Philippines

Registering Property in

Mandaue - Philippines

Below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property. It assumes 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 subnational project in Philippines. Download this Doing Business report or explore other cities and topics.

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 PHP 41,700 (1% of the property value)
* 2 Obtain certified true copy of latest tax declaration and certificate of with improvement from the City Assessor’s Office (CAO)

The seller must obtain a certified true copy of the latest tax declaration for the land and the building as well as a certificate of “with improvement” from the CAO as these documents are required by the BIR. Loose documentary stamps must be affixed to these documents as proof of payment of the documentary stamp tax (DST) on certificates. Loose documentary stamps sold at the BIR Office cost PHP 15. However these can be more readily purchased at city government offices at a cost ranging from PHP 18-25 per stamp.
1 day PHP 191 {PHP 22 per real property unit (RPU) [(Land (1RPU), Building (1RPU)] + PHP 27.50 for certificate of with improvement + PHP 45 (PHP 15 documentary stamp tax per RPU/document)}
Note: Cost is for 2 certified true copies of latest tax declaration for BIR and RD.
* 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.

 1 day PHP 51 (PHP 36 for tax clearance + 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. Owners 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); and
e. Sworn declaration of “with improvement” by at least one (1) of the transferees, or certificate of “with improvement” issued by the Assessor’s Office.
25 days PHP 115 (PHP 100 certification fee + PHP 15 documentary stamp tax)
5 Pay documentary stamp tax and creditable withholding tax (CWT) at an authorized agent bank (AAB)

Prior to payment, applicant accomplishes BIR forms 2000-OT and 1606 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.

1 day PHP 62,550 [documentary stamp tax (PHP 15 for every PHP 1,000 or a fraction thereof of the property value) + creditable withholding tax of 6% of the selling price, fair market value, or zonal value, whichever is highest.]
Note: Computation for CWT is not included in the cost reflected.
6 Pay the transfer tax at the CTO

The transfer tax must be paid at the CTO. The documentation shall include:

a. Tax clearance certificate of real property taxes from the CTO (obtained in Procedure 3);
b. Certificate Authorizing Registration from the BIR (obtained in Procedure 4); and
c. Official receipt of the BIR (for documentary stamp tax) (obtained in Procedure 5).

 1 day PHP 13,761 (0.33% of the property price)
7 Secure registration with the Register of Deeds (RD)

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.

 30 days PHP 21,261 {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 300 primary entry fee (PHP 30 per document) + PHP 480 registration fee for specific documents (PHP 120 per document) + PHP 120 fixed entry fee for specific documents (PHP 30 per document) + PHP 40 legal research fee for specific documents (PHP 10 per document) + PHP 60 annotation fee (PHP 30 per document) + PHP 75 fee for issuance of new transfer certificate of title}
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).

 3 days No cost
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Subnational Data

Data snapshots