The General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) maintains a direct connection with the Real Estate Jurisdiction, in order to verify the amount of properties that register their property titles and thus effectively collect the Real Estate Patrimony Tax (IPI).
In its Territorial Bulletin 2021, with data as of the close of 2019, the DGII indicates that as of that date it had 1,176,185 properties registered, of which 90.1% are dwellings, 6.2% commercial premises and 3.3 lots. The registered dwellings, including houses and apartments, total 1,064,677 units as of December 31, 2019.
If one takes into account that the Dominican population is around 11 million inhabitants, the number of registered housing units is equivalent to about 10%, or in other words, one for every 10 Dominicans. However, there is an undetermined number of homes without title registration, which could equal or even exceed those that are registered.
The DGII keeps a registry of titled homes, because the IPI is levied each year on the total taxable real estate assets held by individuals and trusts. The report does not specify whether this amount of registered homes includes those in the name of companies or legal entities so as not to have to pay the tax.
The IPI is applied at a rate of 1% on the value of the sum of the real estate exceeding RD$8.1 million, adjustable for inflation each year. Payment is made in two installments: the first before March 11 and the second before September 11.
Exempted from this tax are the house and its lot belonging to persons over 65 years of age who can prove that this is the one they live in as their only real estate patrimony. Also pensioners and annuitants of foreign source in 50%, as well as rural lands, improvements of agricultural use in rural areas and the other real estate whose sum of the same owner does not exceed the value.
