Buying property as a foreigner: what you can really own

Estimated budget

Price set by the developer (VAT may be included). At title transfer: DST 1.5% + local transfer tax 0.5% (provinces) or 0.75% (Metro Manila) + Registry of Deeds fees, often charged to the buyer.

Processing time

Construction often 3 to 5 years; the title (CCT) comes after turnover and full payment

• The developer must hold a License to Sell from the DHSUD for this project before selling units.
• The 40% foreign ownership limit applies to the whole project: get written confirmation that a foreign quota is still available for your unit.
• Under the Maceda Law, after at least 2 years of installments you are entitled to a refund of 50% of what you paid if you cancel, plus 5% per year beyond 5 years.

Myth: Foreigners cannot own anything in the Philippines. Reality: A foreigner can own a condo unit in their own name, as long as foreigners hold no more than 40% of the project.

Estimated budget

Usual split: seller pays capital gains tax 6%; buyer pays DST 1.5% + local transfer tax 0.5% (provinces) or 0.75% (Metro Manila) + Registry of Deeds fees. Plus unpaid association dues and real property tax to check.

Processing time

Transfer of title: usually 1 to 3 months after signing (BIR, city treasurer, Registry of Deeds)

• The title (Condominium Certificate of Title, CCT) will be in your name if the project's foreign quota is not exceeded.
• Check the title at the Registry of Deeds yourself: a mortgage, adverse claim or pending case (lis pendens) is written on it.
• Taxes must be paid on time: capital gains tax within 30 days of the sale, documentary stamp tax by the 5th day of the following month.

Myth: The condo is only mine for 50 years. Reality: A condo unit is owned outright, with no time limit; the time limits concern land leases.

Estimated budget

Do not pay anything until the quota is confirmed in writing

Processing time

Not applicable until a foreign slot is available

• When foreigners already hold 40% of the project, the condo corporation cannot register a new foreign owner.
• A sale that would exceed the limit cannot be registered in your name.
• Putting the unit in a Filipino's name to get around the quota is the same trap as for land.

Myth: The 40% applies to each floor. Reality: It applies to the whole project: the condo corporation tracks it for the building.

Estimated budget

Same taxes as any Filipino buyer: seller pays capital gains tax 6%; buyer pays DST 1.5% + local transfer tax 0.5% to 0.75% + registration fees

Processing time

Transfer of title: usually 1 to 3 months after signing

• Once Philippine citizenship is reacquired, you are a Filipino for land ownership, with no area limit.
• Buy as a Filipino: use your RA 9225 Identification Certificate or Philippine passport.
• A foreign spouse still cannot appear as co-owner of land on the title.

Myth: Former Filipinos are always limited to 1,000 m². Reality: That limit applies to former Filipinos who have not reacquired citizenship; dual citizens have full rights.

Estimated budget

Usual sale taxes (capital gains tax 6% often paid by the seller; DST 1.5% + transfer tax 0.5% to 0.75% + registration for the buyer)

Processing time

Transfer of title: usually 1 to 3 months

• For a home: up to 1,000 m² of urban land or 1 hectare of rural land.
• For business: up to 5,000 m² of urban land or 3 hectares of rural land.
• For a married couple, the total bought by both cannot exceed the limit for one person. Reacquiring citizenship (RA 9225) removes these limits.

Myth: Once naturalized abroad, I lose all rights to land. Reality: Former natural-born Filipinos keep a right to buy within the area limits, or full rights after RA 9225.

Estimated budget

SEC incorporation and yearly compliance costs, plus the usual sale taxes paid by the company

Processing time

Company registration (SEC, BIR, local permits): several weeks, before the purchase

• At least 60% of the capital must be owned, in fact and with their own money, by Filipinos.
• Shareholders who only lend their name, or side agreements giving the foreigner control, violate the Anti-Dummy Law.
• Courts declare such structures void and do not help the foreigner recover the land.

Myth: A 60/40 company is a safe way for a foreigner to own a house. Reality: It is only legal if the Filipino shareholders are real owners; otherwise it is a dummy structure.

Estimated budget

Money paid is usually lost: courts refuse to order reimbursement

Processing time

Not applicable: do not proceed

• Land bought with your money but titled to a Filipino nominee belongs, in law, to the person on the title.
• Side documents (loan, mortgage, trust, "MOA") meant to give you control are void and cannot be enforced.
• The Anti-Dummy Law punishes both the foreigner and the Filipino who lends their name.

