Summary
Plan on about 4% to 6% on top of the price when you buy in Honduras: on a $200,000 (L 5,370,000) home, that is $8,000 to $12,000 (between L 215,000 and L 322,000). Messy titles or a lot of legal work can push it to 8%.
The only real tax at purchase is the 1.5% transfer tax (impuesto de tradición), worked out on the higher of the price or the cadastral value. The law puts it on the seller, but buyers often end up paying it, so negotiate who pays before you sign.
Registering the deed is cheap: L 200 plus L 1.50 per L 1,000 of value, so about L 8,250 ($305) on a $200,000 home, roughly 0.15%.
The notary usually charges 1% to 2% of the price, and an independent lawyer another 1% to 1.5% in Roatán. Agent commission is normally the seller's cost, with no official rate; Roatán broker guides cite about 10%.
The surprise costs come from title problems: the US State Department estimates about 80% of private land in Honduras is untitled or badly titled. Budget $300 to $1,500 (between L 8,050 and L 40,300) for title and lien checks and never skip them.
Prices are negotiable right now, at least in Roatán: homes on the MLS closed 7.7% to 10.1% below their final asking price in the second quarter of 2026, and closed sales fell 26% in the first half of 2026.
Annual property tax is low. Tegucigalpa charges L 3.50 per L 1,000 of cadastral value and San Pedro Sula L 3.00, so a home assessed at L 3 million pays about $390 (L 10,500) a year in Tegucigalpa.
Running costs depend on the building more than the tax: Roatán condo fees run $300 to $500 a month on recent MLS listings, and power on the island costs L 6.11 to L 8.95 per kWh.
If you rent long term, a resident owner pays 10% on residential rent once it passes L 15,000 a month (about $560). A non-resident owner pays 25%.
Short-term rentals classed as tourist lodging add 15% sales tax (ISV) and the 4% tourism tax, and in October 2026 the tourism minister said Airbnb hosts should pay the same taxes as hotels.
When you sell, capital gains are taxed at 10% of the profit. If you are a non-resident seller, the buyer withholds 4% of the full price as an advance on that tax.
In the Bay Islands, ZOLITUR and the tax office (SAR) were still discussing a 4% capital gains rate on 16 October 2026, so do not count on it until it is written down.
Bottom line: keep 6% of the price aside for buying costs, get the transfer tax and agent fee split in writing, and pay for a proper title check before any deposit.
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Taxes and fees on top of the price, before you sign.
Message a proWhat will buying cost you on top of the price, all in?
How much are total buyer closing costs in Honduras?
In 2026, most buyers in Honduras pay 4% to 6% on top of the purchase price. On a $200,000 (L 5,370,000) home, that means $8,000 to $12,000 (between L 215,000 and L 322,000).
Roatán brokers quote 5% to 6% all in, and a September 2026 guide for mainland buyers gives 4% to 8%. The difference mostly comes from whether you pay the transfer tax and how much legal work the title needs.
The bare minimum is around 3% ($6,000 (L 161,000) on a $200,000 home): that is a clean deal where the seller pays the 1.5% transfer tax and you only pay the notary, the registry and a basic title check.
The top of the range is around 8% ($16,000 (L 430,000)), for deals with a messy title chain, a survey, a buyer-side agent or a company structure to set up. We would not budget below 6% unless your lawyer has already seen the title.
What's the usual total % of fees and taxes over the purchase price?
For a normal home purchase, expect around 4% to 6% in total, with 3% for very simple deals and 8% for complicated ones.
Government charges are a small part of it: the 1.5% transfer tax plus about 0.15% for the registry. On a $200,000 home, the registry fee works out to L 200 plus L 1.50 per L 1,000, so about L 8,250 ($305).
The rest, usually 2% to 4%, goes to people: the notary who writes the deed, your own lawyer, the title search, and sometimes a surveyor or a translator.
What costs are always mandatory when buying?
Three costs are unavoidable: the 1.5% transfer tax (Impuesto sobre Tradición de Bienes Inmuebles), the registry fee paid to the Instituto de la Propiedad (IP), and the notary who drafts and authorises the deed (escritura).
The transfer tax has to be paid within three days of the deed being signed, or a 20% fine is added to the tax. Make sure the notary shows you the paid receipt before the deed goes to the registry.
Not legally required but worth paying for: your own lawyer to check the title chain, a survey to confirm boundaries (outside town centres especially), a valuation if you are paying near the top of the market, and an interpreter if your Spanish is shaky.
Which taxes hit you when you buy in Honduras?
What is the property transfer tax rate?
The transfer tax is 1.5% in 2026. It is charged on the market value or the cadastral value, whichever is higher, so declaring a low price on the deed does not lower it.
