How to: Transfer of Name Owner - Certificate of Land Title in Philippines (Buy & Sell Approach)

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Owning and investing properties in the Philippines will require preparation and a good amount of financial responsibility to complete it. The processes involve tedious amount of research and entrusted resources to facilitate the transfer of the certificate of title. Some of the roadblocks will be encountered immediately in the government offices in reference to proof of income, proof of residency and numerous judicial documentations. In getting those judicial documents, time will be your greatest adversary due to the constraint of the person’s availability and its additional fees written and unwritten. This task is not easy to complete if you are not in the country.

Below were my experiences in gathering until completing the Transfer of Owner’s Name-Certificate of Title in the Philippines. Hope this information will find useful in your new assignment. God Bless!

Location: Naval Biliran Province Philippines

Lot Size: 388.75 sq.m

Total Incurred Costs: 90,000 pesos

As regards the legal fees for the lawyer, it depends on the value/kinds/nature of the property involved, the complexity of the job and the professional standing of the lawyer in the community. In short, if there are problems and issues over the property or if you’ll hire a high caliber lawyer or de campanilla, the higher the professional/attorney’s fees will be.

For now, the first order of business is for you is to scout a prospective lawyer of your preference to provide you with such professional services at the earliest opportunity. The purpose of this is to prepare the Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate, Notarized Deed of Absolute Sale, Affidavit of Publication of Settlement, etc.

For this matter, we didn't hire a lawyer to prepare these documents for us. We transacted directly to the government agencies and we are the one who keep inquiring about the requirements and fees to every application process needed for completion, going back and forth to ensure we are following the correct procedure and acquiring the correct documents. Please note that every process is there is a fee/charge for every document needed. These steps are taking a longer process than I ever thought it would be. This requires a lot of patience and understanding of the process on what are documents needed and when it should be completed. 

Transfer of Certificate of Land Title

This procedure is otherwise known as transfer certificate of land title, where the land or property purchased is already registered at the Registry of Deeds by the seller, and he or she is transferring the title to you- (the buyer).

Question: How can I and my older siblings transfer the land title from our deceased father to us?

Points to Consider:

1.) All property taxes are paid regularly.

2.) My father died in 2002 and still has his name in the land title of the property. 

3.) My mother died in 2013 and now both parents are deceased. But I was able to start processing the required documentation in 2013 for the transfer of the title before my mother passed away and signed the important documents.

4) For the time being, we do not have the original certificate of land title on which my father had nor in my mother's keep. But when we checked the Certificate of Property Holdings from the Assessor's office in the Municipality of our barangay it is registered to my late father.

Documents Required: Here are the steps to get you started.

I. Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate

In order that the title of the property (ies) left/inherited/bought by your parents can be transferred from the name(s) of your deceased/living parents to the children as their heirs, you and your sibling are required to execute the so called Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate.

You could ask your lawyer in the Philippines to make the necessary documentations for the purpose. However, if you don’t intend to travel to the Philippines, you can execute the Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate with a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) and duly acknowledged and notarized (with red ribbon) before the Philippine Consulate. 

Note: Any legal document issued in the U.S or outside of Philippines must first be acknowledged or authenticated (‘consularized’) by the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General in order for that document to have any legal validity in the Philippines.  Please check the Philippine Consulate or the Consulates Link for the states covered by the Embassy/Consulates General in the U.S. Each “consularized” document will bear the seal of the Embassy/Consulate General and the signature of the authenticating officer. The Philippine Embassy/Consulate General does not assume responsibility for the contents of the document.

However, if you and your sibling intend to travel to the Philippines to personally attend to this matter, you can have the Extrajudicial Settlement prepared and notarized in the Philippines. The inclusion of the SPA in the settlement of the estate documents as stressed above, is a convenient way for your representative(s) to make the necessary legwork for and on your behalf, and more particularly, in the cancellation of the old land title which still bears the name(s) of your deceased parents, and for the issuance of a new title(s) under your name and the name of your sibling as co-owners of the land(s) in question.

Requirements:

• Two original government Ids (TIN & SSS) for all the siblings as co-owners and the parent/s Ids
• Signatures needed to complete the Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate for all the siblings as co-owners and the parent/s Ids
• Affidavit of Acknowledgement with ID and 3 signatures for the siblings and the parent/s
• Special Power of Attorney with ID and  signatures for the parent/s as seller and the sibling as buyer/new owner
• Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificate of all siblings if any
• Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificates of the parents
• Death Certificates if any

Note: Then there is also a need for the Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate that you have executed to be published in the newspaper of general circulation for three (3) consecutive weeks in the Philippines or in the locality where the property is situated and thereafter secure an affidavit of such publication from the publisher or editor of the newspaper.

