Property tax and alcabala in Ecuador, canton by canton

In Ecuador, the taxes on a property are municipal. The Organic Code of Territorial Organisation, Autonomy and Decentralisation (COOTAD) lists among municipal taxes the tax on urban property, the tax on rural property, the alcabala (transfer tax) and the tax on gains from the transfer of urban plots and their added value (art. 491). The COOTAD sets the general rules; each municipality applies them by ordinance, with its own cadastre, rates and payment channels (art. 492). So this guide explains the mechanism and points you to each municipality's own page for the figures.

The appraisal: the basis of everything

The property value the municipality uses is the value of the land plus, if any, the buildings (art. 495). Land is valued by comparison with sales of similar properties in the same area; buildings by the replacement method — what they would cost to build today, depreciated over their useful life. The council approves by ordinance the land-value map and the factors that raise or lower each plot's value (art. 502).

Municipalities must update the cadastre and property values every two years — each biennium — and notify owners through the press; if you disagree with the new appraisal you can file an administrative claim (art. 496). Salinas, for example, approved its cadastre and property-tax ordinance for the 2026-2027 biennium. The cadastral appraisal is not the market price, but it matters beyond property tax: it is the minimum base for the alcabala and the cap on rent under the Tenancy Law.

Property tax (impuesto predial)

• Who pays: owners of plots within urban limits pay an annual tax to the municipality (art. 501). Rural plots pay their own rural property tax (art. 491).
• How much: a rate set by the council by ordinance, within a band of 0.25 to 5 per thousand, is applied to the property value (art. 504). If you own several plots in the same canton, their values are added up for the calculation (art. 505).
• When: the municipality issues the tax from 1 January using the cadastre as at the previous 31 December (art. 511). It is paid during the year, without any notice being needed, and falls due on 31 December (art. 512).
• Early payment and surcharge: the COOTAD gives discounts for paying in the first half of the year — larger the earlier you pay — and a surcharge on payments from 1 July; once the year is over it is collected by enforcement (art. 512). The Quito Municipality's portal, for example, notes that in 2026 the late surcharge on urban property tax from 1 July is 10 %.
• Exemptions: among others, low-value single-family homes in marginal urban areas and public-sector property (art. 509); some new buildings get temporary exemptions (art. 510). Check with your municipality whether one applies to you.

The same bill often carries other charges that are not property tax: security fees, the fire-brigade surcharge or special improvement contributions for public works. Check the breakdown of your tax bill on your municipality's portal.

Alcabala: the transfer tax

The alcabala taxes acts that transfer ownership of real estate: sales and other transfers for value, acquisitive prescription, bequests and gifts to people who are not forced heirs, the creation or transfer of usufruct, use and habitation, and certain transfers out of trusts (art. 527). It belongs to the municipality where the property is (art. 530).

• Who pays: the parties who benefit from the contract. Unless the contract says otherwise, the benefit is presumed to be mutual and proportional (art. 531). That defines who the taxpayer is before the municipality; between buyer and seller, who bears the cost is agreed, and our selling guide explains the Civil Code's default rule: write it into the promise of sale and the deed.
• Base: the contract value; if it is below the cadastral appraisal, the appraisal applies (art. 532).
• Rate: one per cent of the taxable base (art. 535), plus the additional taxes created by special laws, collected with it (art. 536).
• Reductions and exemptions: there are reductions if the same property changes hands again within three years (art. 533) and exemptions, such as the full exemption for sales of qualifying social-interest housing (art. 534).
• No refunds: what was paid is not refunded if the contract is amended, annulled or rescinded, except in the cases in art. 529.

The tax on gains and added value (utilidades y plusvalía)

Whoever sells an urban property at a gain pays the tax on gains and added value: the COOTAD sets it at ten per cent of the gain, a percentage each municipality may change by ordinance (art. 556). From the gain are deducted the special improvement contributions paid (art. 557), the purchase cost and improvements, five per cent of the gain for each year since the purchase — the tax cannot be charged once twenty years have passed since acquisition — and currency depreciation (art. 559).

The taxpayer is the owner who sells and makes the gain; the buyer is liable up to the amount of tax left unpaid at the time of the sale (art. 558). Do not confuse it with the 2016 "Plusvalía Law" on windfall gains: according to the note in the same COOTAD text, that law was repealed in 2018.

Who pays what in a sale

Step by step when selling or buying

1. 1

   Bring the property tax up to date

   Municipalities such as Cuenca and Manta require the plot to owe nothing before issuing certificates or assessing the alcabala. Check its status on your municipality's portal.

2. 2

   Get the appraisal certificate

   The notary asks the finance department for a certificate with the property's cadastral value and the amount of tax to collect (art. 537).

3. 3

   Assess and pay alcabala and the gains tax

   At the municipality or on its online portal, with the draft deed (minuta) and the property's details. The amounts depend on the appraisal and the price: check with your municipality.

4. 4

   Sign the deed and record it

   With the payment receipts, the notary executes the deed and the Property Registry records it. Notary and registry fees are set by each office: check with a lawyer or notary.

Where to check and pay in each canton

In Santa Elena province each canton — Salinas, La Libertad and Santa Elena — has its own municipality and cadastre: pay in the canton where the property is. The same goes for Samborondón or Daule next to Guayaquil.

Read on

• Market data by canton
• How to sell a property in Ecuador
• How to buy a property in Ecuador
• Mortgages: BIESS vs. private banks