Myth: With a notarized agreement, the land stays mine. Reality: The agreement is void; in Muller v. Muller the foreign husband could not recover the money he paid.

Estimated budget

Rent set with the landowner; DST on the lease contract; the house you build is declared in your name for real property tax

Processing time

Lease drafting and notarization: days to weeks; registration with the Registry of Deeds recommended

• An individual foreigner can lease land for up to 25 years, renewable for another 25 by agreement; a longer lease breaks the law.
• You can own the house you build, through a tax declaration in your name, but not the land.
• Have the lease annotated on the land title, so a future buyer of the land must respect it.

Myth: Since 2025, every foreigner can lease land for 99 years. Reality: The 99-year term of RA 12252 is for registered foreign investments; a private home stays under PD 471 (25 + 25 years).

Estimated budget

Rent and investment amounts set by the project; tourism projects need at least US$5,000,000, 70% of it within 3 years

Processing time

Investment registration first (e.g. BOI or another investment promotion agency), then lease registration with the Registry of Deeds

• Leases of private land up to an aggregate of 99 years are possible for foreign investors with a registered investment.
• The land may only be used for the approved purpose; unauthorized use or withdrawal of the investment ends the lease.
• The lease must be registered with the Registry of Deeds and annotated on the title.

Myth: 99 years means the foreigner owns the land. Reality: It remains a lease: the land stays Filipino-owned and the lease ends if the investment stops.

Estimated budget

Usual sale taxes: capital gains tax 6% (often seller), DST 1.5% + transfer tax 0.5% to 0.75% + registration (buyer)

Processing time

Transfer of title: usually 1 to 3 months

• The land is titled to the Filipino spouse only; the foreign spouse's name cannot appear as owner.
• If the marriage ends, courts do not order reimbursement of the foreign spouse's money for the land.
• A condo unit can be titled to both spouses, or to the foreign spouse, within the 40% quota.

Myth: As we are married, half the land is mine. Reality: A foreigner cannot co-own land, even with a spouse; the land is the Filipino spouse's.

Estimated budget

Money paid for land is usually lost if the relationship ends

Processing time

Not applicable

• Land titled to your partner belongs to your partner, whatever you paid.
• Without marriage, you have none of the rights of a spouse or heir.
• Arrangements to keep control (loan, mortgage, promise to sell) are void when used to bypass the ban.

Myth: I'll get the land back if we break up, since I paid. Reality: Courts leave the land with the person on the title and refuse to order reimbursement.

Estimated budget

Lawyer's fees; no reimbursement for the land in principle

Processing time

Depends on the court case (annulment, nullity, recognition of foreign divorce, separation of property)

• The Supreme Court refused reimbursement to foreign husbands who paid for land titled to their Filipino wives.
• Movable property, bank accounts and a condo can be part of the property division, depending on the regime.
• The rights of your children on the land are not affected by your inability to own it.

Myth: I can sue to get back the money I put into the land. Reality: The Supreme Court ruled in Muller (2006) and Beumer (2012) that such reimbursement is not allowed.

Estimated budget

Estate tax 6% of the net estate (BIR), plus extrajudicial settlement, publication and registration costs

Processing time

Several months; the estate tax return is due within 1 year of death

• The Constitution allows a foreigner to acquire land through hereditary succession, as a legal heir.
• Land left to a foreigner by will, beyond the legal share, is not protected by this exception.
• The estate must be settled (extrajudicial settlement or court) and the estate tax paid before the title can be transferred.

Myth: As a foreigner, I lose everything when my spouse dies. Reality: As a legal heir, you can inherit, including land, through intestate succession.

Estimated budget

Estate tax 6% of the net estate (BIR), plus settlement, publication and registration costs

Processing time

Several months; the estate tax return is due within 1 year of death

• A foreigner can acquire land as a legal heir (intestate succession).
• A condo unit or a building can be inherited like any other property, within the condo's 40% quota.
• The transfer is only complete after estate settlement, payment of the estate tax and a new title.

Myth: A foreigner can never own land, even by inheritance. Reality: Hereditary succession is a constitutional exception: a legal heir can inherit land.