When purchasing real estate in Bacolod City, most buyers focus entirely on the Land Title. While a title check is a crucial part of real property due diligence, ignoring the property’s local tax status is a high-stakes legal gamble.
Real property tax liabilities (commonly called amilyar) follow the land. If the previous owner neglected their taxes for five years, those back taxes, along with heavy monthly surcharges and interests, become your legal responsibility the moment you buy the property.
Moreover, you cannot transfer the title to your name if you will not clear such back taxes.
To protect your investment, you must conduct thorough Tax Verification or also known as Tax Clearance.
How to get Tax Clearance (Certification on Non-Delinquency)
This process requires navigating two distinct local government units (LGUs) located on the Ground Floor of the Bacolod City New Government Center (NGC) (Right Side) on Circumferential Road: the City Assessor’s Office and the Office of the City Treasurer.
Here is the local lawyer’s guide to verifying real property taxes in Bacolod City.
- Who may avail? All eligible tax payers.
- This is classified as a simple Government to Citizen or Government to Business Entity Transaction.
Step 1: Proceed to the City Treasurer’s Office – Land Tax Division
The CTO is located at the right side of the NGC.
Present the following documents:
- [ ] Photocopy of the Current Land Title (Transfer Certificate of Title / TCT) (1 copy) | Secure from ROD
- [ ] Previous/Latest Real Property Tax Official Receipt (O.R.) (original) | Secure from Seller/Owner
- [ ] Copy of the Existing Tax Declaration / NARP (Notice of Assessment of Real Property) (original) (reference) | Secure from City Assessor’s Office. (If you don’t have it yet, see this guide.)
- [ ] Property Index Number (PIN) of the lot or building (original or photocopy) | Secure from City Assessor’s Office
- [ ] Apostilled Special Power of Attorney (SPA) (If the buyer/owner is currently residing abroad, such as in New York, explicitly authorizing a Bacolod representative to request tax documents).
- [ ] Valid Government-Issued ID of both the presenter and the owner.
They will issue miscellaneous fee/s particularly Certification Fee or Tax Clearance Fee needed for Clearance of Land Tax. Pay the required clearance fee of PHP 50.00 per Lot/Title at the (Windows 1–8). This may take 2-3 minutes.
Step 2: Proceed to CTO Clearance Section (Accounting)
They will verify the payment receipt.
If the records show that all payments are entirely up to date, you can officially receive the Tax Clearance or Certification of Non-Delinquency.
Step 3: If No Issuance of Tax Clearance
If no tax clearance is issued, you have to settle your arrears. Here’s how to pay real property tax in Bacolod NGC.
- Take note if there are existing compromise agreements between the previous owner and the outstanding tax arrears.
- Inquire about tax amnesties and their corresponding deadline.
- See the formula below to get a rough estimate of how much RPT you owe (plus penalties and/or surcharges, if any)
Lawyer’s Notes
- If you don’t have the Tax Declaration yet, see this guide.
- Formula: The Land Tax Division calculates the annual tax due based on Bacolod’s localized assessment ratios and imposable rates. The standard formulafor basic real property tax computation is:
Assessed Value x 2.65 % (Imposable Rate) = Total Annual Tax Due (RPT)
- Surcharges: If taxes are past due, a monthly interest penalty of 2% (up to a maximum cap of 72% over 36 months) will be tacked onto the principal amount.
The Importance of Tax Clearance
When transferring real property, presenting a tax clearance or proof of tax payment is a strict legal requirement. The Register of Deeds cannot register a deed or transfer a Torrens title without evidence that the local transfer tax has been paid (Sec. 135 of the Local Government Code), along with the Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) from the BIR proving payment of Capital Gains Tax and Documentary Stamp Tax. The city/provincial assessor also requires this proof before canceling the old tax declaration and issuing a new one for the buyer. (Fil-Estate vs. Hermana Realty G.R. No. 231936, November 25, 2020)
Critical Legal Warning: The Danger of Tax Delinquency Auctions
Why are we so strict about securing a Tax Clearance? Under the Local Government Code, if real property taxes remain unpaid for a prolonged period, the Bacolod City Government has the legal right to levy the property. This means the LGU can seize the land and sell it off at a public auction to recover the tax deficit.
Unwary buyers sometimes purchase attractive, low-priced lots in Bacolod, only to discover later that the property is already featured on the LGU’s delinquency list and scheduled for public auction.
Additionally, if you are buying a property from an heir where the original owner is deceased, the City Assessor will not update the Tax Declaration name until a duly notarized Extrajudicial Settlement (EJS) is presented, estate taxes are settled with the BIR, and local transfer taxes are paid. Buying the property before these steps are cleared leaves you stuck in a legal deadlock.
Protect Your Investment
Do not rely on a seller’s verbal assurance that “all taxes have been paid.” Let our legal team do the heavy lifting at the Bacolod NGC. We will pull the latest Tax Declarations, verify the underlying payment histories, identify structural errors in assessment entries, and secure official Tax Clearances to ensure your real estate acquisition is secure, legal, and debt-free.