Panama

Panama is known above all for the Panama Canal: it joins the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and opened in 1914. The country occupies the isthmus of Central America, about 40 per cent of its territory is covered by jungle, and it is home to plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. A hot, humid climate with a long rainy season and about 500 rivers sustain its rich nature. The national parks of Coiba on the Pacific and Darién on the border with Colombia are on the UNESCO list, and the ruins of Panamá Viejo, founded in 1519, recall the colonial history. The Barú volcano, 3,475 m high, is the highest point of the country, and in the mountains near the town of Boquete the main occupation of the residents is growing coffee. The capital, Panama City, combines colonial ruins and modern museums, for example the Biomuseo by the architect Frank Gehry.

What to see and how far it is from our places

• Panamá Viejo (UNESCO). Panamá Viejo is the ruins of the first city of Panama, founded in 1519 on the outskirts of the present capital. The tower of the old cathedral, the Concepción convent and the House of the Genoese survive, and archaeologists continue work on the site. The site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. Panama City — 7 km, Pedasí — 172 km, Bocas del Toro — 306 km.
• Forts of Portobelo and San Lorenzo (UNESCO). Military fortifications that the Spanish empire built on the Caribbean coast of Panama in the 17th–18th centuries. About ten forts stand on the hillsides behind the harbour of Portobelo. The site was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1980. Panama City — 66 km, Pedasí — 226 km, Bocas del Toro — 286 km.
• La Amistad International Park (UNESCO). A transboundary reserve on the border with Costa Rica, which the two countries manage jointly. It is part of the UNESCO site "Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves". About 600 species of birds have been recorded in the park. Bocas del Toro — 76 km, Boquete — 88 km, Panama City — 376 km.
• Coiba National Park (UNESCO). Coiba island is the largest island in Central America, with an area of about 494 km², off the Pacific coast of Panama. The marine reserve around the island was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2005. About 760 species of marine fish have been recorded in its waters. Boquete — 161 km, Pedasí — 196 km, Bocas del Toro — 212 km.
• Darién National Park (UNESCO). A national park in the east of Panama, on the border with Colombia, with an area of about 5,790 km². It has been on the UNESCO list since 1981. The Darién Gap passes through here, where the jungle interrupts the Pan-American Highway. Panama City — 258 km, Pedasí — 273 km.
• Biomuseo. A biodiversity museum in Panama City, designed by the architect Frank Gehry and opened in 2014. The building offers about 4,000 m² of exhibition space. Panama City — 4 km, Pedasí — 162 km, Bocas del Toro — 300 km.
• Volcán Barú National Park. A national park around the Barú volcano, the highest point of Panama at 3,475 m. The park was created in 1976 and covers about 143 km². The town of Boquete lies on the eastern slope of the volcano. Boquete — 12 km, Bocas del Toro — 66 km, Pedasí — 311 km.
• Bocas del Toro archipelago. A Caribbean archipelago of six large islands, about 50 cays and about 200 islets. The main settlement, Bocas del Toro (Bocas Town), stands on Colón island. It has about 13,000 residents according to 2008 data. Bocas del Toro — 13 km, Boquete — 62 km, Panama City — 289 km.
• Soberanía National Park. A national park of about 220 km² in the provinces of Panama and Colón, created in 1980. It lies about 25 km from Panama City. Panama City — 18 km, Pedasí — 174 km, Bocas del Toro — 286 km.
• Panama Canal. A shipping canal about 82 km long, joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the Isthmus of Panama. Opened on 15 August 1914; the expansion completed in 2016 doubled its capacity. Panama City — 29 km, Pedasí — 177 km, Bocas del Toro — 275 km.

• Ownership. A foreigner buys and holds titled land and property in their own name. Article 47 of the Constitution gives them the same property rights as a citizen.
• Border strip. Properties within 10 km of the international border are restricted. This comes from an agency page, not from an official source.
• Bocas del Toro. On the islands, what is often sold is not title but only a right of possession of the plot (ROP).
• Commercial property can be bought freely; details are in a separate section.

Buying:

The sources differ: the general figure is 1.5–3%, local agencies say up to 4%. Example on a price of $300,000: at 1.5% that is $4,500, at 3% it is $9,000. By law the buyer does not bear the transfer tax: the law of 31 August 2026 (Ley 546) declares void any contract term that shifts it to the buyer. The tax base is described in different ways: the DGI page gives the land or cadastral value, while the text of the law gives the transaction value, but not less than the cadastral value.

Holding:

• Property tax is calculated on the cadastral value: up to $30,000 — 0%, up to $250,000 — 0.6%, up to $500,000 — 0.8%, above that — 1%. A reduced scale exists only for the owner's main home and does not apply to an investor.

