CONFOTUR Savings Example: Buying With and Without CONFOTUR Over 15 Years

Short answer: In the example below, a US$300,000 unit with CONFOTUR saves about US$9,000 in transfer tax at closing and roughly US$17,800 in annual property tax (IPI) over 15 years, around US$26,800 in total. A unit at US$180,000 saves only the transfer tax, because IPI would be zero anyway. These are illustrations with stated assumptions, not forecasts.

General information, not tax advice. A Dominican attorney or accountant must run the numbers for your actual purchase.

What are the inputs for this CONFOTUR savings example?

Every figure here comes from a stated rule, and the rules are few. Four inputs drive the whole calculation.

Input	Value used	Source note
Transfer tax (ITI)	3% of the purchase price or the DGII value, whichever is higher	Paid by the buyer; waived for the first buyer in a CONFOTUR project
IPI rate	1% per year	Charged only on the value above the exempt threshold
IPI exempt threshold, 2026	RD$10,695,494	Set by the DGII, reset every year
Exchange rate	59 pesos per US dollar	Mid-September 2026 snapshot; it moves

At 59 pesos per dollar the threshold is about US$181,000 (10,695,494 ÷ 59 ≈ 181,280). IPI applies to your combined Dominican real estate held as an individual, so the examples assume this is the only Dominican property you own and that the DGII value equals the price. Neither is guaranteed: the DGII value can differ from your price, and our guide to cost of owning property in the Dominican Republic shows where the other recurring costs sit.

Example A: a US$300,000 condo, with and without CONFOTUR

Start with the price in pesos: US$300,000 × 59 = RD$17,700,000.

Transfer tax at purchase. 3% of RD$17,700,000 = RD$531,000, or US$9,000. With CONFOTUR, the first buyer pays none of it, according to DRListings. Without CONFOTUR, you pay it.

Annual IPI. Subtract the threshold: RD$17,700,000 − RD$10,695,494 = RD$7,004,506. Multiply by 1%: RD$70,045 per year, about US$1,187.

Over 15 years. RD$70,045 × 15 = RD$1,050,676, about US$17,808.

Total difference: US$9,000 + US$17,808 = about US$26,808, or roughly 8.9% of the price.

That 15-year total holds the threshold and value constant. In reality the DGII resets the threshold every year (it rose about 4.95% for 2026), which would usually shrink the taxable excess, while a rising property value pushes it the other way. The number is a rough order of magnitude.

Example B: a US$450,000 villa

Price in pesos: US$450,000 × 59 = RD$26,550,000.

Transfer tax: 3% = RD$796,500, or US$13,500.

IPI: RD$26,550,000 − RD$10,695,494 = RD$15,854,506. At 1%: RD$158,545 per year, about US$2,687.

Over 15 years: RD$158,545 × 15 = RD$2,378,176, about US$40,308.

Total difference: US$13,500 + US$40,308 = about US$53,808, or 12% of the price. The higher the price above the threshold, the more the IPI exemption is worth.

Example C: a US$180,000 condo

Price in pesos: US$180,000 × 59 = RD$10,620,000. That sits just under the 2026 threshold of RD$10,695,494.

IPI would be zero without CONFOTUR, so the exemption saves nothing on that tax. Only the 3% transfer tax is waived: US$5,400.

For entry-level condos around that price, the CONFOTUR label matters far less than headlines suggest. If you hold other Dominican property, the thresholds add up across your holdings, and the answer changes.

Summary table

	A: US$300,000	B: US$450,000	C: US$180,000
Transfer tax saved	US$9,000	US$13,500	US$5,400
IPI per year without CONFOTUR	≈ US$1,187	≈ US$2,687	US$0
IPI over 15 years	≈ US$17,808	≈ US$40,308	US$0
Total saved	≈ US$26,808	≈ US$53,808	US$5,400

What does this example leave out?

A lot, and some of it can swallow the saving.

The 15 years may not be yours. The official CONFOTUR benefits page describes the exemption period as 15 years counted from completion of construction. The original Law 158-01 said ten years in Article 7, and Law 195-13 is reported to have raised it to fifteen. If you buy a unit five years after completion, the remaining window is ten, not fifteen. In Example A that would cut the IPI saving from about US$17,800 to about US$11,900. How your attorney reads the period for an individual buyer is the thing to confirm.

The price may carry the discount. Developers know the tax benefit has value. Compare a CONFOTUR unit against comparable non-CONFOTUR units, not against nothing.

The benefit does not follow the unit. Sources agree the exemptions belong to the first buyer. A later buyer pays the taxes. That affects resale pricing, and the 10% capital gains rate that Law 30-26 introduced for individuals in June 2026 applies to the seller whatever the status.