II. Notarized Deed of Absolute Sale and photocopies thereof

The lawyer will prepare this document as part of the Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate. The owner and buyer agree on the sale of property and which of them pays the taxes included in the process. A lawyer creates a duly notarized Deed of Absolute Sale (DOAS), which is a a legal document showing legal transfer of real property ownership because the seller sold the property on agreed price. After that, the Deed of Sale should be taken to the RD for the transfer of title to be recorded. This is important for the buyer’s protection.

Deed of Absolute Sale from Seller/Buyer 

• Notarize date is Transaction Date
• Notarize fee is 0.1% of Selling Price (ex. 300,000 x 0.1% = 300)

Fees:

• Notarized Fee of Deed of Absolute Sale - 300 pesos (0.1% of 300,000 pesos)
• Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate Fee - 1,000 pesos

III.) Geodetic Engineer for land survey

You have to get the professional services of a Geodetic engineer or surveyor to make the necessary Lot/Subdivision plan of the subject property and thereafter for the approval of the same by the Land Management Bureau and the Land Registration Authority (LRA). The engineer will give the signed and authorized location/vicinity map of the owned lot needed as part of the requirements.

Fee:

• Geodetic Engineer - 12,000.00 pesos the minimum charge

IV. Original Transfer Certificate of Title (Owner's Copy) from the Seller if there is any

Request for Certified thru Copy of Transfer Certificate of Title from Registry of Deeds for three copies in your local town. Certified true copies of titles can be secured after three (3) days.  If there is none, you may proceed without this document.

Note: Check the authenticity of a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) before buying a property. You can verify this at the Registry of Deeds. A tax declaration presented by the seller does not suffice. It is your right to verify the authenticity of a real property transaction. In doing so, you avoid the possibility of getting into legal and financial trouble.

Fee:

• Certified thru Copy of Transfer Certificate of Title - 100 pesos

V. Request the following original documents from City Hall Assessor's Office of the municipality or city where the property is based and pay the corresponding fees. This is needed for the BIR to assess the taxes to be paid  like CGT or CWT, whichever is applicable, depending on whether the property is a capital or ordinary assets, DST, and for the issuance of the certificate Authorizing Registration or CAR.

Note: 

• The following document must be requested for both sides of the parents which correspond to his/her number of land titles he/she have. If the father has one certificate of title that he owned, he must request each of the following document below but if the mother owned ten certificate lands of titles under her name, she must request each of the document below per land title.
• For most cities and municipalities, you will have to come back after a day to claim the certified true copy of the tax declaration
• Request for three  original copies – one for BIR, one for Registry of Deeds & one for your own copy

1.) Certified Thru Copy of Tax Declaration of Real Property

Go to the municipal/city assessor’s office which has jurisdiction over the subject property, then request for a certified true copy of the latest Tax Declaration of the property for at least three original copies. If you are not the Seller, ask for Authorization Letter, copy of his/her ID with signature and Request Letter.

Fee:

• Certified Thru Copy of Tax Declaration of Real Property - less than 100 pesos per copy 

2.) Original Tax Clearance 

If you are not the Seller, ask for Authorization Letter, copy of his/her ID with signature and Request Letter.

Note:

• In order to obtain a Tax Clearance, the Seller must pay first all arrears on Property Tax (if any and must be updated as of document of sale).  Therefore,  it is important that you got hold of the original of the official receipts evidencing payment by seller of realty taxes of the current and preceding years, before you gave him the full payment of the sale
• Please ensure that the Seller is able to give as well as the previous year’s copies

Fee:

• Original Tax Clearance - less than 100 pesos per copy 

3.) Certificate of No-Improvement

If you are not the Seller, ask for Authorization Letter, copy of his/her ID with signature and Request Letter.

4.) Request for Verification and Issuance of the Sketch Plan/Tracer if there is available

Fee:

• Request for Verification and Issuance of the Sketch Plan/Tracer - less than 100 pesos per copy 

5.) Certificate of Property Holdings

If you are not the Seller, ask for Authorization Letter, copy of his/her ID with signature and Request Letter.

Fee:

• Certificate of Property Holdings - less than 100 pesos per copy 

VI. Bureau of Internal Revenue in One Time Transaction (ONETT)

*Note: When your property is located in the province, usually before you go directly to the BIR office in your district, you submit first all the documents to the Regional Head of BIR within your province are located. The Regional Head will approve first the documents and may or may not be the one submitting and doing the process for you when it comes to payment of the taxes. Our experience is we paid the final price of the taxes to the office of the Regional Head in Almeria instead of going to the BIR Office in Tacloban and he issued us an official receipt of the payment. The Regional Head is the one who went to the BIR Office directly and we just waited the confirmation and approval documents from the BIR Tacloban. Please ensure that you are the one processing the papers as the Regional Head will cause so much delay. For us, we waited for 11 months only to find out that it was not process due to lack of requirements and we were not informed. If there is a way to avoid that long process, follow up every step when the papers lands to the Regional Head of BIR within your place.

A.) Go to BIR Regional District Office assigned Revenue District Office (RDO) that manages your property's location. BIR will compute for the amount needed to be paid for capital gains taxes, documentary stamps, and Estate Taxes. This will be the final price needed to be paid. 

B.) Fill up the forms and pay the applicable taxes including:

1. The documentary stamps (BIR Form No. 2000- OT) with Official receipts

2. The capital gains taxes. (BIR Form No. 1706) with Official receipts

3. The Estate Taxes (BIR Form No. 1801) with Official receipts

You (and/or the Seller depends on the agreement) have to pay the following:

a.) Capital Gains Tax (6% for individual seller) or Withholding Tax (7.5% if seller is a corporation) – it is the Seller’s responsibility to pay the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) or Withholding Tax unless the Buyer agrees otherwise

b.) Documentary Stamps Tax (1.5% of the selling price or zonal value or fair market value, whichever is higher)

Payment for DST is responsibility of the Buyer

c.) Estate Tax plus interest at 25% on the tax amount due for late filing and payment and annual interest of 20% interest per annum.

C.) Pay the following fees. Next step is payment of Taxes at a bank accredited by the BIR then you bring back the deposit slip to BIR. Prior the payment to the Accredited Agent Bank, you will be required to fill out a separate Accredited Agent Bank payment form, present it to the  Accredited Agent Bank representative and then pay the amount due in cash. For our process, we went to Land Bank of the Philippines to pay for the fees. Receipt from Bureau of Internal Revenue that the capital gains tax and documentary stamps have been paid.

• The Documentary Stamps - 4,575 pesos
• The Capital Gains Tax Return - 18,255.14 pesos
• Estate Tax Return - 4,000 pesos

Note: 

• The taxes should be paid before the deadline on the 30th day after the execution of the Deed of Absolute Sale, for Documentary Stamps Tax, it is on the 5th day of the month after the execution of the Deed of Absolute Sale. Transfer Tax is due 60 days after the execution of the Deed of Absolute Sale
• There is a surcharge equal to 25% of the tax due is charged for late payments, plus 20% interest per year on any unpaid taxes, plus compromise penalty (if any, this depends on the BIR officer).

D.) Submit the following:

• Tax identification number (TIN) of seller and buyer;
• Notarized deed of absolute sale/document of transfer, but only photocopied document shall be retained by the BIR;
• Certified copy of Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate and photocopy
• Certified copy of Affidavit of Acknowledgement and photocopy
• Certified copy of  Special Power of Attorney and photocopy
• 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;
• Owner’s 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);
• Sworn declaration of “with Improvement” by at least one (1) of the transfers, or certificate of “with Improvement” issued by the City Assessor’s Office
• Owner’s copy (for presentation purposes only) and photocopy (for authentication) of the Original Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates and Death Certificates
• Certified copy of  Official Receipts of Documentary Stamps Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Estate Tax  and photocopy
• Certified copy of Tax Declaration of Real Property  and photocopy

E.)  File a request for Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) at the BIR. This document is a certification proving that the transfer of property has been approved by the BIR and that the taxes due on the said property have already been paid. Hence, this document gives the RD the go signal to transfer the title to the seller’s name.

Upon submission, BIR representative will give you claim slip which you will use to claim the Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) on the date provided. It is one of the requirements for the Registry of Deeds for the title registration and issuance of a new Owner’s Duplicate Original Copy of the Transfer Certificate of Title or the Condominium Certificate of Title.

The CAR will be released to you together with the following:

• Original copy of the Deed of Absolute Sale stamped received by the BIR
• Owner’s Duplicate Copy of the Transfer Certificate of Title or the Condominium Certificate of Title
• Original Copies of the BIR Form 1706 (CGT) and Form 2000 (DST) stamped received by the BIR
• Copies of the Tax Declaration for land and improvement

After submission of all requirements, it would take at least 40 days, based on my own experience for properties in Biliran Province.

