Río Piedras: property tax exemption and job deduction through 2030

It is the package of incentives Act 75-1995 created to rehabilitate Río Piedras, which Act 107-2026 keeps alive through 31 December 2030. Three pieces: no property tax for ten years, forgiveness of accumulated interest and surcharges if you rehabilitate a property that had sat unused, and a deduction for each new job.

Eligible properties in a Río Piedras Special Planning Zone that are newly built, substantially rehabilitated or improved; and businesses or industries established in Río Piedras within the dates the law sets. What exactly an “eligible property” is, is defined by Article 2 of Act 75-1995, which we did not read in full.

• For the property exemption: that the eligible property be newly built, substantially rehabilitated or improved in a Río Piedras Special Planning Zone, and apply no later than 31 December 2030.Verified against the official source
• For the interest forgiveness: that the eligible Río Piedras property have gone one (1) year or more without productive use and be substantially rehabilitated after this Act takes effect, within a term not exceeding 31 December 2030.Verified against the official source
• For the job deduction: that the business or industry have been established in Río Piedras between 1 May 2016 and 31 December 2030, and that the new job created not eliminate or replace an existing one.Verified against the official source
• Complying with all planning regulations applicable to the sector, and annually receiving the orientation from the Junta Comunitaria del Casco Urbano de Río Piedras and CAUCE.Verified against the official source

• The law publishes no document list or form. For the property exemption, it provides that the Municipal Revenue Collection Center shall set the procedure by regulation.

1. 1

   Step 1: The date that governs is 31 December 2030

   That is what this Act did: extend the window. The property exemption may be applied for until 31 December 2030; the interest forgiveness runs for rehabilitations within a term not exceeding that same date; and the job deduction covers businesses established through that day. If you are weighing a project, that is the date to plan against.

2. 2

   Step 2: One hundred per cent of the tax, for ten years

   Article 10 grants a one hundred per cent (100%) exemption from the property tax imposed, excluding the special contribution for amortising and redeeming the State’s general obligations. The exemption is effective for a period of ten (10) years from the 1 January following the year the property is built, improved or substantially rehabilitated.

3. 3

   Step 3: CRIM sets the procedure

   The law says the Municipal Revenue Collection Center shall establish, by regulation, the procedure for taking this exemption. The law publishes no form or counter: that is where to ask.

4. 4

   Step 4: If the property sat a year unused, the surcharges are forgiven

   Article 11 is what makes rescuing an abandoned premises viable. All interest, surcharges and penalties imposed on property taxes before the exemption is granted, on eligible Río Piedras properties that have gone a year or more without productive use, shall be forgiven for the period corresponding to the time it sat without productive use, if the property is substantially rehabilitated after this Act takes effect.

5. 5

   Step 5: Five per cent of the minimum wage per new job

   Article 14 grants any business or industry established in Río Piedras between 1 May 2016 and 31 December 2030 an additional deduction, for computing its income tax, equal to five per cent (5%) of the applicable minimum wage for each new job created, for a term of five (5) years, additional to any other deduction granted by any law. The law conditions the benefit on the new job not eliminating or replacing an existing one.

6. 6

   Step 6: The annual community orientation is mandatory

   This is what Act 107-2026 newly added to Article 13, and it is a condition for enjoying the benefits: owners or managers of benefited businesses or industries must annually receive an orientation from representatives of the commercial sector of the Junta Comunitaria del Casco Urbano de Río Piedras and CAUCE, on the importance of community integration and the role of community groups in economic development. The same article requires complying with all planning regulations applicable to the sector.

The property exemption is processed under the regulation the Municipal Revenue Collection Center establishes. Tax exemption decrees under this Act are applied for through the Business Incentives Office of Puerto Rico, attached to the Department of Economic Development and Commerce. The law publishes no address or portal.

• Believing the exemption covers the whole tax: it excludes the special contribution for amortising and redeeming the State’s general obligations.
• Thinking the exemption lasts as long as the business: it is ten years from the 1 January following the year of construction, improvement or rehabilitation.
• Leaving the application until after 2030: the exemption may be applied for until 31 December 2030.
• Counting on the forgiveness without rehabilitating: interest and surcharges are forgiven if the property is substantially rehabilitated, and only for the time it sat without productive use.
• Claiming the deduction for a job that replaces another: the law requires the new job not eliminate or replace an existing one.
• Skipping the annual orientation: Article 13 makes it a condition for enjoying the benefits.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Desarrollo Económico y Comercio (DDEC)

  DDEC

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov