the Dominican Republic?
Yes. Law 16-95 gives foreign investors the same rights as nationals with no currency restrictions on repatriating capital and income. The practical steps are having sale proceeds land in a Dominican account in your name, keeping every tax clearance, and wiring out through a documented channel.
Is it better to own a Dominican property personally or through a company?
It depends on your situation, and the difference is measurable. Personal ownership keeps the IPI exemption threshold, worth roughly US$1,830 a year on a US$300,000 property versus company ownership. But a company can suit multiple properties or rental operations, and moving a property into one after closing triggers the 3% transfer tax a second time. Decide this before you buy, with a Dominican attorney and a Canadian cross-border accountant in the room.
Before you list, or before you buy
The exit costs on a Dominican property are knowable, and after June 2026 they are meaningfully lower than they were. A 10% flat rate on your gain, down from a scale that reached 25%, is a real improvement for anyone sitting on appreciation. What has not changed is that the number only works out in your favour if the file is clean, the cost basis is properly adjusted, the currency conversion is handled sensibly, and your CRA reporting has been current the whole way along.
I own in the Dominican Republic myself, so this is not theory for me. If you are weighing a sale, or you are still shopping and want to understand what leaving will cost before you commit to arriving, I am happy to walk you through the numbers on your specific property. Reach out anytime at [email protected], or send your details through our contact form and we will get back to you.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Dominican Republic tax law changed substantially in June 2026 and several provisions of Law 30-26, including the treatment of non-residents, are still awaiting implementing regulations. Figures cited reflect rules and exchange rates as of August 2026 and will change. Before acting, consult a licensed Dominican attorney and a Canadian cross-border tax advisor about your specific situation.
About Ryan Coyle
Ryan Coyle is the founder of Connect, a real estate brokerage with more than 20 years in the industry and over $2 billion in transactions. A Dominican Republic investor himself, Ryan has built a meaningful personal position in the DR market, and through Connect’s international arm he helps Canadian buyers, investors, second-home owners, and snowbirds navigate ownership across the Dominican Republic, from Punta Cana and Cap Cana to the North Coast, with a focus on the numbers, the process, and long-term wealth building. Learn more at connect.ca.
