ANSWERS · SOURCED AND DATED
What does it cost to buy property in Saint Lucia?
For a Saint Lucian or CARICOM buyer, about 3.1% to 4.3% on top of the price: stamp duty of 2%, an attorney at 1% to 2%, and 12.5% VAT on the attorney's fee. A non-CARICOM buyer adds the Alien Landholding Licence: a US$3,000 Certificate of Eligibility (US$10,000 for ten years) plus US$100 to US$20,000 by acreage, in US dollars by statute. The seller pays more: vendor's tax of 2.5% to 5% for citizens or a flat 10% for non-citizens, a 5% agent's commission plus VAT, and their own attorney. No capital gains tax. Every line below carries its statute or source, the date we checked it and a confidence grade; where our sources disagree we show the disagreement rather than pick a side.
Last checked 7 Sep 2026 · rates in EC$, US$ and £ (£ indicative at £1 = US$1.36 = EC$3.68)
02 · THE COSTS
What sits on top of the price
Price entered
Buyer pays
Loading the cost lines…
Seller pays (out of the price)
What is uncertain
THE LINE ITEMS
Every cost, with its source
Rate, basis, who pays, the statute or source, the date we checked it and our confidence. Amber means thin or disputed; "verify with counsel" means we found no statute and will not invent one.
| Item | Rate | Basis | Who pays | Statute or source | Checked | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer pays | ||||||
| Stamp duty on the transfer (purchaser)One secondary source read for the repository (PwC summary, research/build-costs.md) records 10% for a non-resident purchaser, whereas the Act reading places the 10% on the non-citizen vendor. The calculator uses 2% for every buyer and shows the 10% reading as an uncertainty for foreign buyers. | 2% | of the consideration (the price on Form L.R.1); assessed by Inland Revenue before the transfer is registered | buyer | Stamp Duty Act, Schedule item 36 (conveyance or transfer of immovable | 2026-09-07 | high |
| Stamp duty, non-resident purchaser (conflicting reading)Verify with counsel before exchange. Not added to the total; the amount it would add is shown under 'what is uncertain'. | 10% | of the consideration, if this reading is right | buyer (foreign), disputed | PwC Tax Summaries as recorded in research/build-costs.md §6.2 ('Stamp | 2026-09-07 | low |
| Alien Landholding Licence: Certificate of EligibilityFees are set in US$ in the Schedule. | US$3,000 (1 year) or US$10,000 (10 years) | fixed fee, non-refundable, per applicant | buyer (non-CARICOM) | Alien Landholding (Licensing) Regulations, S.I. 2020 No. 70, Schedule | 2026-09-07 | high |
| Alien Landholding Licence: the licence itself, by acreageAn older EC$ table (EC$5,400 application; EC$5,000 to EC$50,000 by acreage; also EC$1,500 plus EC$5,000 to EC$10,020 in one buying guide) still circulates on agency sites. Per the current Schedule 3 that is the repealed pre-2020 regime; if an attorney quotes EC$ licence fees, ask which regulations they are quoting. Recorded here as the 'alhl-legacy-fee-table' line. | US$100 (lot in an approved subdivision); US$2,500 (up to 1 acre); US$5,000 (over 1 to 5 acres); US$10,500 (over 5 to 10 acres); US$20,000 (over 10 acres) | fixed fee per property by lot size; one licence per property | buyer (non-CARICOM) | Alien Landholding (Licensing) Regulations, S.I. 2020 No. 70, Schedule | 2026-09-07 | high |
| Alien Landholding Licence: EC$ fee table (pre-2020 regime, as still quoted by agents)Shown so a buyer who has seen these numbers knows where they come from. Not used in any total. | EC$5,400 application + EC$5,000 to EC$50,000 by acreage | fixed fees; superseded | buyer (non-CARICOM), superseded | Repealed Aliens (Licensing) Act regime as reproduced on agency buying | 2026-09-07 | low |
| Attorney's conveyancing fee (buyer's own attorney)A licence application, a mortgage deed and a company purchase each add to the fee; ask for a written quote. The 1st National Bank '1st Home' product waives legal fees up to EC$20,000 on purchase loans (research/build-costs.md §6.1). | 1% to 2% | of the price; each side instructs and pays its own attorney-at-law (the transfer is executed before an attorney acting as Notary Royal) | buyer | BCQS Caribbean 2025 (1 to 2%) | 2026-09-07 | medium |
| VAT on the attorney's feeThe sale of land itself is not subject to VAT in this model; if a developer sells a new build with VAT on the price, that is a separate line the developer must state. | 12.5% | of the attorney's fee (standard-rated service); not on the price of the property | buyer | VAT standard rate 12.5% (Value Added Tax Act | 2026-09-07 | medium |
| Land Registry registration fee for the transferVerify with counsel. Carried as EC$0 in the total and listed under 'what is uncertain'. | unknown (not published in our sources) | fixed fee per instrument, expected to be small relative to duty; a register search is EC$5 | buyer | Land Registration Act and Rules (fee schedule not located) | 2026-09-07 | low |
| Seller pays | ||||||
| Vendor's tax, citizen / CARICOM national / local companyRates: high confidence. Slab versus marginal: unverified, so the calculator shows both readings. | nil up to EC$50,000; 2.5% (EC$50,001 to 75,000); 3.5% (75,001 to 150,000); 5% (over 150,000) | of the consideration; band reading of the schedule, whether the bands apply to the whole price (slab) or marginally is unverified | vendor | Stamp Duty Act, Schedule item 36 as amended S.I. 72/2002 and S.I. 100/ | 2026-09-07 | medium |
