Key takeaways
- The municipality issues the bill to whoever appears as owner in its records at the start of the fiscal year.
- Closing normally takes 30 to 45 days once the deal is agreed, and the paz y salvo requests sit inside that window.
- When you are evaluating income, remember predial comes out of gross: long-term rentals have yielded 5 to 9 percent gross a year and short-term rentals 8 to 15 percent gross, and the tax, the administration fee and insurance all sit between gross and what you keep.
- Three documents answer the tax question on any specific property:
- Annual predial runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of the cadastral value, depending on the municipality.
The owner on record pays the property tax (impuesto predial), and the registered owner on January 1 is the one the municipality bills for that year. In a sale, the seller pays everything up to the deed date and the buyer pays from then on. Tenants do not pay predial unless the lease says so.
Predial runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of the cadastral value each year, depending on the municipality. Guatapé, El Peñol, Rionegro, Medellín and every other town set their own rates and their own billing calendars, so the same house moved 20 minutes down the road can carry a different bill.
Checklist · Before you sign a promesa
The 12 documents I check on every deal
Tick them off as you collect them. Saved on this device.
Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro, online; valid 30 days
The notaría where it was signed; ask for a certified copy
The municipality's tesorería or hacienda office
The building's or gated community's administración
From the seller; the RUT downloads from the DIAN site
Granted at a notaría, or at a consulate if the seller is abroad
Printed on the predial bill, or from the municipal catastro
In the deed and on the cadastral record
Latest paid bills from EPM or the local operator
Declared before the notary in the deed itself
Drafted by your lawyer or agent; never sign the seller's version unread
Curaduría urbana or the municipal planning office
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Where each document comes from
- Certificado de tradición y libertad: Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro, online; valid 30 days
- Prior deed: The notaría where it was signed; ask for a certified copy
- Property-tax good standing: The municipality's tesorería or hacienda office
- HOA good standing, if applicable: The building's or gated community's administración
- Seller's ID / RUT: From the seller; the RUT downloads from the DIAN site
- Power of attorney, if the seller is represented: Granted at a notaría, or at a consulate if the seller is abroad
- Cadastral appraisal: Printed on the predial bill, or from the municipal catastro
- Survey and boundaries: In the deed and on the cadastral record
- Utilities up to date: Latest paid bills from EPM or the local operator
- Family-home protection certificate: Declared before the notary in the deed itself
- Promesa de compraventa draft: Drafted by your lawyer or agent; never sign the seller's version unread
- Building permit, if applicable: Curaduría urbana or the municipal planning office
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Who pays in the year a property changes hands
The municipality issues the bill to whoever appears as owner in its records at the start of the fiscal year. It does not split the bill between a seller and a buyer. That split is done privately, in the purchase contract.
The standard practice is proration to the deed date: the seller covers the portion of the year up to the escritura, the buyer covers the rest. Your lawyer writes that clause into the promesa de compraventa so there is no argument on signing day.
More important than the proration: in Colombia, predial debt follows the property, not the person. An unpaid bill from three owners ago is still attached to the parcel. That is why a notary will normally ask for the paz y salvo de predial, the municipal certificate showing the tax is current, before authorizing the deed. Never move money on a property whose predial status you have not seen in writing.
What the buyer pays and what the seller pays at closing
Predial is the recurring tax. The one-time transfer costs are separate and are split by custom, not by law:
- Buyer: about 2 percent of the price, made up of notary 0.27 percent, registry 0.67 percent and beneficencia 1 percent, plus your lawyer's fee.
- Seller: capital gains tax of 15 percent when the property was held for two years or more.
- Notary fees on the deed itself are commonly shared, but that is negotiable and should be written down.
Closing normally takes 30 to 45 days once the deal is agreed, and the paz y salvo requests sit inside that window. Order them early. A municipality that is slow to issue a certificate is the most common reason a deed date slips.
Who pays on an apartment, a finca and a rented unit
An apartment under propiedad horizontal carries two separate obligations. Predial goes to the municipality and is paid by the owner. The monthly administration fee goes to the building and is also paid by the owner, though in a rental it is frequently passed to the tenant by agreement. They are not the same thing, and being current on administration says nothing about being current on predial.
On rural land, a finca or a lot, the owner pays predial on the cadastral value of the land and whatever is built on it. If you are buying raw land, check the predial bill and the municipality's territorial plan together: the plan determines whether the parcel allows country housing, subdivision or agricultural use only, and the tax rate often tracks the declared use.
For rented property, Colombian leases normally leave predial with the owner. If a lease shifts it to the tenant, that must be explicit in the contract. When you are evaluating income, remember predial comes out of gross: long-term rentals have yielded 5 to 9 percent gross a year and short-term rentals 8 to 15 percent gross, and the tax, the administration fee and insurance all sit between gross and what you keep.
What to ask for before you sign
Three documents answer the tax question on any specific property:
- The certificate of tradition and freedom, requested with the property's registry number. It shows the registered owner, mortgages, liens and encumbrances. Read it before any money moves.
- The current paz y salvo de predial from the municipality, proving the tax is up to date through the year in progress.
- The latest predial bill itself, which shows the cadastral value the municipality is using and therefore what you will be paying annually once the deed is registered.
One more thing that catches foreign buyers: you are not the owner, and not the taxpayer of record, until the deed is registered at the property registry. The escritura before the notary is step one, registration is step two. Until it is registered, the buyer is not the owner against third parties, and the municipality will keep billing the previous name. Foreigners can own property in Colombia outright with a passport, with no residency required, and the tax treatment of predial is identical to a Colombian owner's.
Frequently asked questions
Does the buyer or the seller pay property tax in the year of the sale?
The municipality bills the owner on record, then the parties prorate privately. The seller covers the year up to the deed date, the buyer from the deed date forward. The clause belongs in the promesa de compraventa so there is nothing to argue about at signing.
How much is property tax in Colombia?
Annual predial runs from 0.3 to 1.2 percent of the cadastral value, depending on the municipality. Each town sets its own rate, so Guatapé, El Peñol, Rionegro and Medellín all differ. Ask for the latest bill to see the exact cadastral value in use.
Am I responsible for unpaid property tax from a previous owner?
Yes. Predial debt attaches to the property, not the person, so arrears from an earlier owner stay with the parcel. Require the municipal paz y salvo de predial before the deed is signed. Notaries normally ask for it, but confirm it yourself.
Do tenants pay property tax in Colombia?
No, unless the lease says so explicitly. Predial is the owner's obligation. Building administration fees in a propiedad horizontal are also the owner's by law, though they are often passed to the tenant by written agreement.
Do foreigners pay a different property tax rate?
No. Foreigners can own property in Colombia outright with a passport and no residency, and predial is assessed on the property's cadastral value regardless of the owner's nationality. The rate depends on the municipality, not on who owns it.
