Buying Property in Colombia from Australia
What it is
If you are an Australian resident and you buy in Colombia, Colombian rules govern the purchase. Australian tax residents must also declare worldwide income to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
What stays the same in Colombia, whatever your passport?
You make the purchase through a public deed (escritura) signed before a notary. Then the public records registry office (Oficina de Registro de Instrumentos Públicos) registers the deed. The Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro oversees that office. The basic legal steps are the same for Australian buyers. Some details may vary, such as the ID you use, an interpreter at signing or signing from abroad. See the step-by-step buying guide.
Foreign investment in Colombian real estate must be channeled through the exchange market. This means the money moves through an exchange-market intermediary, such as a bank, or through a compensation account. Banco de la República applies this requirement to foreign investment in Colombia and to the returns on it. Its own example is a person living in the United States who buys an apartment in Cartagena. Ask your bank how the transfer will be channeled and what it should show. Registering the foreign investment is covered in a separate guide.
A Colombian certified public accountant (contador público) can confirm how Colombia taxes rental income from the property. See Colombian tax on rental income.
Who it applies to
How does Australia tax a Colombian property?
As an Australian resident for tax purposes, you must declare income you earn anywhere in the world. The ATO lists rental income from real estate among the examples. It also says you may have to pay Australian capital gains tax when you sell an overseas asset that you own.
You declare foreign source income and foreign assets or property at question 20 of the 2026 supplementary tax return. Rental income is one of the foreign-source amounts. Include assessable foreign income even if you paid tax on it abroad. The same question covers assets outside Australia that you owned or had an interest in. It asks whether their total value reached A$50,000 or more at any time in 2025–26. You do not show a foreign capital gain at question 20. Question 18 deals with it. We found no separate foreign-asset information return described by the ATO.
Visa basics for Australian passports
Under Cancillería Resolución 5488 de 2022, article 3, literal A includes Australia: holders of those passports need no visa for airport transit or short stay, provided the activities do not generate payment for services or a salary in Colombia. The resolution defines short stay as under 90 days, extendable up to 180 days in the cases the rule determines.
Separately, the M investor visa (visa M Inversionista) in the real-estate case requires two things. Title must be solely in the foreigner's name for at least 350 legal monthly minimum wages (salarios mínimos mensuales legales vigentes, SMLMV) at the application date. You also need Banco de la República extracts that register the investment (Cancillería). See the visa guide.
Steps
Can you sign from Australia? Apostilles and powers of attorney
Australia and Colombia are both parties to the Apostille Convention. The HCCH status table shows entry into force on 16 March 1995 for Australia and 30 January 2001 for Colombia. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) works through the Australian Passport Office in your capital city. It certifies that a signature, stamp or seal on an official Australian public document is genuine. It then attaches an Authentication or an Apostille (DFAT). Ask your notary which route applies to your document. Read the power-of-attorney guide.
Sending money from Australia
On the Colombian side, the money must go through the exchange market. Ask your bank what the wire must show. Banks may ask for source-of-funds documents. Ask your bank what it needs.
AUSTRAC requires an IFTI report for international funds transfer instructions sent out of or received into Australia. The reporting deadline is 10 business days (AUSTRAC). That page states no dollar threshold, so ask your bank how it applies to your transfer.
Questions for your Colombian lawyer, certified public accountant and Australian tax agent
Take our free one-page due-diligence checklist to your first meeting. The Colombian-side parts of the Colombia Owner Kit (calendar, checklists, Spanish-language letters, BanRep records pack and question lists) apply to you. Its home-country sheet is the United States sheet. For Australian rules, take those questions to a licensed tax professional in Australia.
- Colombian lawyer or certified public accountant: Which taxes and registrations apply to my purchase and rental income, and how do I document the exchange-market channeling?
- Registered tax agent in Australia: How do I report Colombian rental income at question 20, how does a FITO work for Colombian tax, and what happens on a sale?
- Your bank: What does it need for an international transfer, and what does it report?
- Notary or DFAT: How do I get my power of attorney apostilled?
Documents
Banks and information exchange: where does CRS stand?
Under CRS, Australian banks and other financial institutions report the accounts of foreign tax residents to the ATO. The ATO exchanges that information with participating foreign tax authorities. The ATO also receives information on Australian residents from other countries (ATO). The OECD activated-relationships table, last updated 1 October 2026, lists Australia to Colombia as "CRS MCAA activated". DIAN says every jurisdiction except the United States is reportable under CRS. Ask your bank what it reports.
Exceptions
Is there an Australia–Colombia tax treaty?
There is no income-tax treaty with Australia on DIAN's list, and Colombia is not among the countries named on the ATO's list of treaty countries. Relief from double tax therefore depends on Australian rules.
One such rule is the foreign income tax offset (FITO). The ATO describes it as relief from double taxation for foreign tax paid on income included in your Australian assessable income. If you claim a FITO of $1,000 or less, you only record the actual foreign tax that counts (up to $1,000). Above $1,000, you first work out the offset limit. Keep proof of the Colombian tax you pay. Confirm with a registered tax agent in Australia how this applies.
Official sources
Next step
Educational information, not legal or tax advice. Ask a Colombian lawyer or accountant about your case.
This guide is educational, not legal or tax advice.
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Frequently asked questions
Is there an income-tax treaty between Australia and Colombia?
DIAN’s list has no income-tax treaty with Australia. The ATO’s list of treaty countries does not include Colombia. Relief from double tax therefore depends on Australian rules.
Where do I declare Colombian rental income in my Australian return?
Declare foreign source income and foreign assets or property at question 20 of the 2026 supplementary tax return. Rental income is one of the foreign-source amounts. Include assessable foreign income even if you paid tax on it abroad.
Does Australia have a separate foreign-asset return?
We found no separate foreign-asset information return described by the ATO. Question 20 covers assets outside Australia that you owned or had an interest in. It asks whether their total value reached A$50,000 or more at any time in 2025–26.
Do Australians need a visa to visit Colombia?
Australian passport holders are exempt from a visa for short stays that do not generate pay in Colombia. The resolution defines short stay as under 90 days, extendable up to 180 days in the cases the rule determines.
Not sure which topics to raise? Take the quiz. The Colombia Owner Kit (US$79, instant download) turns this guide into a checklist, a calendar entry and a question list: see what’s included. Or start with the free sample: Chapter 4, the due-diligence checklist.