VII. Go back to the Assessor’s office and pay the transfer taxes

Proceed to the local treasurer's office for the payment of transfer fee and secure a copy of tax clearance upon payment of a certain fee for its issuance upon presentation of the following:

• Original and 1 photocopy of the Deed of Absolute Sale
• Photocopy of Tax Declaration
• Official Receipt of Payment of Real Property Tax and Special Education Fund Tax for the current year
• Documentary Stamps Receipt
• Capital Gains Tax Return Receipt
• Estate Tax Return Receipt
• Certificate Authorizing Registration from the Bureau of Internal Revenue
• Tax clearance certificate from the Treasurer’s Office
• Official receipt of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (for documentary stamp tax)
• Photocopy of Deed of Sale
• Photocopy of Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT)
• Photocopy of Tax Declaration

Pay the following: They will issue you the Transfer Tax Receipt 

a.) Transfer Tax Fee is computed as 1/2 of 1% (0.5%) of the Selling Price or Zonal Value or Fair Market Value of Tax Declaration, whichever is higher. – Payment of Transfer Tax is responsibility of the Buyer

Fee:

• Transfer Tax Fee - 3,000 pesos

VIII. Registry of Deeds - (Located in the City Hall or Municipal Hall)

Go back to the Registry of Deeds and show the official receipts of the paid taxes from the BIR and Assessor’s office, and the Certificate Authorizing Registration. 

Submit Documents to the Register of Deeds. Present the following documents to the ROD which is required for the issuance of the new Owner’s Duplicate Copy of the Transfer Certificate of Title or Condominium Certificate of Title in your name:

• Original plus 3 photocopies of the Deed of Absolute Sale stamped received by the BIR
• Owner’s Duplicate Copy of the Transfer Certificate of Title (CCT)
• Original Copy of the Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR)
• Original Copy of the Realty Tax Clearance
• Original Copies of Official Receipts of Payments of Capital Gains Tax, Documentary Stamp Tax, Tax Clearance Certificate and Transfer Fee
• Original Copies of the Current Tax Declaration for land and improvement issued by the local assessor’s office
• Affidavit of Publication of Settlement

Note: Then there is also a need for the Affidavit of Publication of Settlement that you have executed to be published in the newspaper of general circulation for three (3) consecutive weeks in the Philippines or in the locality where the property is situated and thereafter secure an affidavit of such publication from the publisher or editor of the newspaper.

Upon acceptance of these requirements, pay the computed Registration Fee. There is a turnaround time of about at least one month or 45 days for the new title to be issued under your name. The Registry of Deeds ( ROD) shall give  you the Owner's Duplicate of Title of your new TCT (Land Title).

Pay the following:

a.) Registration Fee – 0.25% of the selling price, or zonal value or fair market value, whichever is higher. – Payment of Registration Fee is responsibility of the Buyer

Fee:

• Registration Fee - 6,237 pesos
• Affidavit of Publication of Settlement - 1,000 pesos

Note:

• Once you have the copy, check that all details on the certified copy and seller’s title are identical. Everything has to be identical, down to the last letter. If there are discrepancies, you should ask the seller to verify this.
• The Register of Deeds will only release the owner’s duplicate of the title to the presenter of the transaction, who normally is the registered owner or a party to the instrument. If the owner’s copy of the title is to be claimed by a person or party other than the presenter of the document, then he/she must have written authority from the registered owner or the party to the instrument. Only under such condition will the Register of Deeds release the owner’s copy to that person other than the presenter.

IX. Go back to Assessors Office & secure Tax Declaration

Once you secure Owner’s Duplicate Copy of the Transfer Certificate of Title or Condominium Certificate of Title, proceed to the local assessor’s office to request for the issuance of the Tax Declaration in your name. 

The following documents are required for the issuance of the Tax Declaration on your land and improvement:

• Photocopy of the Deed of Absolute Sale
• Photocopy of the Transfer Certificate of Title or the Condominium Certificate of Title
• Photocopy of the CAR
• Photocopy of the Transfer Tax Receipt
• Photocopy of the latest Tax Receipt or Tax Clearance
• Photocopy of the latest Tax Declaration (in the name of seller)

In other local assessor’s office such as in Makati City, the following are also required:

• Subdivision Plan if lot is subdivided
• Colored Photos of house, lot or condominium unit

Fee:

• Assessor Fee - 3,000 pesos

Glossary:
1.) Land Registration Authority - The rules governing property ownership in the Philippines is handled by the Land Registration Authority (LRA), and is primarily based on the Torrens System of Land Registration.

2.) Registry of Deeds (ROD) - A Registry of Deeds (RD) is assigned to keep records of every land title in a city or municipality, they keep the original copy of registered land titles; while an “Owner’s Duplicate Certificate” is given to the current property owner.

3.) Certificate of Authorizing Registration - Issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue in order to transfer a title of a property from the seller to the buyer. Once issued, it would mean that applicable taxes on such transfers of properties are being paid such as Capital Gains Tax / Withholding Tax and Documentary Tax.

4.) Transfer Certificate of Title - Refers to the property title of a land, or a land with a built property (ex. house and lot). This details the property location, plus the size of the land, the registration number and the owner. It also details the previous TCT's that were cancelled due to the transfer of ownership.

* Hope this helps.

End of process...

 

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