Philippines

Registering Property in

Philippines

Listed below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standard Property Transfer

  • Property Value: PHP 4,816,106.01
  • City: Quezon city

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Prepare the notarized deed of sale and related documents

While the deed of sale can be prepared by anyone, it must be executed before and notarized by a notary public. In many instances, the notary public drafts the deed of sale and conducts the whole process on behalf of the parties.

In addition to the deed of sale, the Register of Deeds also requires both the buyer and the seller to submit notarized secretary's certificates containing the resolution of their board of directors approving the sale. The buyer must also produce a certificate from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stating that its articles of incorporation have been registered with the SEC.

1 day 1 - 3% property value for notarization
* 2 Obtain certified true copy of latest tax declaration and certificate of "with improvement" from the City Assessor’s Office (CAO)

The seller obtains a certified true copy of the latest tax declaration from the Assessor’s Office of Manila.

Agency: Assessor’s Office 		1 day PHP 275 (PHP 70 per RPU (land(1RPU), Building (1RPU)) + PHP 90 for certificate of "with improvement" + PHP 45 (PHP 15 documentary stamp tax per RPU/document)
* 3 Obtain tax clearance certificate of real property taxes from the Land Tax Division of the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO)

The seller, after paying any arrears, obtains a tax clearance certificate from the CTO.
The documentation shall include an original of the official receipt evidencing payment by seller of realty taxes.



Agency: Land Tax Division of the City Treasurer’s Office 		2 days PHP 65 (PHP 50 for tax clearance and PHP 15 for documentary stamp tax)
4 Obtain Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)

The Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) is a certification issued by the BIR that the transfer and conveyance of the property was reported and the taxes due have been fully paid.

The taxpayer/applicant must submit the following documents to the BIR:

a. Tax identification number (TIN) of seller and buyer;
b. Notarized deed of absolute sale/document of transfer, but only photocopied document shall be retained by the BIR;
c. Certified true copy of the latest tax declaration issued by the City Assessor’s Office for the land and improvement applicable to the taxable transaction;
d. Owner’s copy (for presentation purposes only) and photocopy (for authentication) of the Original Certificate of Title (OCT), or the certified true copy of the Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT);
e. Sworn declaration of “with Improvement” by at least one (1) of the transferees, or certificate of “with Improvement” issued by the City Assessor’s Office.

All documents submitted must also include 2 photocopies.

The Certificate Authorizing Registration that will be released will be accompanied by the following documents:
The Original copy of the Deed of Absolute Sale stamped received by the BIR
Original Copies of the BIR Return Forms 1706 (CGT) and 2000 (DST) stamped received by the BIR


Agency: Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) 		21 days PHP 115 (PHP 100 certification fee + PHP 15 documentary tax)
5 Pay documentary stamp tax and final capital gains tax for the transfer of real property

The seller files the Documentary Stamp Tax return and Capital Gains Tax return with the authorized agent bank in the Revenue District of Manila. This is done within 5 days after the close of the month when the taxable document was signed or within 30 days after the sale, whichever is earlier. The taxes are paid at the authorized bank to the account of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The Capital Gains Tax is 6% of capital gains based on selling price, fair market value or zonal value, whichever is higher.
The Documentary Stamp Tax is 1.5% based on selling price or fair market value, whichever is higher. The seller may opt to have the taxing authority assess and compute the Capital Gains Tax and the Documentary Stamp Tax prior to payment to ensure accuracy of the amount of taxes due.

The documentation shall include:
Original copy and photocopy of notarized deed of sale of building (obtained in Procedure 1)
Certified true copy of transfer certificate of title (in the name of seller)
Certified true copy of latest tax declaration (in the name of seller) (obtained in Procedure 2)
Photocopy of the latest realty tax receipt
Letter-request
Identification card of the person requesting

Prior to payment, applicant accomplishes BIR forms 2000-OT and 1706 for DST and CWT respectively, based on the ONETT computation sheets prepared by the BIR ONETT team. The applicant files the DST return and CWT return and pays the taxes at the AAB of the Revenue District Office. Payment must be made through either a manager’s check or cashier’s check within 5 days after the close of the month when the taxable document was signed or within 30 days from the sale, whichever is earlier.

Upon receipt of proof of tax payment from the taxpayer/applicant, the BIR immediately issues a claim slip.



Agency: Authorized Agent Bank (AAB) 		1 day 1.5% of property value (Documentary Stamp Tax)
6 Pay the transfer tax at the CTO

The transfer tax must be paid at the CTO.
The documentation shall include:
a. Certificate Authorizing Registration from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (obtained in Procedure 4);
b. Tax clearance certificate from the Treasurer’s Office of Manila (obtained in Procedure 5);
c. Official receipt of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (for documentary stamp tax) (obtained in Procedure 4).


Agency: Land Tax Division of the City Treasurer’s Office 		1 day 0.75% of property price (transfer tax) + PHP 125 (certificate of payment)
7 Apply for registration with the Register of Deeds

The buyer applies for registration with the Register of Deeds. The documentation shall include:

a. Copy of deed of absolute sale;
b. Official receipt evidencing payment of transfer tax;
c. Certificate Authorizing Registration from the BIR (CAR) including official receipts for payment of DST and CWT;
d. Real property tax clearance from the City Treasurer’s Office;
e. Original copy of owner's duplicate of TCT (in the name of the seller);
f. Original or certified true copy of the latest tax declaration;
g. Notarized secretary's certificate containing resolution of the board of directors of the seller approving the sale;
h. Notarized secretary's certificate containing resolution of the board of directors of the buyer approving the sale;
i. Articles of incorporation of the buyer and by-laws; and
j. Certificate from the SEC that the articles of incorporation of the buyer have been registered.



Agency: Register of Deeds 		About 10 days Registration fee consisting of PHP 8,796 for first PHP 1,700,000 + PHP 90 for every PHP 20,000 or fraction thereof in excess of PHP 1,700,000 + PHP 199.56 legal research fee (1% of the registration fee) + PHP 30 judicial form fee + PHP 2,419.2 IT fee (PHP
8 Obtain new tax declaration over the building and the land in the name of buyer from CAO

The buyer applies with the CAO for the issuance of a new tax declaration over the building in his name.
The documentation shall include:

a. Photocopy of notarized deed of sale (obtained in Procedure 1);
b. Copy of latest tax declaration (in the name of seller) (obtained in Procedure 2);
c. Tax clearance certificate of real property taxes from the CTO (obtained in Procedure 3);
d. Certificate authorizing registration from the BIR (obtained in Procedure 4);
e. Photocopy of official receipt of transfer tax payment (original copy to be presented) (obtained in Procedure 6); and
f. The transfer certificate of title (TCT) issued by the RD (in the name of the buyer) (obtained in Procedure 7).


Agency: Assessor’s Office - City Government 		2 days no cost
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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