Panama's National Assembly voted on December 18 to extend the twenty-year property tax improvement exemption for new residential construction. The exemption, which applies to the improvement value of newly built structures, was previously set to step down in scope for permits issued after January 1, 2026. The extension maintains the full exemption for permits issued through December 31, 2028.
For buyers of new-construction properties in Panama, the entirety of what we represent, the extension means that annual property tax exposure remains near zero for the first two decades of ownership. The exemption applies at the project level and is specified in the title documentation.
The vote was 48 to 13. We have updated our tax primer to reflect the extension; the revised document is available on request.