Here is the part most guides skip: SAR's own guide names the seller (the tradente) as the person who pays it. In practice, many sales, especially in Roatán, put it on the buyer by custom. On a $200,000 home, that is $3,000 (L 80,600) worth negotiating.
Foreigners pay the same 1.5% as Hondurans. There is no extra transfer tax for non-residents.
Resale homes do not carry sales tax (ISV). On a new build, ISV can be hidden inside the developer's invoices for construction or services, so ask the developer for a price breakdown.
There is no separate stamp duty, but the notary buys fiscal stamps (timbres) and pays for certified copies. These are small amounts; ask for them to be listed on the notary's quote.
Are there tax exemptions or reduced rates for first-time buyers?
No. Honduras has no first-time buyer relief on the 1.5% transfer tax, and SAR's guidance applies the same rule to every buyer.
Buying through a Honduran company does not change the transfer tax, and it does not get a foreigner around the Article 107 limits on coastal and island land. It does add yearly accounting and filing costs.
The only common relief is local and small: municipal plans can exempt the first L 20,000 of cadastral value of a home the owner lives in, from the annual property tax, not from the transfer tax.
If you are buying in the restricted 40 km coastal strip or on the islands under Decree 90-90, budget for the paperwork that comes with it (one urban residential property of up to 3,000 m², and a house built within 36 months if you buy a bare plot).
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What you pay each year, and when you sell.
Message a proWhat do the notary, lawyer and agent cost a buyer in Honduras?
How much does a notary or conveyancing lawyer cost?
The notary usually charges 1% to 2% of the price in 2026, so $2,000 to $4,000 (between L 53,700 and L 107,000) on a $200,000 home. In Honduras the notary is a lawyer, but they draft the deed for the deal, not for you.
That is why Roatán brokers push buyers to hire their own lawyer as well, typically 1% to 1.5% ($2,000 to $3,000 (between L 53,700 and L 80,600) on the same home). On cheaper homes the percentage tends to be higher, and on expensive ones you can often get a flat fee.
If you do not speak Spanish, an interpreter for the signing typically costs $100 to $300 a day, and certified translation runs around $10 to $25 a page. Budget a few hundred dollars for a simple deal.
A tax adviser is worth it if you plan to rent the place out or buy through a company. Expect a set-up fee in the range of $300 to $1,000 plus a monthly fee for filings.
What's the typical real estate agent fee?
No law sets agent commission in Honduras, and no reliable published rate exists. On Roatán, broker guides cite about 10% (Tomás Figueroa, May 2026), and it's negotiable.
The seller normally pays it. If an agent asks you, the buyer, to sign a representation agreement, get the fee in writing before you visit anything.
So for most buyers the agent costs 0%. If you hire a buyer's agent, 1% to 3% of the price is a fair range to aim for.
How much do legal checks cost (title, liens, permits)?
A normal due-diligence package (title chain, liens, permits) costs about $300 to $1,500 (between L 8,050 and L 40,300), more if problems turn up.
A valuation typically costs $200 to $600, and more for remote land or large plots that need a survey.
The check you never skip is the title history at the Instituto de la Propiedad: it shows who really owns the land, mortgages, court orders and boundary conflicts. Also confirm the property has dominio pleno (full ownership), not dominio útil (a right of use on municipal land).
Which surprise costs catch buyers out in Honduras?
What are the most common unexpected fees buyers discover?
Most surprises come from paperwork that does not match: a name spelled differently, a lot number that changed, a boundary that never got registered. Each correction means new filings and more legal hours.
Title is the big one. The US State Department estimates about 80% of private land in Honduras is untitled or improperly titled, so a cheap plot with a weak title can cost more to fix than you saved.
You can also inherit debts: unpaid municipal property tax or condo fees can follow the property. Ask for a municipal tax solvency certificate and a condo statement showing zero arrears, and make both conditions of closing.
Scams usually start with a reservation deposit sent before anyone has checked the title or the seller's authority. Never send money until your own lawyer has the registry record and controls where the money goes.
Are there extra fees if the property has a tenant?
Buying with a tenant in place adds some legal work: reviewing the lease, transferring the deposit and notifying the tenant. Expect around $200 to $800 (between L 5,350 and L 21,500) in extra legal fees.
You take over the existing lease and must respect it until it ends. You cannot simply end it after the sale unless the lease allows it.
If the landlord needs the home for their own use, Honduran tenancy rules generally require three months' notice, and evicting for non-payment needs a court process. Changing locks or cutting utilities is illegal.
A sitting tenant can be a plus if you want rental income from day one, and a reason to negotiate the price down if you want to move in.
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Message a proWhich fees are negotiable, and who really pays what in Honduras?
Which closing costs are negotiable in Honduras right now?
