Cadastral Appraisal vs. Commercial Appraisal in Colombia: Differences, Review, and Taxes (2026)

The 2026 property tax bill arrived and more than one owner almost had a heart attack. With the recent wave of multipurpose cadastre updates promoted by the Government, many Colombians have seen how the official value of their houses and apartments has skyrocketed overnight. If you are thinking of selling, buying, or simply want to understand why they are charging you so much, you need to be clear about the difference between the fiscal value and the actual price of your property.

Quick answer: The cadastral appraisal is an administrative value set by the State (IGAC or local managers) to collect property tax, and by law it must range between 60% and 100% of the commercial value. The commercial appraisal is the real market price of your property, determined by a certified appraiser, and it is the figure you should use as a technical reference for selling or requesting a mortgage loan.

What is the Cadastral Appraisal? (Use and Regulation in Colombia)

The cadastral appraisal is not the price at which you are going to sell your house. It is a mass, administrative estimate carried out by the Agustín Codazzi Geographic Institute (IGAC) or decentralized cadastral managers (such as Catastro Bogotá, Medellín, or Cali) with one main purpose: to calculate your property tax.

Watch out for this, because the Law 1450 of 2011 establishes a golden rule: by law, the cadastral appraisal must be between 60% and 100% of the commercial value, without ever exceeding it. If the municipality says that your house is worth more cadastrally than what someone would pay for it in real life, they are breaking the law.

For this 2026 fiscal year, if your property was not updated or formed during the last year, an automatic readjustment applies. According to Decree 1480 of December 30, 2025, this readjustment is exactly 3% (except for Bogotá and other decentralized cadasters that have their own regulations). If you are thinking of buying a farm in Colombia or a rural lot, checking when the last cadastral update was will save you from tax surprises.

What is the Commercial Appraisal and why is it the real value?

Unlike the State's mass calculation, the commercial appraisal is a technical, individual, and detailed study of the market. It considers your kitchen finishes, the balcony view, the supply and demand in your neighborhood, and the actual state of the structure.

However, an Excel document made by the president of the neighborhood action board is not useful. A commercial appraisal only has legal validity (for banks, courts, or the DIAN) if it is issued by an appraiser registered and active in the Open Registry of Appraisers (RAA), as required by Law 1673 of 2013. Never hire someone without verifying their registration in raa.org.co.

In the free market, the fees of these professional appraisers usually range between 3.5‰ and 7.5‰ (per thousand) of the total property value. Investing in this assessment is fundamental if you are going to lease or buy housing through a mortgage loan.

Legal Ceilings on Property Tax in 2026 (Owner Protection)

The fact that your cadastral appraisal doubled after an IGAC update does not mean that your property tax will double. Law 1995 of 2019 acts as a protective shield for the pockets of Colombians, setting strict limits on what they can charge you from one year to the next.

For the year 2026, the legal increase caps are as follows:

• Updated properties: The maximum increase cap is the CPI of the previous year plus 8 percentage points. Given that the 2025 CPI closed at 5.10%, the maximum increase for your property tax in 2026 will be 13.10%.
• Non-updated properties: The increase limit is a maximum of 50% compared to the amount settled the previous year.
• Stratum 1 and 2 housing: If the appraisal is less than 135 SMMLV (that is, $236,372,175 COP with the 2026 minimum wage set at $1,750,905), the maximum increase will be exactly equal to inflation (5.10%).

If you notice that your bill exceeds these percentages, I recommend reading our guide on the property tax in Colombia to understand the specific rates of your municipal council.

Step-by-Step: How to Request a Review of your Cadastral Appraisal before the IGAC

If you have solid proof that the cadastral value exceeds the commercial value of your property, or if they are charging you for built square meters that do not exist, you can defend yourself. The process is free and is done through the IGAC Virtual Window VIVI (vivi.igac.gov.co) or in person at your cadastral manager.

1. File the Review Request: According to Resolution 1040 of 2023 (amended by Resolution 746 of 2024), you must present technical evidence (photos, plans, or ideally, a commercial appraisal from the RAA).
2. Wait for the resolution: For the competent cadastral manager under these resolutions, the maximum time to resolve a review request in substance is 3 months counted from successful filing. If your municipality has a decentralized manager, confirm their channel and own procedure.
3. Self-estimation Option: You have the legal right to present a justified cadastral self-estimation. Watch out for the date: this procedure expires on June 30 of each year.

An honest tip: Do not file a complaint saying 'I think it's too expensive'. If you do not attach technical evidence that the value exceeds 100% commercial or that there is an area error, they will reject your request or, worse yet, if they send an inspector and discover improvements you had not declared, they could raise your appraisal even further.

Do you want to sell or lease your property? Forget about the cadastre

One of the most serious financial mistakes made by owners in Colombia is trying to sell their house based on the cadastral appraisal or 'what they were told it was worth'. The market moves by real supply and demand, not by tax decrees.

To give you an idea of the current opportunity: according to the active ads on Colombia Move (July 2026), the housing section registers more than 16,000 demand views against only 91 active ads. There is a huge deficit of properties published at real market prices, which means buyers are waiting but cannot find options without intermediaries.

Frequently asked questions

❓ What is the main difference between the cadastral and commercial appraisal?

The cadastral appraisal is a mass administrative value used by the State to collect property taxes, while the commercial appraisal is a specific technical study that calculates the actual selling price of a property in the open real estate market. The former usually fluctuates between 60% and 100% of the property's actual commercial value.

❓ How much can my property tax increase in Colombia in 2026?

By law, the increase in your property tax in 2026 cannot be infinite: it has a cap of 13.10% (2025 CPI + 8%) if your area was recently updated, or a maximum of 50% of what was paid the previous year if your area does not have a current cadastral update.

❓ What is the automatic adjustment for cadastral appraisals for 2026?

In accordance with Decree 1480 of December 30, 2025, the automatic adjustment for urban and rural properties not updated or formed in 2025 is 3% starting January 1, 2026. This standard adjustment does not apply to Bogotá or to decentralized municipal cadastres that have their own provisions.

❓ How long does the IGAC have to respond to a request for a cadastral review?

The competent cadastral manager has a maximum period of three (3) months to substantively resolve your appraisal review request, counted from the day after formal filing, as established in Article 4.7.5 of IGAC Resolution 1040 of 2023 (amended by Resolution 746 of 2024). In a decentralized cadastre, confirm the applicable procedure with the local manager.

❓ What is the self-estimation of the cadastral appraisal and what is the deadline?

Self-estimation is the legal right that every owner has to submit in writing their own estimate of their property's value, supported by technical evidence. The maximum deadline to file this process with the respective cadastral manager expires without fail on June 30 of each year.

❓ How do I know if a commercial appraiser is legally authorized in Colombia?

A commercial appraiser is legally certified only if they are registered and active in the Open Register of Appraisers (RAA). You can verify the authenticity and validity of their digital signature and license for free directly on the official RAA portal (raa.org.co).