Taxes when buying or selling a home in Cuba

Two taxes are triggered every time a home changes hands between private individuals in Cuba, one on each side of the table. They are simple in structure — 4% each — and complicated in exactly one respect: the figure the 4% is applied to is not necessarily the price you agreed.

That point changed on 21 October 2026. Law 187 "On Housing" replaced the minimum reference values with the cadastral value of each property. This guide explains who pays what, on which value, and when.

The two taxes

The buyer pays the Tax on the Transmission of Property and Inheritances. The seller pays Personal Income Tax on the income obtained from the sale. Both have a general rate of 4%.

A seller who earns income from selling more than one home in the same tax year pays 8% from the second sale onwards (article 45 of Law 113). Buying a second home, by contrast, does not raise the buyer’s rate.

The base: the price for the seller, the cadastral value for the buyer

Law 187 rewrote articles 44 and 203 of Law 113 on the Tax System and separated the two bases. The seller is taxed on the transfer price, provided it is equal to or higher than the home’s cadastral value. The buyer is taxed on the cadastral value determined by the competent authority, whatever the price.

Declaring a symbolic price saves nothing: the new article 44 only accepts the price as the base if it is not below the cadastral value. The law does not say expressly which base applies when the price is lower, so in that case check with the ONAT before settling; the reasonable expectation is that the cadastral value will be used.

What the cadastral value is and how it is calculated

It is an administrative valuation of the property: land value plus construction value. The methodology is set by Resolution 16/2026 of the National Institute of Territorial and Urban Planning (INOTU). Land starts from a value module per square metre set by the Ministry of Finance and Prices, adjusted for zone, street and plot characteristics; the building is valued by use, type, age and state of repair.

Under that methodology the cadastral value must bear a relationship to market value but can never exceed it. That is why it is no use for pricing a house: it sets the floor of the tax, not what the home is worth.

• Location and surroundings: zone, street, services and degree of urbanisation.
• Land area and built area.
• Construction materials and type.
• Age of the building.
• Technical condition: good, fair or poor, with coefficients that reduce the value.

The cadastral certificate

The cadastral value is proved by the cadastral certificate (certificación catastral), governed by Resolution 15/2026 of the INOTU. The property’s owner requests it at the Municipal Directorate of Territorial and Urban Planning or the Services and Procedures Unit, and pays through Transfermóvil or EnZona. It is valid for five years from issue.

If the home has works that are not recorded in the cadastre — a mezzanine, an added room — the record must be updated first, and a site visit may be needed. That is why the seller should request it before putting the house on the market: the buyer cannot apply for it on their own.

When you pay

In a sale, both taxes are credited when the deed is formalised before the notary: without the payment there is no deed. In a donation, the recipient generally has thirty calendar days from the deed to pay the transmission tax (article 210 of Law 113).

Plan for it. The tax is not a cost that arrives with the next bill — it is money that has to be available on the day, on top of the price and the notarial fees. And remember that since Law 187 the price of the home must also be paid through a bank, not in cash.

What the taxes do not cover

The 4% each is the tax on the transfer. Around it sit other costs that are smaller but real: the cadastral certificate, notarial fees and stamps, the certificates you request from the Property Registry, any updating of the technical description, and the registration of the new title once the deed is signed.

None of these are optional if you want the purchase to hold up. Registration in particular is what makes you the owner on paper; a signed deed sitting in a drawer is a problem waiting for the next transaction.

Figures change — check before you sign

Law 187 and its supporting regulations date from October 2026, and practice at notaries’ offices and the ONAT is still settling. Everything described here reflects the framework in force at the date shown at the top of this article.

Before closing, confirm three things with the notary or the ONAT: the cadastral value shown on the certificate, the rate that applies to your situation, and the payment channel accepted at that moment.