Negotiable: who pays the 1.5% transfer tax (legally the seller's), notary and legal fees, who covers registry and document costs, seller credits, and any buyer-side agent fee.
Not negotiable: the 1.5% rate itself and the official registry formula of L 200 plus L 1.50 per L 1,000.
Notaries and lawyers will often discount 10% to 25% on bigger deals if you ask. And in a slow market, getting the seller to cover $500 to $2,000 (between L 13,400 and L 53,700) of your costs, or the whole transfer tax, is a realistic ask.
Can I ask the seller to cover some closing costs?
Yes, and in Roatán right now your odds are good. In the second quarter of 2026 there were 3.7 new MLS listings for every sale, which leaves sellers with more competition and less bargaining power.
The easiest asks are the transfer tax (the law already puts it on them), the registry fees, or a fixed credit towards your legal costs.
Sellers say yes more often when the home has been listed for months, when similar homes sit unsold nearby, or when you offer a fast, clean closing.
Is price bargaining common?
Yes, and 2026 is a buyer's year in Roatán. MLS closed sales fell 26% in number and 32% in value in the first half of 2026 compared with a year earlier.
Roatán homes that never cut their price closed 7.7% below the asking price in the second quarter of 2026, and those that did cut closed another 10.1% below the reduced price. On a $200,000 asking price, a 7% to 10% discount means $14,000 to $20,000 (between L 376,000 and L 537,000).
On the mainland there is no comparable sales data. Asking 3% to 10% below the listed price is normal; overpriced listings that have sat for months can go further.
What does owning a property in Honduras cost each year?
What's the realistic monthly owner budget in Honduras right now?
Leaving out the mortgage, owners typically spend $150 to $600 (between L 4,030 and L 16,100) a month, depending mostly on condo fees and air conditioning.
Condo fees are the biggest line in Roatán: recent MLS listings show $300 a month at Blue Vista in West End (building insurance included) and $500 a month at Acqua di Mare in West Bay.
Electricity is the cost that swings most. On Roatán, RECO charges L 6.11 per kWh up to 150 kWh a month and L 8.95 per kWh above that (September to November 2026 tariff). A home using 300 kWh a month pays about L 2,300 ($86); heavy air conditioning can multiply that.
A house with no condo fees on the mainland can run at $100 to $200 (between L 2,680 and L 5,350) a month; a condo with a pool, security and generators is closer to $400 to $800 (between L 10,750 and L 21,500).
What is the annual property tax amount in Honduras?
Property tax (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles) is set by each municipality on the cadastral value, which is usually below market value. The Municipalities Law caps it at L 3.50 per L 1,000 for urban property and L 2.50 for rural property.
Tegucigalpa charges L 3.50 per L 1,000 (urban) and L 2.50 (rural). San Pedro Sula's 2026 plan charges L 3.00 per L 1,000 for urban homes and L 2.50 for rural ones. La Ceiba charged L 3.50 in its 2025 plan. We could not verify Roatán's 2026 rate, but it cannot legally go above the L 3.50 cap.
For a home assessed at L 3,000,000, that is about L 10,500 ($390) a year in Tegucigalpa and L 9,000 ($335) in San Pedro Sula. Most homes end up paying from $50 to around $1,000 a year.
The tax is usually due in August, and many municipalities give a discount for paying early. Municipal plans can also exempt the first L 20,000 of value of a home its owner lives in.
If I rent it out, what taxes do I pay in Honduras?
What tax rate applies to rental income?
A resident who rents out a home pays a flat 10% cedular tax on the rent once it goes above L 15,000 a month (about $560). On $1,000 (L 26,800) a month in rent, that is $100 (L 2,680).
Treat the 10% as a tax on gross rent. This flat regime is designed to be simple, so do not count on deducting repairs or management fees from it.
Some guides say foreign owners pay the same 10%. That is only true if you are a tax resident. A non-resident owner falls under the 25% rate on Honduran-source rental income.
Ordinary residential leases are exempt from the 15% sales tax (ISV). That exemption does not cover hotels, motels and other lodging.
Do I pay tax on short-term rentals?
Yes, and more than on a long-term lease. Once a rental is treated as tourist lodging, it can owe 15% ISV and the 4% tourism services tax on top of income tax.
On a $100 night, that is about $19 in sales and tourism taxes before income tax. Hosts are also expected to register with the Instituto Hondureño de Turismo (IHT) when they operate as a tourism business.
Whether your listing counts as tourist lodging depends on how it is run, so ask an accountant before you buy a property on the strength of Airbnb numbers.
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Some buildings ban short stays. They know which ones.
Message a proIs Honduras about to tax Airbnb hosts harder?
Probably, and it is coming from the top. On 4 October 2026, tourism minister Andrés Ehrler told La Prensa that people renting through apps should pay the same taxes as hotels, and that SAR is working on it.