Selling:

• Capital gains tax is 10% of the difference between the price and the base value (cadastral or book value, whichever is lower), plus improvements and costs. The law has no separate rate for a non-resident.
• The sources also mention a 3% advance on the price at closing, with the right to choose 10% on the profit instead; the 2021 rule is known to us from summaries, and we have not yet seen the text of the law.
• The transfer of sale proceeds abroad is unrestricted according to our records.

• Long-term. There are no restrictions; the parties set the term and conditions themselves, usually a one-year contract with renewal.
• Short-term. Lets of under 45 days are restricted in Panama City: under law 80 of 2012 an ATP licence is required, usually through a hotel operator. In other areas, according to our records, there are no restrictions.

Rental tax in Panama is the scale for individuals:

The scale applies to a resident. On a payment to a non-resident the tenant withholds tax: the scale is applied to 50% of the payment, that is, up to 12.5% of the rent. There is no withholding if the non-resident is registered with the DGI as an income-tax payer.

This is the tax in Panama. The tax in the investor's country of residence is calculated separately.

A non-resident can get a mortgage from at least one bank: Scotiabank Panama, whose website has moved to Davibank. These are the terms of one bank, not the law; at other banks, for example Global Bank, a loan requires residence in Panama.

A plot — 50% of the price. The term is up to 25 years for a home and up to 15 years for a plot; the borrower's age plus the term must not exceed 75 years. The bank's page has recently moved, so the terms may be out of date.

• Qualified Investor. An investment of $300k or more in a new build, or $500k or more in a resale property (the requirement has applied since 16 September 2026). The status is permanent residence; the property is held for 5 years. The source is an agency page, not an official one.
• Family. The permit covers the spouse and children; children aged 18–24 if in full-time study. For each person $1,000 is paid to the treasury and $1,000 to the immigration service (list of the Ministry of Commerce of 2021, whose investment thresholds are out of date).
• Citizenship. There is no direct route through investment. An application can be filed after 5 years of permanent residence on the general terms.

A house price index for Panama is not yet available in our base: the Bank for International Settlements does not publish one, or it has not been loaded by us. The four rows (in local currency and in dollars, adjusted for inflation and not adjusted) are therefore not built. The country runs on the dollar: according to the newspaper La Estrella, a law of 1904 recognised the dollar as legal tender, and the balboa equals it one to one. The source is a newspaper, not an official one. For a buyer holding dollars, two rows would therefore be enough — unadjusted and adjusted for inflation.

The directory holds 45 areas: Bocas del Toro 16, Panama City 10, Boquete 8, Pedasí 7, Coronado 4.

Prices read on pages are available only for Pedasí. This is a broker's report that refers to early 2025; the page itself carries no date; we read it on 11 October 2026. The prices are asking prices.

What can be seen:

• In Costa Pedasí, according to the report, at the start of 2025 24 of the developer's 90 plots remained.
• For Bocas del Toro, Boquete, Coronado and Panama City, prices are not yet available on the pages we read.

The level of safety is assessed officially by province. According to the SIEC report for 2025 (preliminary, as of 21 December), in the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí (Boquete) and Los Santos (Pedasí) it is low on the report's scale, in Panama province moderate, in Colón high. Figures for individual cities are not yet available.

What a foreigner can buy. Offices and retail premises — freely, according to the official guide for investors. Only Panamanians may run retail trade as a business. Purchase in the name of an individual is possible; law-firm pages call a corporation desirable but not mandatory.

How it differs from residential.

• The transfer tax is 2% and is paid by the seller, as for residential property: the law does not single out commercial property. This is a conclusion from the text of the law.
• The annual property tax is the same scale from 0% to 1% of the cadastral value. The special relief for a main home does not extend to shops and offices.
• VAT (ITBMS) on rent is 7%. According to a record, someone invoicing less than $36,000 a year may not charge it; our check of the DGI page did not see this threshold.
• Rental of non-residential premises is governed by law 93 of 1973 as amended in 1974: the term and renewal are binding on both parties, and the tenant may withdraw if the contract says so. The minimum term from the original text may have changed; not yet verified.

Hotels and aparthotels. Rules on rooms sold as an investment are not yet available in our records.

Rent, yield, vacant space. Figures by segment are not yet available in our base.

Where it is concentrated. In Panama City, offices are in the districts of Marbella and Obarrio (the banking district, Calle 50), San Francisco and Costa del Este (La Prensa newspaper, 2022, the data is out of date). The catalogue also lists Bella Vista, Punta Pacífica, Paitilla and Ciudad del Saber. In Coronado the retail zone runs along the Pan-American Highway.

• Permitted; governed by law 284.
• Instalments are usually held in escrow or a trust, with payments by stage. Protection is set by the contract. The sources call escrow particularly appropriate for a foreigner.

The directory holds one developer: Empresas Bern.

Listings and agencies: DoPanama, Encuentra24 Panama, InmoPanama, Panama Equity Real Estate, Panama Properties, Panama-Real-Estate.com, Panama Sol Realty, Panama Sovereign Realty, RootsPanama.