| Vendor's tax, non-citizen vendorSaint Lucia has no capital gains tax; the vendor's tax is the transfer-side charge. | 10% | of the consideration, flat | vendor | Stamp Duty Act, Schedule item 36 as amended (docs/transaction-data.md | 2026-09-07 | high |
| Estate agent's commissionNegotiable and not a statutory charge. Off-plan developer sales may carry no agent. | 5% + VAT 12.5% on the commission | of the sale price, paid by the vendor under the agency agreement | vendor | Market norm, BCQS Caribbean Construction Cost Guide 2025 p.7 (research | 2026-09-07 | high |
| Attorney's fee (vendor's own attorney) | 1% to 2% | of the price, plus VAT 12.5% | vendor | As for the buyer's attorney (BCQS 2025 | 2026-09-07 | medium |
| State relief (reduces or removes a line) | ||||||
| Stamp duty waived, qualifying NIC/SLDB mortgage at or under EC$400,000The measure is real (high confidence). Its exact scope is not published: whether it waives the duty on the transfer, on the mortgage deed, or both, and whether it is capped at the first EC$400,000 or lost above it. The calculator applies it to the buyer's transfer duty only when the qualifying-mortgage box is ticked and the price is at or under EC$400,000, and says so. | 100% of the stamp duty, if the purchase qualifies | purchase financed by a qualifying residential mortgage under the NIC-guaranteed SLDB facility, at or under EC$400,000 | state forgoes | Parliament approval 10 September 2024 | 2026-09-07 | medium |
| VAT zero-rated on building materialsNot a purchase cost; shown for land buyers because it changes what the land is worth to them. Import duty and the customs service charge are unaffected. Model it on the cost-to-build page. | 12.5% VAT removed from cement, lumber, steel, aluminium, galvanise and solar PV | materials bought to build; relevant to a land buyer who will build | state forgoes | Parliament, reported St Lucia Times 15 July 2026 | 2026-09-07 | high |
| First-time land buyer: 50% deduction of loan interestAn income-tax deduction, not a purchase-cost reduction; no published end date; residency and eligibility fine print not published. Shown as a note, never in the total. | 50% of the interest on the land loan deductible from taxable income | first land purchase, plot up to 22,000 sq ft; the value depends on your interest bill and marginal tax rate | state forgoes | Parliament, reported St Lucia Times 15 July 2026 | 2026-09-07 | medium |
| Citizenship by Investment route | ||||||
| CIP real-estate option: minimum investmentThreshold: medium confidence. Availability of approved projects: low; the EU has asked all five OECS CBI states to phase out CBI by 1 June 2028 (docs/island-2.md). | US$300,000 in an approved development | minimum qualifying purchase; holding period applies | buyer (CIP) | Citizenship by Investment programme, real-estate option minimum as rec | 2026-09-07 | medium |
| CIP government, due-diligence and processing feesVerify with an authorised CIP agent or counsel; these fees commonly exceed the property transaction costs and are not modelled here. | unknown (not in our sources) | per applicant and dependant; set by the CIP Unit | buyer (CIP) | Citizenship by Investment Regulations | 2026-09-07 | low |
| Whether a CIP purchase also needs an Alien Landholding LicenceVerify with counsel. The calculator shows what the licence would add if required, outside the total. | unknown | depends on the approved-project arrangements and the applicant's status at completion | buyer (CIP), if required | Not settled in our sources | 2026-09-07 | low |
Confidence: high = statute or gazetted schedule read directly, or two independent sources agree · medium = one good secondary source, or a statute whose wording leaves a question · low = agent guides only, sources conflict, or not found; verify with counsel.
How the calculators work
- (a) Local or CARICOM buyer: 2% stamp duty, attorney 1% to 2%, VAT on the attorney's fee. Tick the NIC/SLDB box and, at or under EC$400,000, the stamp duty is waived; above it we do not apply the waiver and say why.
- (b) Foreign buyer with a licence: the same, plus the Certificate of Eligibility (US$3,000 or US$10,000) and the licence fee by acreage from Schedule 3 of S.I. 2020 No. 70, converted at the peg. The 10% "non-resident purchaser" figure seen in one tax summary is shown as an uncertainty with the amount it would add, not in the total.
- (c) CIP route: the same transaction costs as a local buyer, a check against the US$300,000 minimum, and three things we cannot source: programme fees, whether a licence is also needed, and whether any approved project is currently selling.
- Seller's table: vendor's tax by class (citizen bands read as a slab, with the marginal reading shown when it differs; non-citizen 10%), commission 5% plus VAT, the seller's attorney plus VAT.
- Not modelled: survey plan, valuation and bank fees on a mortgage, mortgage-deed stamp duty, insurance, property tax after purchase (0.25% of open-market value a year, residential), and any VAT a developer charges on a new build. Each is real; none is a statutory transfer cost.
Regulated territory. We publish the public facts; we never advise. For anything that binds you, use a Saint Lucia attorney-at-law, the Inland Revenue Department for duty and vendor's tax, and the licence board under the Ministry responsible for physical development for the Alien Landholding Licence. Corrections with a source: corrections form.