The pressure is growing because the market is: Airbtics counted 1,075 short-term rentals in Tegucigalpa and 833 in San Pedro Sula in May 2026, more than 1,900 between the two cities.
No new rule had been published by 22 October 2026. But if you are buying to rent short term, build your numbers as if you already pay the 15% ISV and the 4% tourism tax. If the deal only works without them, it does not work.
Also check the condo rules before you buy: a building's bylaws can ban short stays, whatever the tax situation.
If I sell later, what will taxes and fees take in Honduras?
What's the total cost of selling as a % of price?
Selling costs depend mostly on the agent's commission, which has no official rate (about 10% in Roatán broker guides), plus about 1% for notary and legal work. If the 1.5% transfer tax lands on you as the seller, add it on top.
Example: you bought for $200,000 and sell for $240,000 (L 6,440,000). A 10% commission is $24,000 (L 644,000), legal work about $2,400 (L 64,400), and capital gains tax on the $40,000 gain is $4,000 (L 107,000). All in, that is about 12.7% of the sale price, or 14.2% if you also pay the transfer tax. Every point you knock off the commission saves $2,400.
The agent's commission is almost always the biggest line, so it is the one to negotiate.
What capital gains tax applies when selling?
Capital gains on property are taxed at 10% of the profit in 2026, under a single flat tax (impuesto único).
Non-residents face an extra step: the buyer has to withhold 4% of the full sale price and pay it to SAR as an advance. On a $240,000 sale, that is $9,600 (L 258,000) held back at closing, even if your actual tax on the gain is lower. You then settle the difference with SAR.
Some guides say foreigners pay nothing different. The rate is the same, but the 4% withholding hits your cash at closing, so plan for it.
The gain is the sale price minus what you paid. Keep every invoice for improvements and every closing document; ask a local adviser which costs SAR will accept.
Does the 4% ZOLITUR tax on Roatán sales apply to you?
Roatán and Utila sit inside ZOLITUR, the Bay Islands tourism free zone, which has its own customs and tax rules. ZOLITUR material points to a 4% capital gains tax on property sales there, against 10% in the rest of the country.
The catch: on 16 October 2026, ZOLITUR and SAR said they were still working out how that 4% applies. Their joint note gives no tax base, no list of who qualifies and no decision.
What to do: if you are selling on the islands, ask your notary for written confirmation of which rate SAR will accept on your deal before you agree a net price. On a $40,000 gain, 4% instead of 10% is the difference between $1,600 and $4,000.
And if a Próspera seller pitches lower taxes: the Supreme Court declared the ZEDEs unconstitutional in September 2024, Próspera is still fighting it, and its arbitration claim was cut to about $1.63 billion in August 2026. Buying there is a legal risk, not a tax plan.
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Our methodology
This article estimates what a buyer in Honduras pays on top of the price, what owning a home costs each year, and what taxes apply when you rent or sell.
We start from official texts: SAR guides for the transfer tax and rental tax, the Instituto de la Propiedad registry formula, municipal Plan de Arbitrios documents for property tax and the CREE tariff for electricity. Where no official figure exists (notary, lawyer and agent fees), we use dated broker guides from 2026 and say so. Worked examples on a $200,000 home are our own calculations.
Rules for foreign buyers (Article 107, Decree 90-90), capital gains and non-resident withholding come from the laws themselves, PwC's tax summaries and official ZOLITUR and SAR notices.
We checked these figures in October 2026 and converted lempiras at about 26.85 lempiras per US dollar.
Limits: fees vary by notary, by municipality and by how clean the title is. Roatán's 2026 property tax rate, a reliable agent commission rate and the final ZOLITUR position were not available. Condo fees come from individual listings, not an average.
Key sources used for this analysis include SAR transfer tax guide (code 152), SAR Form 722, La Prensa on registry fees, SINAP registry module, Portal Único de Transparencia, Ana Flores Realtor, Trolto, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, SAR capital gains FAQ, CIAT Honduras tax materials, SAR rental income FAQ, SAR code 106, Calcularya, SAR FAQ, SAR tourism tax guide (code 259), SEFIN ISV law, AMDC Plan de Arbitrios 2026, San Pedro Sula Plan de Arbitrios 2026, La Ceiba Plan de Arbitrios 2025, TSC Plan de Arbitrios, AMDC ordinance page, municipal plan citing the Municipalities Law, CREE RECO tariffs, Roatan Reef / Tomas Figueroa MLS report, ZOLITUR and SAR notice, ZOLITUR FAQ, La Prensa on Airbnb, UNAH legal clinic, IHT tourism tax, IHT law, US State Department, Decree 90-90, La Prensa on ICSID, Próspera disclaimer, Global Property Guide.
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