How are notary fees split between buyer and seller in Colombia?

Notary fees in Colombia are conventionally split between buyer and seller, each paying roughly half the base notarial tariff, while the beneficencia charge, about 0.29 percent of the property value, falls specifically on the buyer under standard market practice for a 2026 closing.

Why "split" is a custom, not a law

Colombian law sets the notarial tariff itself, currently around 3.57 per thousand of the transaction value for 2026, but it doesn't mandate how buyer and seller divide that cost between them. The 50/50 split is simply the dominant market convention, which means it can be renegotiated in the promesa de compraventa if both parties agree to a different arrangement.

Why an accurate expectation avoids friction mid-negotiation

A buyer or seller who enters negotiations assuming the other side automatically covers a specific share, without confirming it, sometimes discovers a mismatch only once the notary presents the final liquidación, which is a genuinely avoidable source of last-minute tension between parties who otherwise agreed on the purchase price weeks earlier.

What each party typically covers

Why this convention exists

The logic behind splitting the base tariff is that both parties benefit from the transaction being formally documented and legally protected, buyer and seller alike, whereas registro and beneficencia are treated as costs specifically tied to registering new ownership, which falls to the party acquiring that ownership.

Where this gets negotiated in practice

In a competitive seller's market, a buyer with negotiating leverage limited may accept the standard split without pushing back, while in a slower market a seller motivated to close quickly might offer to cover a larger share of closing costs as an incentive. This is exactly the kind of term worth raising during price and terms negotiation, not left as an unstated assumption until the notary presents the final liquidación.

Getting this in writing before closing day

Whatever split is agreed, stating it explicitly in the promesa de compraventa avoids a disagreement at the notary when the actual liquidación arrives; verbal understandings about "standard practice" are the most common source of last-minute friction between otherwise cooperative parties.

Why the total percentage matters more than who pays which line item

From a pure budgeting standpoint, what matters most for a buyer is the total closing-cost percentage they'll actually pay, generally within the 3 to 5 percent range, rather than which specific line item is labeled as theirs versus the seller's; a buyer who negotiates a lower total share of costs benefits the same way regardless of how the notary's liquidación itemizes it.

How this compares to closing-cost splits elsewhere

Buyers coming from markets where closing costs are entirely the buyer's responsibility, or entirely negotiated differently, sometimes assume Colombia's convention works the same way; confirming the local convention explicitly, rather than importing an assumption from a different country's real estate practice, avoids a surprise at the notary. A buyer relocating from a market where the seller customarily absorbs most closing costs, for example, may be surprised to see registro and beneficencia land entirely on their side of the liquidación in Colombia.

What happens when buyer and seller can't agree on a split

If negotiations stall specifically over who pays what share of closing costs, falling back to the standard 50/50 notarial split with buyer covering registro and beneficencia is the default most Colombian notaries and attorneys will suggest, since it reflects what the overwhelming majority of transactions actually do.

Using this default as a starting point for negotiation, rather than an assumed fixed rule, keeps the conversation productive without either party feeling like they're asking for something unusual.

Where this fits into the broader closing cost picture

The notarial split is only one piece of the overall closing-day charges a buyer and seller navigate together; understanding it in isolation is useful, but budgeting for a closing means adding it to registro, beneficencia, and any applicable retención rather than treating it as the whole picture.

A buyer who only budgets for their share of the notarial tariff, without accounting for registro and beneficencia landing on their side too, tends to underestimate their true total closing cost by a meaningful margin.

Is the 50/50 notary split required by Colombian law?

No, it's market convention only; the notarial tariff itself is regulated, but how the parties divide it between them is freely negotiable.

Who pays the beneficencia charge by default?

The buyer, under standard market practice, since it's tied to the registration of new ownership.

Can a seller agree to cover the buyer's full closing costs?

Yes, this happens in slower markets or as part of a negotiated concession, though it isn't the default expectation.

Does the split change for a cash purchase versus a financed one?

No, the notarial cost-split convention is independent of how the buyer is financing the purchase.

Should this be negotiated before or after the promesa is signed?

Before; once the promesa is signed without specifying the split, renegotiating it later becomes considerably harder.

Does a foreign buyer pay a different split than a Colombian buyer?

No, the convention applies the same way regardless of the buyer's nationality or residency status.

Does the notarial tariff percentage change from year to year?

It can be adjusted periodically, so confirming the current 2026 rate directly with the notary handling your specific closing is worth doing rather than relying on a figure from a prior year's transaction.

Talk to a Guatape Properties agent about your specific plans.