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Realtors’ and lawyers’ fees in Colombia and other property purchase costs
Transaction Costs
% / Fee / Who Pays?
1.5% / buyer / Stamp Tax
1.5% / buyer / Local Government Taxes
1% / buyer / Notary Fees
0.3% / buyer / Real Estate Transfer Charge
0.15%-0.15% / buyer-seller / Estate Agents’ Fees
3% - 4% (+16% VAT) / seller
Costs paid by buyer: 4.45%
Costs paid by seller: 3.63% - 4.79%
Roundtrip transaction Costs: 8.08% - 9.24%
Property purchase process in Colombia
All transfers of title on real estate as well as all encumbrances must be done by public document. All taxes must be paid in order for a transfer to be legally effective. Any document of transfer or judicial decision pertaining to property must be recorded with the Real Property Registry.
The following registration procedures are followed:
Step 1 – Obtain a certificate or Certificado de Tradición about the history of the property for COP 7,000 (US$ 2.98) from the Registry Office.
Step 2 – Your lawyer will study the property titles, which takes around 5 days to complete and costs around COP 1,000,000 (US$ 425.17). A certificate from the municipality should be obtained certifying that all municipal taxes on the property have been paid (Paz y Salvo Predial and Paz y Salvo de Valorizacion)
Step 3 – A preliminary deed or “Minuta” is prepared by the lawyer.
Step 4 – The Notary prepares the public deed. The participation of the notary in the preparation of this public deed is mandatory and his fees are 0.25% of property value. Moreover, the notary will also keep 1% of the value of the transaction from the seller as an advance payment to be applied to the Income Tax (Retencion en la fuente).
Step 5 – The Public Deed must be registered at the Registry Office. The Registry Tax (Impuesto de Registro) is paid. After registration, the new public deed is automatically sent to the Office of the Cadastre to register the change of ownership.
These procedures can be completed in around 23 days.
Sales Tax, or Value Added Tax (VAT), is applicable to provision of services. VAT rate is 16%. However, for rentals of property for housing, VAT is excluded.
Inheritance
Inheritance and gifts of properties located in Colombia are subject to special income taxes (Impuesto Complementario a las Ganancias Ocasionale). The taxable inheritance of nonresidents is taxed at a flat rate of 35%. The heirs or the recipients of the inheritance are liable for this tax but the surviving spouse’s share in a jointly owned property is exempted from this tax.
The following must be deducted from the gross value of the property: the debts and liabilities of the deceased declared in his income tax return the year prior to the death, debts incurred in the inheritance process, duly substantiated debt claims against the deceased, and compulsory alimony.
In cases of transfer on death, the surviving spouse and his forced heirs (direct descendants, direct ascendants, adoptive children, adoptive parents) can deduct COP 15,800,000 (US$ 5,934) as an allowance. The next COP 15,800,000 (US$ 5,934) are also taxed at 0% rate. Accordingly, the surviving spouse and the heirs will only be taxed on their inheritance exceeding COP 31,600,000 (US$ 11,869).
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