Country Identity
CTR-CR- Official Country Name
- República de Costa Rica
- English Name
- Republic of Costa Rica
- ISO Alpha-2
- CR
- ISO Alpha-3
- CRI
- ISO Numeric
- 188
- Region
- Central America
- Primary Currency
- Costa Rican Colón (CRC)
- Official Language
- Spanish (Español)
- Government Structure
- Unitary presidential republic
- Legal System
- Civil law (based on Spanish and Roman law)
- Fiscal Year
- Calendar year (January 1 – December 31)
- Tax Jurisdiction
- Unitary national jurisdiction; no sub-national income tax
Tax System Summary
Costa Rica operates a territorial tax system for corporate income tax purposes. The primary indirect tax is the Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA), a value-added tax introduced in 2019 replacing the former general sales tax. The standard rate is 13%, with reduced rates of 4%, 2%, and 1% applying to specific categories.
E-invoicing (Factura Electrónica) is mandatory for most taxpayers and operates under a clearance model administered by the Dirección General de Tributación (DGT). The system requires electronic invoice submission to the tax authority portal and real-time validation before delivery to the recipient.
Corporate income tax is imposed at a flat rate of 30% on net taxable income for large corporations. Micro and small enterprises benefit from a progressive rate structure. Withholding tax applies to payments of dividends, interest, royalties, and services to non-residents.
Digital Tax Maturity
Mandatory clearance model
Electronic filing required
API available (DGT)
Electronic audit trails