Article 763 of the Panama Tax Code: "All of the land located in the jurisdictional territory of the Republic, as well as buildings and other permanent constructions made or to be made on said land, are subject to Real Estate Tax."
One of the issues to become familiar with when buying a property is the Property Tax; If it is your first property, you may have many questions regarding this topic because you probably do not know about it, and you are familiar with the laws of it. For those who already own some property, they must already know a little about the subject and/or they have known the trajectory of the last years on the changes of the laws, or they will probably know about a new law approval.
Whatever the situation in which you find yourself, it is important to always know the amount owed in terms of property tax and in the same way be up to date to avoid surcharges, fines and accumulative interest. Still, it is advisable to be aware of the approval of bills and new laws.
In September 2017, the draft Law 509 on Property Tax published in the official gazette as Law 66 was approved, on October 17, 2017, which began to apply in 2019 with modifications and additions to certain articles of the Tax Code, which benefit property owners with property tax exemptions and reductions, primarily those with residential and commercial properties, and with the opportunity to request better assessment rates when naming a residential property as a homestead or principal residence.
According to this Law, the real estate tax calculation rate is as follows:
Under ownership of "Family Tax Estate or Main Residence"
TAX RATE | PROPERTY VALUE |
0% | $0 - $120,000 |
0.5% | $120,000 - $700,000 |
0.7% | $700,000 and up |
All those properties that do not enter as "Family Tax Estate or Main Residence" (Commercial, Industrial Properties, Second Residences).
TAX RATE | PROPERTY VALUE |
0% | $0 - $30,000 |
0.6% | $30,000 - $250,000 |
0.8% | $250,000 - $500,000 |
1% | $500,000 and up |
In addition to the topic of exemptions and rate reductions, the following topics are also modified and added:
• Application for a 10% discount when paying the annual property tax for the first months of the year, which is applicable to companies.
• Banks and financial institutions are established as property tax withholding agents.
• Modifications of Special Laws such as that of Panama Pacifico and Free Zones.
We recognize that the topic of Real Estate Tax and its modifications is not always easy to understand. If you have any queries or questions regarding this topic, do not hesitate to send it to our email info@lfhpanama.com