Key takeaways
- Foreigners can own 100 percent of an SAS with no Colombian partner, and the company can hold real estate in its own name.
- If you run a short-term rental with guests, docks, boats, and staff, a corporate wrapper keeps a guest lawsuit or labor claim away from your personal assets.
- The SAS pays corporate income tax at 35 percent on net profit, and getting money out to you as dividends adds a second layer of withholding for non-resident shareholders (currently around 20 percent; confirm the current rate with your accountant).
- One property rented occasionally does not generate enough tax advantage to cover $1,500 a year in compliance plus a 35 percent rate on profits.
- How we knowFigures as of October 13, 2026.
For one vacation home, no: personal ownership is simpler and usually cheaper than an SAS (Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada). An SAS starts making sense with multiple properties, business partners, or a genuine rental operation. Weigh Colombia's 35 percent corporate income tax rate first.
What an SAS is
The SAS is Colombia's simplified stock corporation, the local equivalent of an LLC: one or more shareholders, limited liability, created by private document registered at the Cámara de Comercio. Foreigners can own 100 percent of an SAS with no Colombian partner, and the company can hold real estate in its own name. Setup with a lawyer typically runs a few hundred to about $1,500 USD, plus registration fees.
None of this is required to own property here. As we cover in our guide for foreign buyers, foreigners hold full freehold title in their own name with no residency and no local partner. The SAS is a choice, not a requirement.
The case for an SAS
Liability separation. If you run a short-term rental with guests, docks, boats, and staff, a corporate wrapper keeps a guest lawsuit or labor claim away from your personal assets.
Multiple properties and partners. Two or three co-investors holding shares in one SAS is far cleaner than three names on three deeds. Shareholder agreements handle exits, and ownership percentages are flexible.
Operating a real business. If you are running an event finca or several rentals with employees, invoicing, and deductible expenses (management, maintenance, marketing, depreciation), corporate accounting captures costs cleanly. Our Guatapé Airbnb pillar covers what that operation actually earns.
Selling shares instead of property. A future buyer can purchase the company rather than the property, transferring ownership without a new escritura. In practice most buyers still prefer a clean asset purchase, because buying shares means inheriting the company's history.
The case against
Tax drag. The SAS pays corporate income tax at 35 percent on net profit, and getting money out to you as dividends adds a second layer of withholding for non-resident shareholders (currently around 20 percent; confirm the current rate with your accountant). An individual owner, by contrast, pays personal income tax on net rental profit that, after deductions, often lands at an effective 5 to 15 percent blended rate for typical rental incomes.
Running costs forever. A Colombian accountant to handle RUT, Cámara de Comercio renewals, RNT, and monthly IVA filings runs about $80 to $180 USD per property per month, plus the annual mercantile registry renewal. That is $1,000 to $2,000 a year before the company earns a peso.
No personal-use logic. A company that owns a house you use for free creates related-party questions your accountant has to paper over. Vacation homes and companies mix poorly.
Personal name vs SAS at a glance
| Factor | Personal ownership | SAS ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax on rental profit | Progressive personal rates, often 5 to 15 percent effective after deductions | 35 percent corporate, plus dividend withholding to extract profit |
| Sale after 2+ years | 15 percent ganancia ocasional on the net gain | 15 percent ganancia ocasional at company level; extraction taxed again |
| Annual running cost | Minimal (predial tax, simple filing if required) | Roughly $1,000 to $2,000 USD in accounting and registry costs |
| Liability | Personal exposure | Limited to company assets |
| Partners | Awkward (co-ownership on deed) | Clean (shares and shareholder agreement) |
| Setup | None beyond the purchase itself | Incorporation, RUT, bank account, registered agent duties |
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- Notarial fee0.27%, buyer's customary half
- Registration tax0.67%
- Beneficencia1.00%
- Stamp tax (timbre)Marginal, only on the slice above COP 1,047,480,000; negotiated at the notary
- Total in COP
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The break-even logic
A simple test: if the liability protection and partnership mechanics are not solving a real problem you have today, the SAS is a cost, not a structure. One property rented occasionally does not generate enough tax advantage to cover $1,500 a year in compliance plus a 35 percent rate on profits. A three-property rental operation with staff and partners usually does justify it. Buyers in between should price both structures with a Colombian accountant before signing a promesa, because moving a property into a company later is a new taxable conveyance with fresh notary and registration costs (closing costs run 2 percent, detailed in our closing costs guide). A share purchase needs a corporate audit on top of the standard property due diligence checklist. Individual buyers face the friendlier path: rates of 8 to 13 percent with about 30 percent down, as covered in our guide to mortgages for foreigners.
Setting up an SAS, step by step
Incorporation is genuinely simple by regional standards, which is the whole point of the SAS format. The sequence, all of it doable remotely through a power of attorney:
| Step | Where it happens | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Name availability check | RUES registry (Cámara de Comercio) | Confirms the company name is free |
| 2. Draft the estatutos (bylaws) | Your lawyer, private document | Shareholders, capital, management rules |
| 3. Register the company | Cámara de Comercio | Matrícula mercantil; the SAS legally exists |
| 4. Obtain the company RUT | DIAN | Tax ID the company needs for everything |
| 5. Open a corporate bank account | Colombian bank | Where purchase funds and rent flow |
| 6. Buy the property | Notary and Oficina de Registro | Escritura naming the SAS as owner |
How we knowFigures as of October 13, 2026. Prices: active listings we verified ourselves; USD rate: TRM 3,181.74 COP per US$1, valid October 14, 2026 (Banco de la República, via datos.gov.co).
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner own 100 percent of an SAS?
Yes. There is no Colombian partner requirement and no minimum capital tied to nationality. You can incorporate remotely through a power of attorney, and the company can then buy property in its own name.
Does buying through an SAS avoid closing costs?
Buying an existing company's shares avoids the notary and registration process on the property itself, but you inherit every liability in the company's history. Most buyers and lawyers prefer a standard asset purchase with the usual 2 percent closing costs precisely because it produces a clean title.
Does an SAS help me get a visa?
Structure matters here. Colombia's current framework (Resolution 5477 of 2022) assesses investor visas on registered foreign direct investment, and a real estate purchase in your own name is the most straightforward evidence. If you are combining a company with a visa strategy, involve an immigration lawyer before choosing the structure.
Talk to a team that closes these deals
We are the Guatapé Properties team and we can introduce you to the accountants and lawyers our own buyers use to choose between personal and corporate ownership. Browse current listings and market data at our Guatapé real estate guide, or message us on WhatsApp at +57 312 668 1788 and tell us what you are planning. We will give you a straight answer.
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Real estate broker · writes for the network · Real estate broker, Guatapé and eastern Antioquia. Specializing in Guatapé and El Peñol, Antioquia, Colombia. Founder of Mike Zapata Real Estate and the guide behind the Guatapé Properties and Guatapé Finca Raíz portals.