Company ownership changes the IPI math. A Dominican company does not pay IPI but pays a 1% asset tax on full value with no threshold, according to the legal sources in our fact base. Whether and how CONFOTUR applies to a company-owned unit is a separate question for your lawyer. Our buying guide covers the ownership options.

Other CONFOTUR benefits go to the developer. The ITBIS and import-duty exemptions on construction materials belong to the project company, not to you. They might lower construction costs, but you cannot claim them yourself.

How do you check whether your unit gets the benefit at all?

Check the project before you run any numbers. The official ministry lookup at confotur.mitur.gob.do shows whether a project is classified, and our CONFOTUR tax benefits overview covers the basics. The plain fact is that approvals are scarce on the north coast: 6 of 117 nationally in the 2023 to 2024 figures were in Puerto Plata. Most resale properties in Sosúa, Cabarete and Puerto Plata will not have it.

Frequently asked questions

How much does CONFOTUR save on a typical condo? It depends on the price. In the examples here it was about US$5,400 at US$180,000, about US$26,800 at US$300,000 and about US$53,800 at US$450,000, over 15 years and under the stated assumptions. These are examples, not offers.

Does CONFOTUR remove closing costs entirely? No. It waives the 3% transfer tax for the first buyer. Attorney fees, notary fees and other costs remain. One source describes CONFOTUR purchases as costing "roughly 1 to 2%" in closing costs, mostly legal and administrative fees.

Is the IPI saving the same every year? No. The exempt threshold is reset yearly by the DGII, and the property value used for the tax can change. Recalculate each January with the DGII's current figure.

Do I pay IPI at all if I buy below the threshold? If this is your only Dominican property and its value stays below RD$10,695,494 (2026 figure), the formula gives zero. The threshold is applied to the total value of all your Dominican real estate.

Could Law 30-26 change these savings? Commentary on the reform says Law 158-01 was not repealed and that its protection against new taxes during the exemption period still applies. Implementing rules were still pending in the sources I reviewed, so ask your attorney for the current position.

Next step

Take the price and the project name to your attorney and ask for the same table built with the DGII's current numbers and the exemption period written in the resolution. Then compare it with the price difference to a similar unit without CONFOTUR. For comparable options, see condos and apartments or talk to the Instyle team.

Sources

1. DRListings, "CONFOTUR in the Dominican Republic: Tax Benefits Every Property Buyer Should Understand" (3% transfer tax, first buyer only): https://www.drlistings.com/blog/confotur-in-the-dominican-republic-tax-benefits/
2. CONFOTUR, benefits (15 years from completion): https://confotur.mitur.gob.do/beneficios/
3. Ley 158-01, original text (Art. 7, ten years): https://www.aduanas.gob.do/media/jdyg1olk/158-01_de_incentivo_turistico.pdf
4. Ley 195-13 (Art. 7 modified, fifteen years): https://drlawyer.com/espanol/?p=442
5. CLIC Inmobiliaria, "Impuestos inmobiliarios en República Dominicana 2026" (IPI formula, threshold): https://clicinmobiliaria.com/articulos/guia-inmobiliaria/impuestos-inmobiliarios-rd-2026-ipi-transferencia-guia
6. Listín Diario, DGII updates amounts, January 2026: https://listindiario.com/economia/20260117/dgii-actualiza-montos-viviendas-costo_890191.html
7. Alegra, "Guía para calcular y pagar el IPI": https://blog.alegra.com/republica-dominicana/ipi/
8. Infobae, exchange rate on September 16, 2026: https://www.infobae.com/noticias/2026/09/16/precio-del-dolar-hoy-en-republica-dominicana-cotizacion-de-cierre-del-16-de-septiembre/
9. Arthur & Castillo Lawyers, "Dominican Real Estate Property Tax" (company asset tax): https://aclaw.com/dominican-real-estate-property-tax/
10. Navetta Properties, closing costs (CONFOTUR "roughly 1 to 2%"): https://www.navettaproperties.com/blog/closing-costs-dominican-republic
11. KPMG, Dominican Republic tax code changes, July 2026 (10% capital gains): https://kpmg.com/us/en/taxnewsflash/news/2026/07/dominican-republic-tax-code-changes.html
12. Pellerano & Herrera, "CONFOTUR Law No. 158-01 under Law No. 30-26": https://phlaw.com/confotur-law-no-158-01-under-law-no-30-26-implications-for-developers-and-investors/
13. Acento, CONFOTUR approvals by province: https://acento.com.do/economia/proyectos-inmobiliarios-representan-dos-tercios-de-las-aprobaciones-de-confotur-9455344.html

Last reviewed: October 1, 2026