Can a married couple have two primary residences?

A married couple in Peru can own several properties, but the Income Tax exemption on the sale of a casa habitación is designed for a single property. If both spouses sell at the same time or the couple has two homes they use, it's worth carefully reviewing the rules of the Income Tax Law and its regulations, plus the property regime under which they married.

What "casa habitación" means for SUNAT

The Income Tax Law and its regulations define casa habitación as a property that remains in the seller's ownership for two years or more and is not used exclusively for trade, industry, office, warehouse or similar use.

The exemption applies to second-category Income Tax (5% on the gain) when a casa habitación is sold. If you have two properties that meet the requirement, SUNAT considers the casa habitación to be the last one you acquired (priority rule).

Only one casa habitación at a time

Unlike some schemes in other countries, the exemption doesn't apply simultaneously to several homes. Even if the couple owns two houses:

• Only one qualifies as casa habitación for exemption purposes.
• The second sale is taxed at 5% on the gain (with updated cost basis).

That means if a couple sells their main apartment and, the following year, sells a beach house, this second transaction does not enjoy the exemption.

Property regime: what changes

Sociedad de gananciales

By default, properties acquired during marriage are social property. The exemption applies to that economic unit: one casa habitación per sociedad de gananciales, not one per spouse.

Separación de patrimonios

Here each spouse is individual owner of their assets. If each owns a home acquired with their own resources and meets the two-year requirement, each one can apply the exemption to theirs. It's essential that the separación de patrimonios is recorded in SUNARP's Registro Personal.

Recognized unión de hecho

A unión de hecho properly declared notarially or judicially generates a property regime similar to gananciales. The exemption applies as in marriages under gananciales.

How to prove it's casa habitación

SUNAT may request evidence. It's wise to have:

• HR and PU of the autoavalúo in your name with the property's address.
• Utility receipts (Luz del Sur/Enel, SEDAPAL/local EPS, gas, internet) issued in your name.
• DNI with updated address (RENIEC).
• Address certification issued by the PNP in some cases.
• Receipts for municipal arbitrios payments from recent years.

Procedure when selling the first home

1. Verify two years of ownership

Count from the recording of the sale at SUNARP. If you don't reach two years, the operation is taxed as a taxable gain, except for certain exceptions.

2. Get your updated cost basis

Retrieve the original public deed, recompute with SUNAT's IPM and add documented improvements.

3. Request the non-obligation certification

The notary, before raising the public deed, requests SUNAT's certification of payment or non-obligation for Income Tax. For casa habitación, a sworn statement that the property qualifies suffices.

4. Bank the payment

Any payment above S/2,000 or US$500 must be made through the financial system, keeping the vouchers.

5. Recording at SUNARP

After the public deed, it's filed at SUNARP for entry of the new owner and cancellation of any encumbrances.

What about the second house?

If within the same marriage there's another property to sell:

• It's taxed as second-category income at 5% on the gain.
• Updated cost basis can be applied.
• If the property was built by the taxpayer and is sold as first seller, the regime can change to third-category income (business activity), which involves IGV in some cases.

Example: Lima couple with two homes

• Apartment in Pueblo Libre (main residence): bought in 2015 for S/280,000, current value S/520,000.
• Beach house in Asia: bought in 2019 for S/420,000, current value S/580,000.

Case A: they sell the Pueblo Libre apartment. As casa habitación, they pay no IR. The buyer pays Alcabala (not them).

Case B: two years later they sell the Asia house. They pay 5% on the gain: roughly S/8,000 to S/12,000 depending on updated cost. They cannot use the exemption again.

Risks and common mistakes

• Trying to sell both properties as casa habitación in short periods: SUNAT detects it by cross-checking declarations.
• Lacking proof of actual habitation (minimum water/power consumption, no furniture).
• Not updating the address in RENIEC and the municipality.
• Underdeclaring the price to reduce IR: SUNAT can adjust to market value (see undervaluation rules).

Recommendations

• Decide in advance which home you'll sell first and when.
• Consider the separación de patrimonios regime if your patrimonial plan includes more than one home.
• Compute with an accountant the cost basis of each property before deciding.
• Keep evidence of habitation, not just deeds.

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